Peters ran 21⁄2 miles — truth be told, he sprinted most of it — and qualified for the Class 2A state track and field meet in four events to lead the Hawks. The 2018 state champion in the mile will have a chance to defend his title this week, and he’ll also run in the 800 meters, as well as the 4×800 and distance medley relays.

“I thought Peters was going to collapse (at the end of the meet),” a chuckling Darrell Paulsen, South Hamilton’s head coach, said after his crew scored 91 points to place fourth at the 2A State Qualifying Meet. “Those last four steps (in the mile) took about four seconds … he was tired.”

The state meet won’t be nearly as taxing. Peters will run just once on Thursday, once on Friday and twice on Saturday.

South Hamilton pushed a total of seven events through to state. Cade Flaugh in the discus and Brandyn Feighner in the long jump will represent the Hawks in the field events. Conner Hill will also run in the 800 and Quinton Grove will compete in the mile.

South Hamilton senior Lily Skartvedt punched her ticket to state in both the discus and shot put at Friday’s Class 2A state qualifier. Photo by Angela Hewitt

Hill, Grove and Cole Berg round out the 4×800. Hill will also compete in the distance medley, as will Brock Galetich and Sam Lewis.

“We got in everything that I thought we would,” Paulsen said.

South Hamilton’s 4×800 won the showdown with Madrid and moved back to the top of the class with a gold-medal time of 8:06.40, which broke the quartet’s own school record. Peters ran a sub-1:58 on the lead-off leg.

“The kids were relaxed and confident,” Paulsen said of the two-mile relay, which beat runner-up Madrid by nearly five seconds. “Peters gave us a lead, Hill and Berg kept it and then Quinton ran a really good last leg.”

Peters ripped off a 1:57.7 anchor on the distance medley to give the Hawks the gold in 3:37.85.

South Hamilton enters state with the top 2A times in both distance relays.

Peters (2:02.46) and Hill (2:02.47) occupied the top two spots in the open 800, but it wasn’t easy.

“They both got boxed in early and it was tight the whole way,” Paulsen said.

Peters was noticeably fatigued by the time the mile rolled around. Grove passed him down the stretch to take second in 4:36.78, while Peters settled for third (4:38.66) and a wildcard entry to state.

Feighner (20 feet, 4 inches) and Zakee Newman (two-mile, 10:08.51) were both wildcard additions after fifth- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, on Friday. Flaugh received an automatic invitation following a runner-up finish in the discus with a top toss of 131-2.

SH girls qualify 4 events

Lily Skartvedt and Hailey Cavan will both compete twice for the South Hamilton girls’ track and field team at the state meet later this week.

Skartvedt punched tickets in both throwing events on Friday, while Cavan twice hurdled her way to spots on the blue oval at Drake Stadium.

“We were hoping we could get these events through,” South Hamilton girls’ head coach Dan Brodie said. “We were really pleased.”

Skartvedt broke her own school record in the discus — it now stands at 121-7 — to finish second behind South Hardin’s Brylie Zeisneiss.

Zeisneiss also won the shot put, the event in which she’s the defending state champion. Skartvedt’s top throw of 36-2 in the shot was just fifth-best at the qualifier, but still earned her a state bid.

“For Lily, we were hoping the discus would go and the shot is just the icing on the top,” Brodie said. “Im just really proud of the work she’s put in.”

Cavan finished second in the 100 hurdles (16.57) and then anchored the shuttle hurdle to a victory by nearly eight seconds. Emily Greenfield, Bridgit Schlafke and Rylee Woodall joined Cavan to post a time of 1:10.80.

“All of the girls would be lying if they said they weren’t nervous,” Brodie said. “They just didn’t want to make a mistake … they know their best time is still in front of them.”

Class 2A State Qualifiers

South Hamilton Boys

Long Jump — Brandyn Feighner 20-4 (5th at SQM, seeded 20th at state).

Discus — Cade Flaugh 131-2 (2nd at SQM, seeded 24th at state).

800 Meters — Logan Peters 2:02.46 (1st at SQM, seeded 10th at state); Conner Hill 2:02.47 (2nd at SQM, seeded 11th at state).

1,600 Meters — Quinton Grove 4:36.78 (2nd at SQM, seeded 7th at state); Logan Peters 4:38.66 (3rd at SQM, seeded 9th at state).

3,200 Meters — Zakee Newman 10:08.51 (4th at SQM, seeded 12th at state).

4×800 Relay — Logan Peters, Conner Hill, Cole Berg, Quinton Grove 8:06.40 (1st at SQM, seeded 1st at state).

Distance Medley Relay — Brock Galetich, Sam Lewis, Conner Hill, Logan Peters 3:37.85 (1st at SQM, seeded 1st at state).

South Hamilton Girls

Discus — Lily Skartvedt 121-7 (2nd at SQM, seeded 11th at state).

Shot Put — Lily Skartvedt 36-2 (5th at SQM, seeded 23rd at state).

100 Hurdles — Hailey Cavan 16.57 (2nd at SQM, seeded 22nd at state).

Shuttle Hurdle Relay — Emily Greenfield, Bridgit Schlafke, Rylee Woodall, Hailey Cavan 1:10.80 (1st at SQM, seeded 14th at state).