SEDALIA — Eight area youngsters will have over a month to fine tune their pedal-tractor pulling skills before their next competition.

Sunday during the final day of the 2024 Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, a total of 12 area children ages five through 11 competed at the Missouri State Pedal Tractor Pull looking for a top-four finish in their respective age division to advance to the National Pedal Pull Championships scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D.

Of those 12, eight placed third or better in their respective age divisions to earn another month of building up strength in their legs.

Two pullers topped their respective fields to capture state titles.

Now a four-time state champion, Eli Wax registered a pull of 40.25 feet to top a field consisting of four 11-year-old boys.

Fellow Owensville resident Jase Greunke placed second behind Wax with a distance of 31.25 feet to also punch his ticket to South Dakota.

Also a defending state champion from a year ago, Drake Schlottach was the lone seven-year-old boy out of 14 pullers to register a full pull and give him another first-place trophy.

Cash Reprogle made it another sweep of the top two spots for area pullers with a second-place distance of 32.5 feet.

Berger’s Benton Panhorst also placed 14th among seven-year-old boys with a pull of 22.5 feet.

Cuba’s Jacob Licklider clinched his spot at the Corn Palace with a second-place pull of 34.25 feet among nine-year-old boys.

Securing a spot in South Dakota as one of four six-year-old boys to record a full pull during the first round of pulling, Brayden Blaue had to execute two more pull before it was determined where in the top four he finished.

Posting a distance of 36 feet after two full pulls, Blaue placed second earning himself a trophy and a big red ribbon.

Brayden’s older sister Bryli Blaue also punched her ticket to the national championships with a second-place pull of 41.5 feet among 10-year-old girls.

She was not the only Gerald girl to compete.

Alexandra Leach just missed joining Blaue in South Dakota with a fifth-place pull of 33 feet. Adreahna Leach also placed seventh among 10-year-old girls with a distance of 27.5 feet.

Looking to make it three Blaue kids heading to the Corn Palace, Brooklyn Blaue competed against seven other pullers in the nine-year-old girls division.

One of two pullers to post a distance of 36.5 feet, Brooklyn’s second pull of 38 feet put her in third place among the top-four qualifiers for the national pull.

Beaufort four-year-old Brett Diez missed the top four by almost two feet placing fifth with a distance of 21.25 feet.

Missing the top four and a trip to South Dakota by three feet, Lane Johnson secured a sixth-place ribbon with a pull of 17.5 feet in the eight-year-old boys division.