Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Abby Landwehr of St. Edmond runs in Manson earlier this season.

Before the focus can turn to state track, teams must punch their ticket to Des Moines and Drake Stadium at state qualifying meets Thursday night.

Messengerland programs will be in action at seven different sites between Class 1A, 2A and 3A.

St. Edmond heads to Armstrong as North Union hosts a 1A meet with the Warriors, Bishop Garrigan, Manson Northwest Webster and West Bend-Mallard also in action.

The Gaels boast three relays with Top-5 times in 1A, including the sprint medley relay quartet of Sean Newell, Sean Flattery, Kase Baker and Charlie Shelly. That group ran 1:36.92 for the best time during the regular season.

St. Edmond’s 4×400 boasts the second-best time at 3:30.66, with the 4×100 sitting fifth at 44.77. The 4×4 features Andrew Gibb, Newell, Flattery and Shelly, with Shelly, Flattery, Newell and Baker running the 4×1.

TJ Schnurr of Bishop Garrigan is first in the shot put.

The other 1A meet sees Newell-Fonda head to Sioux Rapids. The Mustang girls have the top time in the distance medley relay.

In 2A, team state title contender South Central Calhoun will attempt to secure as many spots as possible when they compete with East Sac County at OABCIG.

The Titans have seven ranked in the Top-5 with Chase McAlister first in the 800 and the distance medley relay also first. Spencer Moon is second in the 1600, third in the 800 and fourth in the 3200.

Josh Van Hulzen is second in the 110 hurdles and the sprint medley relay for SCC is fifth.

Other 2A qualifying sites include Garner-Hayfield/Ventura, where Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, Eagle Grove, Emmetsburg and Pocahontas Area will be, along with Panorama with Southeast Valley.

Humboldt heads to Carroll for a 3A qualifier, with Algona and Webster City in Charles City.

The Bulldogs have a pair of top times in the 100 courtesy of Sammonte Bawden and with the distance medley relay. Bawden is also second in the 200, as is Trey Engen in the 1600 and the sprint medley relay.

For 3A and 2A, automatic state qualifiers will be the first and second place finishers in each event, with the next eight-best from all the meets completing the fields.

In 1A, the event winner advances with the next 14-best earning spots at state.

STATE TRACK QUALIFYING MEETS

Class 4A

Host: Fort Dodge — Ames, Ankeny, Ankeny Centennial, Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines Roosevelt, Fort Dodge, Mason City, Urbandale.

Class 3A

Host: Carroll — Atlantic, Boone, Carroll, Creston, Glenwood, Harlan, Humboldt, Perry.

Host: Charles City — Algona, Charles City, Clear Lake, Decorah, Hampton-Dumont, Iowa Falls-Alden, Waverly-Shell Rock, Webster City.

Class 2A

Host: OABCIG — Alta/Aurelia, Cherokee, East Sac County, Carroll Kuemper, Missouri Valley, MVAOCOU, OABCIG, Ridge View, South Central Calhoun, Spirit Lake, Treynor, Tri-Center, Underwood.

Host: Garner-Hayfield/Ventura — Aplington-Parkersburg, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, Crestwood, Denver, Eagle Grove, Emmetsburg, Forest City, Garner-Hayfield/Ventura, Lake Mills, New Hampton, Osage, Pocahontas Area.

Host: Panorama — ACGC, Clarinda, Greene County, Interstate 35, Mount Ayr, Ogden, Panorama, Red Oak, Shenandoah, Southeast Valley, Van Meter, West Central Valley.

Class 1A

Host: North Union — Bishop Garrigan, Central Lyon, Clay Central-Everly, George-Little Rock, Graettinger-Terril/R-A, Harris-Lake Park, Hartley-HMS, Manson Northwest Webster, North Union, Paton-Churdan, South O’Brien, St. Edmond, West Bend-Mallard, West Hancock.

Host: Sioux Central — Akron-Westfield, LeMars Gehlen, Lawton-Bronson, MMCRU, Newell-Fonda, Ridge View, River Valley, Sioux Central, Siouxland Christian, Remsen St. Mary’s, Storm Lake St. Mary’s, West Monona, Westwood, Whiting.