Elk Mound, Colfax tracksters compete in state meet; Mounder boys’ 400 m relay finishes 7th

By Cara L. Dempski

LA CROSSE — Each of the Elk Mound and Colfax track and field athletes who attended last weekend’s WIAA State Championships at UW-LaCrosse knew what it took to get there.

The competitors’ hard work to get through conference, regional and sectional meets can have a pretty big payoff for students hoping for a chance to shine on the biggest stage in Wisconsin at season’s end.

For a handful of Viking and Mounder runners and throwers, the state meet was a chance to test themselves against the best in the state. While it was a rough go round for some of the area’s state-meet athletes, there were some stronger finishes as well.

Elk Mound’s boys’ 400m and 800m relay teams fared the best of the state group, with the 400m team finishing just off the Division 2 podium in seventh place. The quartet of  seniors George Friberg, Tyler Sahm and Noah Zurbuchen and sophomore Brady Redwine earned a pair of team points as the Mounder boys finished 52nd overall.

Senior thrower Mikayla Solberg was just out of the group of finalists for discus.

Colfax sophomore Jeremy Artist competed in the Division 3 boys 100m dash, but appeared to struggle with some of the upperclassmen he raced against and wound up at the bottom of the pack.

The Colfax girls’ 400m and 800m relay teams found their competition stiff, and were not able to make it into the point placings. The 1,600m relay team likewise had a hard time in their race, finishing last.

The two teams will say goodbye to handful of seniors now that the season is complete, and will look forward to what next season’s young talent will bring to the table.

The Xavier boys and Wittenberg-Birnamwood girls took top team honors in Division 2, while the Coleman boys and Algoma girls earned the team state championship trophies for finishing first in Division 3.

Elk Mound

The Mounder foursome of George Friberg, Brady Redwine, Tyler Sahm and Noah Zurbuchen was so close they could taste it.

The Elk Mound boys’ 400m relay team edged out Osceola in the June 2 preliminary race at the 122nd WIAA State Track and Field Championships with a time of :43.78 to earn a spot in the June 3 final, only to get squeezed off the podium in the Saturday final.

Friberg, Redwine, Sahm and Zurbuchen were only .21 seconds behind sixth-place Sturgeon Bay, missing out on medals and the chance to stand on the podium. The quartet did earn a personal best just two weeks after breaking the Dunn-St. Croix record of :44.77 with a new time of :44.53.

Catholic Memorial High School earned the state championship in the race with a time of :42.77.

The Mounder four also competed in the 800m relay, where they took 12th place with a time of 1:31.33. Freedom High School earned the win with a time of 1:29.12.

Senior thrower Mikayla Solberg was the lone female Mounder competing at state. She completed throws of 106-08, 112-10 and 112-02 to earn 12th place in girls’ discus, just two spots outside qualifying for finals.

Jefferson junior Emily Stendel took the state championship with a toss of 147-11.

Colfax

There is nowhere to go but up for most of the Viking runners who headed to UW-LaCrosse last week.

That is because all but three state competitors were freshmen or sophomores this season. The young group was able to get some experience at the state’s biggest meet to carry forward for the next few years in coach Ryan Krall’s Colfax track and field program.

Sophomore sprinter Jeremy Artist slid into the state Division 100m dash field with a fourth-place finish at the Colfax sectional. He ran a :12.08 in the state preliminaries Friday, June 2 to finish 16th. Jack Ribley, a senior from Mishicot, won Saturday’s final’s race in :11.54 after running a qualifying race of 11.47.

The girls’ 400m and 800m relay teams of Morgan Schleusner, Jayna Bowe, Bryana Buchanan and Ally  Heidorn finished near the bottom in the Friday preliminaries for both races. The 400m team finished 16th with a time of :53.44, while the Cuba City ladies qualified first with a time of :50.29. The Cubans were then bested in the final by Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg and its :50.31 race.

The same Viking quartet earned 15th in the 800m relay after running a 1:52.08 in the June 2 preliminary. The foursome from Wild Rose picked up the highest qualifying time of 1:47.04 before winning the event outright June 3 with a 1:46.57 race.

The Lady Vikings’ 1,600m relay team of Samantha Pretasky, Jayna Bowe, Morgan Schleusner and Abbagail Schotter ran a 4:25.13 to finish 16th.

Hilbert/Stockbridge’s team of Veronica Theil, Sam Theil, Shania Schmitz and Makaylee Kuhn qualified for the fast lane in Saturday’s final with a 4:06.47 qualifying race, but wound up third in the final after Auburndale blasted its way to the top of the podium with a time of 4:04.34.

BOYS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 100m dash: 16. Jeremy Artist 12.08; 400m relay: 7. Elk Mound 43.78; 800m relay: 12. Elk Mound 1:31.33.

GIRLS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 400m relay: 16. Colfax 53.44; 800m relay: 15. Colfax 1:52.08; 1600m relay: 16. 4:25.13; Discus: 12. Mikayla Solberg 112-10.