Colfax seniors left mark in track and field

Keeping seniors out for a spring sport has always been a challenge in any high school, but Colfax had quite a few athletes finish off their high school careers on the track and in the field this year. Several of them competed for four years and culminated their hard work with a trip or multiple trips to the state meet and were a big part of both teams placing second in the regional meet this year.  Although there were many highlights for them, here are just a few of them from those years.

Garrett Miller competed four years and was a state competitor for three of them, including his sophomore year in the 4 X 100 and 4 X 200 relays, his junior year in three relays ( 4 X 100, 4 X 200, 4 X 400) and as a senior in the 400 m dash and the 4 X 800 relay. He was a member of the school record setting team in the 4 X 100 his junior year and the team won a fourth place medal in the 4 X 400 and fifth place medal in the 4 X 200 at state. He finished seventh in the 400 m dash this season and his relay team with three other seniors placed 12th at the big show. Although running was his main focus, he also high jumped, placing third in the conference as a freshman and fifth in the regional as a sophomore. Miller was also a conference, regional and sectional champion in several events over his four years. He plans on attending UW-Eau Claire next year and hopefully competing in indoor and outdoor track.

Distance runner Lachlan Hinwood also competed for four seasons, running the 1600 and 3200 m events along with the 4 X 800 relay. He competed at the state level as a junior and senior in the relay with the team’s best finish a 12th place this year. He was second team All Conference as a junior in the 3200 m and the 4 X 800 and second team this year in the 3200.  Hinwood will run cross country and track for Macalester College in Minnesota next fall.

Matthew Almquist was a four year competitor for the Vikings and like Hinwood spent most of his running hours in the distance events. He was a member of the state qualifying 4 X 800 relay team in his junior and senior year and earned second team All Conference in the event as a junior. As a sophomore, Almquist placed fifth in the regional meet in the 1600 m run, just one spot short of advancing to sectionals.

Trevor Secraw tried his hand (and feet) in several events over four years of competition. As a pole vaulter in three of those years  he placed as high as sixth in the regional meet his sophomore year and was seventh in the 110 hurdles and the triple jump. He gave up the pole vaulting his senior year and was seventh again in the triple jump and the 110 hurdles in the regional meet. He ran a leg of the third place 4 X 200 relay which finished 10th in the sectional meet.

Michael Larson competed at the state level two straight years, on the 4 X 800 relay as a junior and senior, and after just picking up the high jump this year, came home with a fifth place medal with a leap of 6-00 which tied his personal best jump. He was first team All Conference this year and second team as a junior, both times in the 4 X 800 relay.

Michael Hover competed this year when he wasn’t playing baseball and scored some valuable points in the conference meet, including sixth place in the 100 and 200 m dashes and eighth in the long jump.

“These boys put in a lot of hard work over the years and were great leaders by example for the younger kids,” coach Jamie Buchholz said.”It will be a hard group to say good bye to but they will be remembered for their strong work ethic and determination over the years.”

Several girls finished off their high school days including four year letter winners Brittany Rothbauer and Ryleigh Prochnow who were a part of the conference, regional and sectional winning team as freshmen. Rothbauer competed at the state meet three times, starting as a freshman in the 4 X 800 relay, then as a junior in the same race, and taking home a fifth place medal this year in the 4 X 400. She was second team All Conference her junior year in the 4 X 400 and 4 X 800 relay and placed fourth three times at conference in the 1600 m run. She also filled in for the 3200 m run many times when needed.

Prochnow was a member of the medal winning fifth place team in the 4 X 400 at the state meet and also ran a leg of the 4 X 200 this year. During her junior year she competed at the highest level in the 4 X 200 and 4 X 800 relays and also ran a leg of the 4 X400 at state as a freshman. She was a three time All Conference performer in relay events and also did some high jumping, placing fifth at conference as a freshman.

Sprinter Hannah Hover came out for track her junior year and made quite an impact from the start. She won the conference meet both years in the 200 m dash and anchored the winning 4 X 200 relay both years. She also qualified for state in these two events both years, but dealing with back problems, did not bring home any medals.

Heather Tweed came out for the team this year and helped the 4 X 100 relay team place third at conference and fourth in the regional meet. Tweed also competed in the hurdle events and took 15th at the conference meet in the 300 m hurdle event.

Kenna Breckner was not able to compete this year due to a second knee injury but as a junior was second team All Conference in the 4 X 800 and also ran with that team in the state meet in that event.

“We had girls fighting nagging injuries all year and they started catching up with us at the end of the season,” coach Ryan Krall said. “We are sad to see the seniors go because they brought such a great dynamic to the team. We will not be able to replace them.”