Area tracksters compete at sectionals in Boyceville
BULLDOGS’ senior pole vaulter Brandon Kenefick clears the bar at 13′ during the WIAA Division 3 sectional track and field meet held in Boyceville last Thursday, May 24. Kenefick finished second to qualify for his second straight state meet which will be held this Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2 in LaCrosse. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
By Missy Klatt
BOYCEVILLE – The heat and humidity didn’t stop the Bulldog and Hilltopper track teams from competing in the sectional meet held on May 24th in Boyceville and qualifying some of their members for the state meet. The Bulldogs who participated in four events will see two of these go on to State competition on June 2nd in La Crosse.
For Bulldog senior, Brandon Kenefick, who took second in the pole vault, this will be his second trip to state. Kenefick jumped 13’ to tie his personal best record. Senior Paulina Wienke will also be making her second trip to state in discus. She threw the discus 115’ 3”, a personal best throw for her by five feet, to put her in second place, earning her a trip to La Crosse.
BOYCEVILLE boys’ 4×800 m relay team members and brothers Rian Corr (left) and Nathan Corr made the baton exchange during the sectional race on their home track last Thursday. The Boyceville boys finished tenth in the event with a time of 9:45.76. —photo by Missy Klatt
Bulldog coach, Corey Day thought that it was a very competitive sectional this year. He goes on to say; “It was a good day and it was good to have a tough way to get there. I feel that last year’s state experience will help these athletes deal with the pressure. No matter what the placing at state, our goal is to put our best marks on the board in La Crosse. If we do that the placing will be there. These two have worked very hard and it paid off. I had many other kids work very hard and it did not work out, so our athletes know they are blessed with an opportunity they have to take full advantage.”
DASH TO THE FINISH —Glenwood City senior Jacob Kopacz, shown fourth from the left, competed in a heat of the 100 meter dash at the Division 3 sectional meet last Thursday in Boyceville. Kopacz finished second in the race with a time of :11.53 to qualify for this weekend’ state championship. Kopacz also qualified as part of the boys’ 4×100 m and 4×200 m relay teams. The Toppers are the defending state champions in the 4×100 m relay. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Hilltoppers
The Toppers went into sectionals with 14 individual competitors and 5 different relay teams. All of their relay teams are moving on to the state meet plus four individuals. Those individuals are Liz Wink who returns for the second time to the state tournament in the 400m dash. She finished fourth at sectionals. Jake Kopacz who took second in the 100m dash; Peter Hill who tied his personal best jump in the high jump at 6’ and finished second and Ethan Kahler who qualified for state with a third place finish in the 300m hurdles.
The Hilltopper ladies will be sending three relay teams to La Crosse. The 4x100m team, consisting of Bella Rassbach, Kristin Dayton, Marie Garcia and Bethany Ullom. The girls finished in fourth place less than a second behind the first place team from Regis.
FLYING through the air on this long jump attempt is Glenwood City’s Bella Rassbach. The freshman finished sixth at the sectional meet in Boyceville last Thursday following a jump of 15′ 10″. —photo by Missy Klatt
With a second place finish the 4x400m relay team had the best results for the girls with a second place finish. This group is made up of Kinzie Strong, Liz Wink, Bella Rassbach and Megan Speiser.
The last relay team for the girls heading to La Crosse is the 4x800m with Liz Wink, Megan Speiser, Makayla O’Brien and Gabby Moede.
On the boys side the returning state champions in the 4x100m look to be on track for another possible title this year. Jake Kopacz, Carson Strong, Darian Multhauf and Jake Nelson put up a time of 44.33 to take first place at sectionals. Last year at state the boys ran a 44.32 in the preliminaries and won the race with a 44.46. This same group of boys won the 4x200m at sectionals with a 1:33.82. They are hoping to improve upon their ninth place finish at state last year in this event.
After the meet, Glenwood coach, Rick Tiberg was extremely happy stating “The performances were outstanding with all the relay’s making it to state.” He also complemented all the individuals going but did say that Liz made him nervous waiting right to the last second. He concludes by saying “this was one of the most exciting meets since I began doing this.”
RESULTS
GIRLS: 100m: 11. Rassbach 13.70 GC. 400m: 4. Wink 1:02.57 GC, 9. Speiser 1:07.71 GC. 800m: 12. O’Brien 2:48.47. 4x100m relay: 4. GC 52.91. 4x400m relay: 2. GC 4:17.69. 4x800m: 4. GC 10:46.69. 100m hurdles: 14. Strehlo 18.84 GC. Discus: 2. Wienke 115-03 Boyceville. Pole vault: 7. Hintzman 8-00 Boyceville. Long jump: 6. Rassbach 15-10 GC.
BOYS: 100m: 2. Kopacz 11.53 GC. 200m: 8. Nelson 23.95 GC. 800m: 6. Multhauf 2:09.58 GC. 110m hurdles: 6. Kahler 16.60 GC. 300m hurdles: 3. Kahler 42.04 GC. 4x100m relay: 1. GC 44.33. 4x200m relay: 1. GC 1:33.82. 4x800m relay: 10. Boyceville 9:45.76. High jump: 2. Hill 6-00 GC. Pole vault: 2. Kenefick 13-00 Boyceville. Triple jump: 5. Taylor 40-01.75 GC, 16. Bauman 35-04.75 GC.