Elk Mound tracksters sprint into outdoor season with strong finishes at St. Croix Central
By Cara L. Dempski
HAMMOND — If Mounder track coach Jeremiah Fredrickson was curious about what his team could do outdoors, he got his answer last Thursday.
Elk Mound traveled to Hammond April 6 for the St. Croix Central Invitational to cut its teeth on the outdoor season. The Mounders headed back home later that evening after the boys’ team earned first place with 129 points, and the girls took fifth with 60.5.
“It was good to see how our younger kids were able to step up and compete against some very good competition,” Fredrickson said. “Some of our freshman and newcomers came out and did well; our upperclassmen performed beyond our expectations.”
Junior Jake Johnson opened the meet for the boys’ team by taking first in 110m hurdles with a time of 15.80.
A few events later, senior Noah Zurbuchen raced to a second-place finish, and eight points, in the 100m dash with a time of 11.48. Sophomore Brady Redwine finished in seventh after his 11.94 race. Baldwin-Woodville sprinter Jaden Northrup took the win with a time of 11.14.
The Mounder boys’ 800m relay blew away the competition, taking first with a time of 1:36.89, nearly four seconds faster than second-place finisher Baldwin-Woodville. Hunter Johnson then dashed to a 55.15 finish in the 400m race for third place behind winner Jordan Thompson of Prairie Farm.
Elk Mound’s 400m relay team edged out Glenwood City to take first place with a time of 46.63, before Jake Johnson took the track for the 300m low hurdles. The junior earned his second top finish of the day with a time of 42.87.
Freshman distance runner Cade Hanson continued to impress Fredrickson, who also coached the newcomer to a state cross country berth last fall, with his skills. He took second place in the 3200m run behind Prescott senior Phillip Pena. Hanson finished the two-mile race in 11:02.59.
Elk Mound then fielded another top relay, with the 1600m relay team winning the race in 3:46.32.
Junior Tyler Brantner earned wins in both high jump (6-00) and long jump (18-11), while senior Chandler Schreiber took second in pole vault with a 12-00 finish. St. Croix Central’s Nathan Strader recorded the event win.
Conner Mavis nabbed one more win for the Elk Mound boys. The junior fired the discus 135-09 for first place in the event.
The girls’ team saw some strong performances as well.
Hurdler Hannah Cedarblade picked up eight points for finishing second in the 100m hurdles, right behind St. Croix Central’s Katie Koerper. Cedarblade completed her race in 18.32. The junior, and classmate Emily Winchester, also competed in the 300m hurdle race. Winchester took five points for her fourth-place, 55.66 race, while Cedarblade picked up six when she finished in 54.43 to take third.
Colfax freshman Morgan Schleusner stunned the field with a winning time of 54.10 in her first outing as a hurdler.
Kaitlyn Baier continued her indoor success at pole vault in an outdoor venue by taking fourth in the event with a height of 7-06. St. Croix Falls vaulter Bille Webb earned first place, and her Saints’ teammate Anja Erickson took second.
Sophomore Brynn McVey took second in triple jump with a distance of 31-00.75, while Prescott’s Alysse Lewis earned first for her 32-04 effort.
St. Croix Central took top team honors on the girls’ side after earning 125 points. The Mounder ladies were in the middle of the pack, taking fifth out of 12 teams.
Elk Mound took a few days off after the meet, but can be seen again at Mondovi April 13 and Eleva-Strum on April 18.
BOYS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 110m hurdles: 1. Jake Johnson 15.80, 13. William Muzynski 20.09; 100m dash: 2. Noah Zurbuchen 11.48, 7. Brady Redwine 11.94; 1600m: 8. Seth Hazen 5:30.62, 22. Dylan Hanson 6:15.68; 800m relay: 1. Elk Mound 1:36.89, 9. Elk Mound “B” 1:47.87, 15. Elk Mound “C” 2:00.45; 400m dash: 3. Hunter Johnson 55.15, 13. Marquis Kasakaitas 1:03.74; 400m relay: 1. Elk Mound 46.63, 10. Elk Mound “B” 52.10, 17. Elk Mound “C” 1:03.41; 300m hurdles: 1. Jake Johnson 42.87, 13. Jaylen Emberson 55.06; 800m: 18. Seth Hazen 2:32.13; 200m dash: 8. Rian Flynn 24.98; 3200m: 2. Cade Hanson 11:02.59, 7. Andrew Pathos 11:38.99; 1600m relay: 1. Elk Mound 3:46.32; 3200m relay: 7. Elk Mound 9:43.10; High jump: 1. Tyler Brantner 6-00, 6. Rian Flynn 5-06; Pole vault: 2. Chandler Schreiber 12-00, 10. Gaelen Young 8-00; Long jump: 1. Tyler Brantner 18-11.00, 17. Jaylen Emberson 16-03.00; Triple jump: 4. Tyler Brantner 37-11.50, 12. Jack Emberson 31-08.00; Discus: 1. Conner Mavis 135-09, 12. Marquis Kasakaitas 84-04; Shot put: 6. Bryce Kasper 39-02, 13. Conner Mavis 36-02.
BOYS’ TEAM RESULTS: 1. Elk Mound 129, 2. St. Croix Central 103, 3. Prescott 90, 4. Ellsworth 74, 5. St. Croix Falls 62.5, 6. Baldwin-Woodville 56, 7. Prairie Farm 41, 8. Elmwood/Plum City 33.5, 9. Colfax 28, 9. Somerset 28, 11. Spring Valle 23, 12. Glenwood City 22, 13. Boyceville 10.
GIRLS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 100m hurdles: 2. Hannah Cedarblade 18.32, 10. Anna Wolgemuth 22.27; 100m dash: 11. Maddie Jenson 14.25, 13. Sydney Simpson 14.26; 1600m: 6. Kirstin Martinson 6:26.63, 9. Victoria Fasbender 6:38.11; 800m relay: 5. Elk Mound 2:00.10; 400m dash: 14. Kourtnee Halgren 1:16.93, 17. Amanda Sahm 1:19.76; 400m relay: 4. Elk Mound 56.35, 18. Elk Mound “C” 1:05.84, 20. Elk Mound “B” 1:08.07; 300m hurdles: 3. Hannah Cedarblade 54.43, 4. Emily Winchester 55.66; 800m: 12. Kirstin Martinson 2:58.04, 16. Victoria Fasbender 3:04.88; 200m dash: 17. Paige Van Schoonhoven 32.66, 23. Brynn McVey 38.14; 3200m: 5. Claudia Paul 15:36.64, 6. Mattea Linberg 17:07.36; 1600m relay: 5. Elk Mound 4:43.42; 3200m relay: 9. Elk Mound 12:50.98; High jump: 7. Maddie Jenson 4-06, 17. Lexi Nechanicky 4-00; Pole vault: 4. Kaitlyn Baier 7-06; Long jump: 14. Sarah Sweeney 13-06; Triple jump: 2. Brynn McVey 31-00.75, 7. Sarah Sweeney 29-09.50; Discus: 6. Kassie Jain 92-10; Shot put: 13. Abby Kasper 25-11.50, 14. Kyla Egan 25-04.00.
GIRLS’ TEAM RESULTS: 1. St. Croix Central 125, 2. St. Croix Falls 104, 3. Baldwin-Woodville 83, 4. Ellsworth 67.5, 5. Elk Mound 60.5, 6. Somerset 58, 7. Prescott 51, 8. Boyceville 46, 9. Colfax 40, 10. Elmwood/Plum City 36, 11. Glenwood City 18, 12. Spring Valley 10.