BEEKMANTOWN -- Section VII will have a lot of new faces in its lineup for the state championships in track & field, plus a few holdovers looking to add to their medal collection from previous years.

Eight boys and nine girls punched return tickets to next weekend's New York State Public High School Athletic Association and Federation meets in Buffalo with solid performances in Friday's Section VII qualifier at Beekmantown.

Distance aces Mary Kate Champagne of Seton Catholic and Lee Berube of Ticonderoga, who both medaled in the last two state meets, will lead the Champlain Valley delegation. Saranac's Kristie Pageau, Peru's Micayla McGinn and Seton Catholic's Genna Hartung also will return as past medal-winners.

Seton Catholic's Alexa Cosgro, Ticonderoga's Emily Palmer, Ainsley MacAlpine, Elsie Phillips, Lexi Reale and Beekmantown's Brian Drollette, Jeff Stitt, Braxton Raymond, Eric LaValley, Brendan Courneene, Nick Trombley and Ikeyanna Hamlin all will be making another trip to the state championships.

The Beekmantown athletes, enjoying the school's best season in quite some time, used Friday's finale to produce a few school records and qualify 17 for the state championships.

LaValley broke the school record for the 800 meters for the third time this season and also broke two minutes for the first time with a 1:58.8. He also teamed with Josh Garren, Trombley and Raymond to eclipse the Eagles' standard for the 1,600-meter relay with a winning time of 3:31.0. The old mark of 3:32 had stood since 1999.

Garren took care of another 9-year-old record in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 6 1/2 inches, which bested Kevin LaForest's old mark of 20-6.

Not to be outdone, the Beekmantown girls turned in three record-shattering performances. Kathryn McDuffie won the shot put with a throw of 35 feet, 9 inches, which topped teammate Ikeyanna Hamlin's mark of 35-6 set earlier this season.

Korrine Stay, runner-up in the triple jump, bettered Rosi Cummings' record with a leap of 32 feet, 11 1/4 inches while the Beekmantown 4 x 400-meter relay team lowered the school standard set last year by almost six seconds with a time of 4:09.8.

Several other athletes also turned in sterling performances Friday.

Saranac speedster Nate Williams won the right to represent Section VII in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes while Ticonderoga high jumper Dustin Scott and Northeastern Clinton discus thrower Cody Hampton secured berths with strong showings. AuSable Valley sophomore Austin Davis made it in the 400-meter dash while Saranac's Ben Depo qualified in the pentathlon and Beekmantown's Mike Moran in the shot put.

Northeastern Clinton's Molly Roush, coming off a near-record victory in the sectional championships, once again turned back the challenge of Peru's Micayla McGinn in the 800 to make the first of what could be many trips to the state meet for the promising seventh-grader.

Plattsburgh High also has a youthful 3,200-meter relay team heading west. Eighth-grade twins Emma and Sophie Deshaies will be joining the Arvisais-Anhalt sisters -- Monique and Simone -- to make for an interesting quartet.

McGinn did make it back as the winner of the high jump while runner-up Amanda Maynard of PHS also qualified on the strength of her effort in the sectionals. Maynard also earned a state spot by winning the long jump.

Lake Placid's Heidi Baumbach, running in the shadows of Champagne in the 1,500 meters; nevertheless, continued her brilliant season by meeting the state standard Friday in that event.