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Jun. 2—STEPHEN, Minn. — Emily Marquis was touring Bemidji State's campus when Allison LaVine, a two-time Minnesota Class A champion in the discus, left class to chat with her.
"She ran out and said hi," Marquis said. "We were talking, holding up the tour."
Marquis, a senior thrower for West Marshall, has grown close with the former Clearbrook-Gonvick thrower. On paper, LaVine could very well have been considered one of Marquis' primary rivals over the past few years.
Marquis took first place in the discus at last year's Minnesota Section 8A championships, while LaVine finished second.
At the ensuing Class A state meet, however, LaVine won her second consecutive discus championship while Marquis finished third.
LaVine placed second at the 2024 Section 8A championships. Marquis wound up in third.
The two became friends despite their competition, getting to know each other at various meets.
"She's always super nice and pleasant to be around," Marquis said. "I love meeting other girls at meets, and it's super fun to connect with others that way as well."
Next year, they'll be teammates. Marquis will join the collegiate ranks as a thrower at Bemidji State, where LaVine just wrapped up her freshman season.
"After touring there, I could definitely picture myself having a lot of fun and doing well there," Marquis said. "(LaVine) is super fun to be around, and having that connection just makes it (nice)."
Before her prep career comes to an end, though, Marquis has lofty goals in mind. She'll enter the Class A state meet this week ranked first in the discus with a throw of 137-3, according to
athletic.net
.
"I have two goals to end on," Marquis said. "One is to get a throw of 140, finally hit that mark, and then to win first. I think I'm capable of doing that, so it's just getting out there and being able to perform."
Marquis' previous success, including last year's first-place finish at the section championship, has her confident heading into her third state meet.
"Getting to beat (LaVine) at sections was really cool for me," Marquis said. "Going into this season, knowing what happened last year and being so close, then just practicing super hard and knowing that I'm capable of doing it has been a motivating factor for me."
Marquis has been just as strong this season. She placed first at the Section 8A meet with a throw of 135-8.
"This year we tried to do a lot more and take advantage of the long indoor season, get all the practices in," Marquis said. "I think that really helped out compared to other years, and probably among the other athletes, too."
The West Marshall girls placed first at the section championships with a team score of 91.
Markelle Pederson is one of the team's standouts, ranking second in the pole vault in Class A ahead of the state meet with a vault of 11-0.
The Fusion's 800-meter relay team of Kenley Marquis, Naomi Davey, Annika Adolphson and Pederson is ranked third with a time of 1:44.88.
"We have a really good program," Marquis said. "A lot of our girls are young, so it's awesome for them to get to come as underclassmen. It's a really huge accomplishment for them. We have a lot of talent between our schools."
The state meet will begin Thursday at Saint Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael, Minn.
The Class A finals are scheduled to begin Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Continue reading...
"She ran out and said hi," Marquis said. "We were talking, holding up the tour."
Marquis, a senior thrower for West Marshall, has grown close with the former Clearbrook-Gonvick thrower. On paper, LaVine could very well have been considered one of Marquis' primary rivals over the past few years.
Marquis took first place in the discus at last year's Minnesota Section 8A championships, while LaVine finished second.
At the ensuing Class A state meet, however, LaVine won her second consecutive discus championship while Marquis finished third.
LaVine placed second at the 2024 Section 8A championships. Marquis wound up in third.
The two became friends despite their competition, getting to know each other at various meets.
"She's always super nice and pleasant to be around," Marquis said. "I love meeting other girls at meets, and it's super fun to connect with others that way as well."
Next year, they'll be teammates. Marquis will join the collegiate ranks as a thrower at Bemidji State, where LaVine just wrapped up her freshman season.
"After touring there, I could definitely picture myself having a lot of fun and doing well there," Marquis said. "(LaVine) is super fun to be around, and having that connection just makes it (nice)."
Before her prep career comes to an end, though, Marquis has lofty goals in mind. She'll enter the Class A state meet this week ranked first in the discus with a throw of 137-3, according to
athletic.net
.
"I have two goals to end on," Marquis said. "One is to get a throw of 140, finally hit that mark, and then to win first. I think I'm capable of doing that, so it's just getting out there and being able to perform."
Marquis' previous success, including last year's first-place finish at the section championship, has her confident heading into her third state meet.
"Getting to beat (LaVine) at sections was really cool for me," Marquis said. "Going into this season, knowing what happened last year and being so close, then just practicing super hard and knowing that I'm capable of doing it has been a motivating factor for me."
Marquis has been just as strong this season. She placed first at the Section 8A meet with a throw of 135-8.
"This year we tried to do a lot more and take advantage of the long indoor season, get all the practices in," Marquis said. "I think that really helped out compared to other years, and probably among the other athletes, too."
The West Marshall girls placed first at the section championships with a team score of 91.
Markelle Pederson is one of the team's standouts, ranking second in the pole vault in Class A ahead of the state meet with a vault of 11-0.
The Fusion's 800-meter relay team of Kenley Marquis, Naomi Davey, Annika Adolphson and Pederson is ranked third with a time of 1:44.88.
"We have a really good program," Marquis said. "A lot of our girls are young, so it's awesome for them to get to come as underclassmen. It's a really huge accomplishment for them. We have a lot of talent between our schools."
The state meet will begin Thursday at Saint Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael, Minn.
The Class A finals are scheduled to begin Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Continue reading...
