Vikings brave cold to compete at West-Salem

WINONA, MN — Temperatures hovering around 33 degrees didn’t seem to bother members of the Colfax track and field teams as the girls placed fourth and the boys were fifth in the 11 team West-Salem Invite held at St. Mary’s University in Winona, MN April 13.

Leading the boys, Garrett Miller was a three time champion, winning the 200 m dash (22.00), the 400 m dash (52.20) and was a member of the winning 4 X 800 relay along with Matthew Almquist, Tucker Hovde and Lachlan Hinwood (8:52.80). Michael Hover continues to keep busy while waiting for baseball games to start, taking second in the 200 m dash (22.40), fourth in the 100 m dash (11.30) and ninth in the long jump (17-00). Noah Pretasky made it a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 m dash for Colfax with a third (22.80) and added a fifth place in the 100 m dash (11.40).

Almquist added a third place in the 1600 m run (5:03.40), and Sawyer DeMoe, another member of the baseball team, picked up a fourth in the shot put (40-10.50) and was a member of the eighth place 4 X 400 relay team with Isaac Lee, Hunter Lieffort and Brad Foyt (4:18.10). DeMoe was also 26th in the discus (72-06.50). Ben Kragness added a fifth in the shot put (39-07.50) and was 10th in the discus (102-08.50). The top eight places earned team points.

Other competitors for the Vikings were Rhett Kragness, ninth in the shot put (37-03) and 28th in the discus (68-02), Lieffort, ninth in the pole vault (8-00) and 17th in the 300 m hurdles (56.00) and Hovde was ninth in the 800 m run (2:24.10) and 15th in the 400 m run (1:00 flat). Jeremiah Wait, an infielder on the baseball team, placed 10th in the 200 m dash (24.80) and 12th in the 100 m dash (12.10), Trevor Secraw added a pair of 10th place finishes in the 110 m hurdles (19.30) and the triple jump (35-05.50), Foyt was 16th in the 300 m hurdles (54.60) and was 27th in the long jump (12-10), Daniel Schneider finished 18th in the 1600 m run (5:58.90) and Devon Utpadel placed 28th in the 100 m dash (13.30) and Scot Schmoch was also 28th in the long jump (10-03).

“We did a lot of stretching and warm ups with the cool temperatures, but the weather was more of a mental factor for the kids than anything else,” coach Jamie Buchholz said.

After leading the girl’s cross country team last fall, Dempsey Fogarty showed off her versatility by winning the 400 m dash (1:02.40) and was a member of the first place 4 X 800 relay team with Brittany Rothbauer, Dannielle Dachel and Ryleigh Prochnow (10:29.40). The same group took second in the 4 X 400 relay (4:29. 60) and Fogarty also earned a team point with an eighth place in the long jump (13-06). Courtney Dressel cruised to a win in the 3200 m run (13:20.50) and placed third in the 1600 m run (5:59.10) and Dachel added a second in the 800 m run (2:37.40) and a seventh in the triple jump (29-01). The 4 X 200 relay team with Prochnow, Katie Christoffel, Katy Toycen and Hannah Hover took second (1:56.30) and Hover tied for third in the 100 m dash (14.00) and also placed 10th in the long jump (13-03).

Rothbauer claimed a fourth in the 1600 m run (6:15.00) and Heidi Lieffort added a pair of fourths herself in the 300 m hurdles (54.10) and the pole vault (7-06). The 4 X 100 relay team tied for sixth (58.90) with Alyssa Miller, Heather Tweed, Toycen and Christoffel and Emily Halpin claimed a sixth in the discus (73-09.50) and added a 16th in the shot put (22-11.50). Toycen added a ninth in the 200 m dash (30.20), Christoffel was 21st in the long jump (11-00), Tweed placed 24th in the 200 m dash (33.30) and Miller was 19th in the 200 m dash (32.30) and 21st in the 100 m dash (15.60).

Natalie Dworak placed 11th in the 800 m run (3:08.20), Lynsey Lloyd finished 17th in the discus (52-02.50) and was 20th in the shot put (21-04.50), while Marianne Scharlau competed in three field events, placing 11th in the shot put (25-00.50), 15th in the high jump (4-00) and 21st in the discus ( 39-06). Taylor Shipman finished 11th in the long jump (13-02) and 21st in the high jump (3-09) and Hannah Mikesell claimed the 19th spot in the shot put (21-11).

Back on his old stomping grounds, coach Ryan Krall thought the girls did pretty well despite the cold conditions.

“The weather was a definite factor,” Krall said. “Not so much for the actual running in the races but in the preparation to run. But in general, there is no way I could be disappointed in anything our kids did. We performed excellently in a meet that we built up as one of our biggest of the year,” he added.

A meet at Eleva-Strum April 16 was cancelled and a home meet April 18 is most likely also cancelled due to poor weather conditions. You may call the school or check the school website to be sure.