SEYMOUR – Bedford North Lawrence freshman Paige Voigtschild won the 800-meter race during the IHSAA girls track sectional at Seymour on Wednesday night.
Voigtschild won a thrilling duel with Eastern Pekin’s Katie Hauner, edging her closest competitor by a scant .03 seconds to claim the blue ribbon. Voigtschild clocked 2:32.54 while earning a ticket to the regional. The top three finishers in each event advanced to the second stage of the state tournament series at Bloomington North.
“That was a heck of a race,” BNL coach Jason Webb said. “Very gutsy finish.”
The Stars finished fourth in the team competition with 71.5 points. Seymour won the crown with 130 points.
Voigtschild helped the Stars qualify for the next round in the 3200 relay, as she teamed with Gracie Simmerman, Elise Williams and Evija Buike to finish second in 10:37.23. She also worked with Rose Dusard, Simmerman and Williams to take third in the 1600 relay in 4:32.69.
Other regional qualifiers for BNL included Trinity Schmeichel (second in the 300 hurdles in 52.21) and Avery Brown (third in the pole vault at 7-6).
Qualifiers from the sectionals at Bloomington North, Madison and Terre Haute North will convene with the Seymour winners to compete in the regional on May 21. The top three in each regional event will advance to the state finals at Indiana University on May 31.
