The Webster City freshman knew by that point that a first- or second-place finish — needed for an automatic bid to the state meet — was out of reach. All that mattered was the time.

And so she pushed. And pushed. And leaned at the tape.

Tesdahl’s determination in the grueling race paid off Friday morning when she learned that she’d earned one of the wildcard entries into the state field following her third-place finish in 1:11.68, a personal best by nearly a second.

She’ll be the No. 22 seed later this week inside Drake Stadium in Des Moines. The girls’ 3A 400 hurdles is set for Friday morning at 11:40 a.m.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“I’m really happy for her and it’s a special deal to go to state for a freshman,” WCHS girls’ head coach Clint Howard said. “She’s trained really hard and we thought going in if she could run a (1:11) that she’d have a chance.”

Tesdahl will be the Lynx lone state participant.

WCHS scored 55 points and placed sixth at the qualifier meet. The Lynx finished third in three events, but Howard looked at the bigger picture afterward.

“I was very proud of the whole team. We ran season’s bests in every relay, and the girls had great attitudes,” he said. “It was a fun season to watch the young girls progress, and I’m really proud of our two seniors, Lexi (Nichols) and Kaelyn (Butz), with the leadership and hard work that they put in to show the underclassmen.”

Tesdahl was joined by Brynna Croy, McKenzie Mishler and Bonnie Nohrenberg on the third-place shuttle hurdle relay (1:13.15). Also grabbing bronze was the quartet of Shelby Queen, Emma Peck, Butz and Dasha Sankey in the 4×800 (10:58.85).

Hannah Brandt competes in the discus for Webster City at Thursday’s Class 3A State Qualifying Meet in Nevada. She placed fourth. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Class 3A State Qualifying Meet

Thursday at Nevada

Team Standings

1. North Polk 161; 2. Humboldt 154; 3. Nevada 121; 4. Gilbert 102; 5. Algona 91; 6. Webster City 55; 7. Clear Lake 27; 8. Hampton-Dumont/CAL 20.

Webster City Results (Top 6)

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

High Jump — 6. Lexi Nichols 4-8.

Long Jump — 5. Adeline Tesdahl 15-41⁄4; 6. Bonnie Nohrenberg 14-71⁄2.

Discus — 4. Hannah Brandt 105-5.

Shot Put — 5. Delaney Kopriva 31-61⁄2.

400 Hurdles — 3. Tesdahl 1:11.68.

Shuttle Hurdle Relay — 3. WCHS 1:13.15 (Brynna Croy, Mishler, Nohrenberg, Tesdahl).

4×100 Relay — 6. WCHS 54.95 (Alayna Finucan, Marah Range, Kennedy Moore, Croy).

4×200 Relay — 5. WCHS 1:53.67 (Dasha Sankey, Croy, Moore, Tesdahl).

4×400 Relay — 6. WCHS 4:30.37 (Shelby Queen, Emma Peck, Kaelyn Butz, Sankey).

4×800 Relay — 3. WCHS 10:58.85 (Queen, Sankey, Butz, Peck).

Sprint Medley Relay — 6. WCHS 2:08.87 (Fallon Casey, Range, Finucan, Sierra Steuerwald).

Distance Medley Relay — 6. WCHS 5:12.01 (Andersen, Range, Steuerwald, Carly Appel).