The Warrenton girls track team made a statement at last Saturday’s Class 4, District 4 meet at Battle, sending nine individuals and relay teams on to the sectional meet Saturday at Mexico.

“It was a good day,” Head Coach Steve Wurtzel said. “It was a good, long, day. But I thought our kids went out and competed and they showed what they had. They gave everyone in our district a glimpse of who Warrenton is and what we want to become.”

Emma Housewright set a personal best in the 100-meter, finishing second in 12.9 seconds.

She set another personal best in the 200 prelims, and eventually finished fourth in 27.42 seconds.

“It just seems like everything is starting to come into place really well,” Wurtzel said. “I think Housewright is the one who shined the most with her performances in the 100 and 200. Those are looking really strong.”

Kayla Nelson qualified for sectionals in the shot put after a final toss of 35 feet, 10 inches earned her a second-place finish.

Wurtzel hoped she could do the same in discus, where she threw a personal-best 92-7.

She missed the cut by one spot, however.

“I knew there was a chance for Breanna (Wielms) or Kayla to be able to slide in there in the discus,” Wurtzel said. “Nobody throwing discus had a good day, so that was the day they had the best opportunity. For Kayla to come in fifth there, that just stinks. But I think that rekindled her interest in the discus and she realized she’s really good at that and that she can go far if she puts her all into it.”

Wielms finished ninth in the discus at 90 feet, 1 inch.

The Warrenton hurdlers continued to impress Wurtzel, as Allison Tonioli and Courtney Richardson qualified in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, respectively.

The 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams set personal bests while finishing fourth to qualify for the next round.

“The 4X2 dropped like three seconds off what they were running, so that was really good to see. That was probably the most surprising result for me,” Wurtzel said. “The 4X4 had that fourth place by a long shot. The fifth-place team was probably 15 yards behind them, and they were still able to maintain the lead and drop their time.”

The 400-meter relay team of Richardson, Housewright, Isabel Saavedra and Macey Ransom finished seventh in 53.24 seconds.

“I wanted that 4X1 to qualify so Saavedra and Ransom could get that experience and keep things going for them,” Wurtzel said. “But the handoffs just weren’t there in that race. All three handoffs were a little off.”

Sabrina McRoberts got through to sectional with a final jump of 4-9 in the high jump, while Rylie Cox advanced with a 34-8 1/2 in the triple jump.

The impressive day on the track earned the Warriors a date with one of the best districts in Class 4.

Warrenton heads to Mexico Saturday to compete in  Sectional 2 with a group that includes MICDS, Parkway Central and Ladue.

“We’re ready to go on see what we can do on Saturday,” Wurtzel said. “It’s going to be tough because the other district is tough with MICDS and Parkway Central. There are going to be some events where we hit a wall and it will be tough to get out. But I also think there will be some opportunities for us to pull through if we run our hardest.”

Wurtzel said he wasn’t sure how to prepare his team for the toughest challenge of the season to date.

“It’s a conversation I have to have, but I haven’t figured out how and when I want to have that conversation,” he said. “I’ll get some suggestions from some mentors I have so we can set up our athletes right. But this group that’s going to sectionals is the group I want to take to state. That may not happen this year, but that’s what I want to look forward to.”