Marshall’s boys and girls each logged 13 points in the meet, good for 24th place for the girls and 29th for the boys.

“We were hoping to come out with some medals, so that was a big deal. We have a solid section, so the kids competed really well at sections and we were hoping that they would taper and run their best races today, and the kids really went for it,” Marshall head coach Marie Sample said. “They went, they laid it on the line, some fell a little short and some got a little closer to where they wanted to be. But at the end of the day, the effort was good and solid performances.”

Bigler tied as the Tigers’ top individual performer on the day, placing fourth in the girls 800 meters with a time of 2:14.50. She concludes her track and field career with 10 total medals, including a pair of first-place finishes in the 4×800-meter relay as a junior and a freshman. Across sports, she now has 14 total state medals with three in basketball and a team cross country title.

The meet marked Bigler’s final competitive track and field meet as she pivots to focus on her basketball career, competing as a member of Southwest Minnesota State University’s womens team next season.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall senior Sam Deutz leads the pack during the second lap of the boys 1600 meter final at the Class AA state track and field championships, Saturday in St. Michael.

Schuerman earned a pair of hurdling medals for the Marshall boys, placing fourth in the 110-meter hurdles at 14.74 and ninth in the 300 hurdles at 41.54.

“It feels pretty good. I’m a little disappointed with how the 300 turned out, but I think my last few weeks here have been pretty good,” Schuerman said. “For prelims, I was pretty focused. I put a lot of pressure on myself, wanting to get to finals, and then today, I just wanted to go out there and have some fun. Mission accomplished.”

The performance puts him over the hump after finishing just shy of hardware in the events last year, placing 15th in the 110 and 10th in the 300. He also medaled in the 4×400-meter relay in his junior season with a sixth-place finish. He will be competing on the Southwest Minnesota State University track and field team next year.

Deutz is also slated to continue her track and field career at the next level, competing in the pole vault for St. Thomas. Before turning the page to the collegiate level, however, she closed out her prep career on Saturday with a state pole vault medal for the third consecutive season with a fifth-place medal at 11-06.

“I think just having six years of experience helps a lot, I’ve been pretty consistent this year,” Deutz said. “I feel good, a little disappointed that I didn’t place higher, but I’m happy with fifth place, glad I got to 11-6.”

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall senior Autumn Deutz clears the 11-00 bar in the girls pole vault at the Class AA track and field championships, Saturday in St. Michael.

Deutz placed sixth in the pole vault each of the last two seasons leading into Saturday’s meet. The performance was just one inch shy of her personal record of 11-07, and was tied for the second-highest jump of the day behind only North Branch Area’s Ella Dick at 12-06. Still, tiebreaking procedures had Deutz in fifth place.

“I had a really close jump at 12, so I’m a little disappointed in that, but I feel good, 11-6 is good,” Deutz said.

The Tigers were loaded with athletes who peaked at the right time. Deutz and Schuerman each closed their prep career with their best individual finishes at the state meet, after Colton Lindquist did the same on Friday in the boys triple jump with a fourth-place finish.

“It’s great to see their progress, people that come and stick with it,” Sample said. “They start early, they set goals and then they put things in place to work toward the goals, and that’s what really makes it fun. All of the seniors that were here have done that, and they finished well. They should be proud of themselves.”

Autumn’s brother Sam Deutz also competed as an individual on the day, placing 13th in the boys 1600 meters at 4:29.75. The event marked his second individual entry of the state tournament after also competing in the 3200 meters on Friday, placing 15th in the event.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall senior Taleigha Bigler (5) competes in the girls 800 meter final at the Class AA state track and field championships, Saturday in St. Michael.

Marshall’s girls 4×800-meter relay team of Katelyn Leibfried, Kaitlyn Soupir, Jasmine Murphy and Landry Graven placed 12th with 9:51.48. The result breaks up Marshall’s streak of three consecutive top-2 finishes in the event, including state titles in 2023 and 2025.

Colton Lindquist placed 25th in the boys long jump at 20-3.75.

Sample described the Tigers’ graduating seniors as a group that really made sure to put in the work needed to get to the level they wanted to be.

“They’ve had big goals and lofty dreams, and they weren’t afraid to go for them,” Sample said.

RESULTS

Girls 4x800m: 12-Katelyn Leibfried, Kaitlyn Soupir, Jasmine Murphy, Landry Graven, 9:51.48. Boys 110m hurdles: 4-Aidan Schuerman, 14.74. Boys 1600m: 13-Sam Deutz, 4:29.75. Boys 300m hurdles: 9-Aidan Schuerman, 41.54. Girls 800m: 4-Taleigha Bigler, 2:14.50. Girls pole vault: 5-Autumn Deutz, 11-06. Boys long jump: 25-Colton Lindquist, 20-3.75.