DIKE — Quinton Grove was able to put a check mark in almost every box on his goal sheet at yesterday’s Class 2A State Qualifying Meet.

State qualifier? Check.

School record? Check.

Meet champion? Close, but no check.

South Hamilton’s senior leader will run in his fourth state meet at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge next Saturday. Grove punched his ticket with a runner-up finish in the elite field at Fox Ridge Golf Course with a new school-record time of 16:24. It eclipsed the previous mark of 16:29, held by AJ Samuelson since 1995.

“Finally. Congrats Quinton,” Samuelson, a 1996 South Hamilton graduate, tweeted in response to Grove’s besting his time in a sort of passing of the torch.

The school record has served as motivation for Grove since he entered the lineup as a freshman, so to overtake Samuelson was special.

“The school record is exciting and I know AJ was happy to see it broke,” Grove said. “I’ve talked to him a little bit … he held a real good record that stood for a long time.”

Grove lost a foot race down the stretch to Union’s Lake LeBahn, who claimed the gold medal in 16:22. LeBahn went past Grove with about 200 meters remaining.

“I thought I had enough to go with him, but I didn’t quite have it,” Grove said. “The race felt really good though … I know (at state) that I’ve just got to have everything in my final kick. I’ve got to lay it all out there.”

The duo separated from the rest of the field near the midpoint of the 5K and went head-to-head across the flat course. Monticello’s Cole Cruise was a distant third in 16:55.

South Hamilton came up short in its bid for a fifth consecutive team state berth. The Hawks were fifth with 149 points, well out of the top three held down by No. 3-ranked Monticello (36), No. 4 South Hardin (85) and No. 15 Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck (90).

The top three teams and top 15 individuals advanced.

Ty Skartvedt came up six seconds and three places short of joining Grove at the state meet, and Aaron Hegland was right in the hunt as well. Skartvedt settled for an 18th-place result in 17:48, one second and one position in front of Hegland (17:49, 19th).

South Hardin’s Carter Kolthoff secured the 15th-place spot in 17:42.

The South Hamilton girls’ team fell into ninth place in the team race with 216 points. No. 4 Monticello (40), No. 8 Jesup (72) and No. 11 Dike-New Hartford (76) earned the tickets to state.

Abby Ervin gave the Hawk girls their best shot at representation next week. The junior crossed the finish line in 23rd with a time of 21:58, 48 seconds behind 15th-place finisher Lea Friedl (21:10) of Eagle Grove.

Paige Doolittle (22:35) placed 36th and Kelbe Krumm (22:40) was 38th for the Hawks.

Class 2A State Qualifying Meet

Thursday at Fox Ridge Golf Course

Dike

BOYS RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Monticello 36; 2. South Hardin 85; 3. Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck 90; 4. Jesup 126; 5. South Hamilton 139; 6. Roland-Story 140; 7. Union 166; 8. Eagle Grove 180; 9. Dike-New Hartford 243; 10. Pocahontas Area 260; 11. Springville/Central City 322; 12. Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 333; 13. Southeast Valley 336; 14. South Central Calhoun 386.

Individual Champion — Lake LeBahn, Union, 16:22.

South Hamilton Results

2. Quinton Grove 16:24; 18. Ty Skartvedt 17:48; 19. Aaron Hegland 17:49; 46. Gage Koster 18:53; 54. Eli Potter 19:05; 58. Seth Pencook 19:08; 77. Clay Willadsen 20:19.

GIRLS RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Monticello 40; 2. Jesup 72; 3. Dike-New Hartford 76; 4. Roland-Story 104; 5. Springville/Central City 130; 6. Pocahontas Area 181; 7. Eagle Grove 206; 8. South Central Calhoun 211; 9. South Hamilton 216; 10. Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck 223; 11. Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 285; 12. Union 303; 13. Southeast Valley 362; 14. South Hardin 381.

Individual Champion — Emily Staal, Springville/CC, 18:10.

South Hamilton Results

23. Abby Ervin 21:58; 36. Paige Doolittle 22:35; 38. Kelbe Krumm 22:40; 52. Anna Lammers 23:47; 67. Chandler George 24:42; 87. Natalie Johnson 27:21; 90. Brookelyn George 27:46.