Elk Mound seniors complete high school track and field careers

ELK MOUND — Four girls and nine boys competed for the final time on a high school track for the Elk Mound team a few weeks ago. Several were four year competitors while some were late comers to the team.

For the girls, Alyssa Buros threw the discus and shot put for four seasons, placing fourth in the conference meet in the shot put and fifth in the discus as a freshman. After finishing her sophomore year third at the conference meet in the shot put and fifth in the discus, Buros surprised a lot of people when she took third at the regional meet in the shot put and qualified for state after throwing a personal best 36-08 for second place in the sectional. She finished 15th at state with a throw of 32 feet. She won the conference as a junior and was third in the discus, then won the regional in the shot put with a pb throw of 36-09.25 but was 15th in the sectional meet. During her senior year, she was the runner up at the conference meet in the shot put and third in the discus, then won the shot put title in the regional meet and placed second in the discus with a personal best throw of 105-11. She ended her career with a pair of 11th places at the sectional meet in both throwing events.

Jamie Solem competed four years and ran the 800, 1600 and 4 X 800 relay in her freshman and sophomore years. She was 12th in the conference meet in the 800m run as a freshman and ran a leg of the relay for a seventh place finish and was 17th in the 1600m run as a sophomore. She began competing in the two hurdle events and the triple jump her junior year and finished 13th at the conference meet that year in the 300m hurdles. In the regional meet her senior year, Solem finished sixth in the 100m hurdles at 19.66, was tenth in the triple jump at 25-03 (her pb in the event was 28-00) and was 13th in the long jump at 12-11 and the 300 hurdles at 19.66.

Samantha Jain competed four years in the long distance races, finishing fifth in the 4 X 800 relay as a freshman and 10th in the 3200m run at conference. She was eighth in the 3200m run and 13th in the 1600 run at conference her sophomore year and was 12th at the regional in the 1600 and 14th in the 3200. She ran a leg of the sixth place 4 X 800 at the conference meet her junior year and was tenth in the 3200, and was a part of the 4 X 800 relay as a senior with her team placing fifth in the conference meet at 11:39.

Kathleen Simmons spent her time with Buros around the throwing pits and was 13th at the conference meet her sophomore year, finished 12th at the regional meet her junior year in the shot put and was sixth in the discus throw her senior year at regionals with a toss of 86-01.

The boys’ teams won the conference championship in 2013 and regional championships in 2012 and 2013. Speedster Tyler Deutschlander was a part of those championships and competed in the 100 and 200 m dashes and the two sprint relays for four seasons, placing seventh at the conference meet as a freshman, fifth with the 4 X 200 relay and sixth with the 4 X 100. His 4 X 100 team was fourth at regionals and after running a personal best time of 47.34, the team was 16th in the tough D2 sectional meet. As a sophomore, he earned All Conference recognition running a leg of both the second place 4 X 100 and 4 X 200 relays and the 4 X 100 took second in the regional meet at 45.89 but did not get through the sectional. He helped both relay teams win conference championships his junior year and placed eighth in the 100m dash, and the 4 X 100 relay placed seventh at the sectional meet. As a senior, his 4 X 100 relay team was fifth at conference.

Ben Holzwarth was at the opposite end of the running events as he was a long distance specialist for four years. He placed eighth in the conference meet in the 3200 and ninth in the 1600 his freshman year, then claimed a pair of thirds in those events as a sophomore and was also third in the 3200 and sixth in the 1600 at the regional meet. He was certainly consistent as he placed third again in both events at the conference meet his junior season then ran a time of 10:27 in the regional meet for second place in the 3200 and finished 11th at the sectional. Holzwarth was the runner up in the conference meet in the 3200 as a senior and was fourth in the 1600 with a time of 4:46 and tacked on a fifth place in the 800m run in 2:13. After placing third at the regional in the 1600 and 3200, he concluded a stellar career by placing 11th in both races at the sectional meet.

Adam Gottschalk was another speedster, competing in the sprints as well as the long jump. As a junior, he was part of the conference winning 4 X 200 relay and was fifth in the regional meet in the 200m dash at 25.11. He came into his own as a senior, again running a leg of the conference winning 4 X 200, then placed second in the regional in that event, and was also fourth in the 100m dash in 11.90, fifth in the 4 X 100 relay in 47.86 and eighth in the long jump at 18-01. The 4 X 200 finished seventh at the sectional meet with a time of 1:34.79 and he did not make the finals in the 100 race. He leaped 19-04.50 in the long jump in an earlier meet at Mondovi.

Travis Nelson took his jumping ability from the basketball court to the jumping pits, placing tenth in the conference meet his junior year in the triple jump. As a senior, he ran a leg of the fifth place 4 X 100 relay and was eighth in the triple jump at conference, then finished fifth in the jump during regional competition with a leap of 38-05 which was an inch short of his personal best.

Gabe Anderson made his living in the throws, starting as a sophomore with a 13th place in the conference meet and 17th at the regional. He claimed a third at the conference meet his junior year in the discus and an eighth in the shot put and finished just short of moving on to sectionals by placing fifth in the discus with a throw of 129-04 in the regional meet and was also 12th in the shot put. As a senior, Anderson was seventh in the conference meet and eighth in the regional meet in the discus throw.

Hunter Alexander was a member of the winning 4 X 400 relay at the conference meet his junior year and also placed ninth at the regional meet in the 400m run with a time of 58.15. After starting his senior year he was injured and didn’t make it back to the team.

Zac Doll made his move from the basketball court to the jumping pits a little too late, joining the team as a senior. He placed third in the conference meet in the high jump with a height of 6-00 and was seventh in the long jump at 19-01. In regional action, he was third in the high jump and was seventh again in the long jump. He tied for ninth in the high jump at the sectional meet.

Josh Hall was a distance runner and was seventh in the Landgraf Invite in Bloomer earlier in the season as a member of the 4 X 800 relay and the foursome was sixth in the regional with a time of 9:43.

Sam Hastreiter also ran long distance for the team and saw action in a few meets this year, finishing 18th in the 800m run at the Landgraf Invite.

A photo of the seniors was unavailable.