Area athletes shut out of D3 state track meet

For the first time in at least 43 years, there won’t be any members of the Blair-Taylor, Independence/Gilmanton or Whitehall track and field teams competing in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State meet.

While the three area schools sent a strong contingent from the WIAA Division Three Luther Regional on Monday to the Lancaster Sectional on Thursday, none were even able to secure a top-four finish to advance to the state competition. 

The highest sectional finish came from I/G’s Ben Pyka, who took sixth in the long jump. The Indees also got a ninth-place finish from Max Marsolek in the pole vault. Pyka was third at the regional, Marsolek was fourth.

I/G’s Callie Zastrow was the regional champion in the shot put, but took 11th in the sectional. The 3200 relay team of Gracie Rombalski, Kia Back, Taylor Sylla and Angie Martinez took 10th in the sectional after placing second in the regional. Sylla took 11th individually in the 1600 and 3200 and Rombalski was 14th in the 3200. Sylla was third in both events at the regional, Rombalski was fourth. Martinez also qualified for the sectional in the 800 — after taking third in the regional — but did not compete.

The B-T boys team won the Dairyland Conference and sent a couple regional champions to the sectional, but both fell short. DaVonne Turner won the 100 at the regional, but took eighth at the sectional. Kristoffer Sandal won the 800 at Monday’s regional, but was 14th at the sectional. 

Turner also competed in the 400 and 800 relay teams, taking third in both at the regional and 11th at the sectional in the 800 and 15th in the 400. He was joined on the 400 team by Connor Kruse, Evan Nehring and Riley McAdams and by Kruse, McAdams and Hunter Wagner on the 800 team. McAdams, Nehring, Sandal and Wagner all ran on the 13th-place 1600 relay team. 

Wagner had an eighth-place finish in the 300 hurdles and was 16th in the triple jump. Delorean Peterson added an eighth-place finish in the 3200. Kruse took 11th in the 200 and Ethan Kniseley was 13th in the high jump. 

Paige Kelly won the regional title in the 100 on Monday, but did not compete in the event on Thursday. She also qualified in the 300 hurdles, taking third on Monday and seventh on Thursday. Ella Halverson was the regional runner-up and finished 12th on Thursday.

For just the second time since 1981 — and first time in a season not impacted by a pandemic — the Whitehall track team won’t be represented at the state meet.

Whitehall’s best finish was a ninth-place by Avvia Herman in the 300 hurdles. She also took 16th in the long jump and ran on the 13th-place 1600 relay team with Adreanna Hemenway, Alexis Correa and Aryana Ausderau. 

Ausderau finished 14th in the high jump and ran on the 15th-place 800 relay team with Mia Sygulla, Trinity Aasen and Nora Bergerson. Correa was 15th in both the 200 and the triple jump. Herman was third in the long jump in the regional, all others entered the sectional after taking fourth on Monday.

The only other WHS competitor was Ashton Hanson, who took 15th in the 800 after placing fourth in the regional. 

While this may be a down year for area track and field teams, the future could be bright. Of the 25 competitors from B-T, I/G and Whitehall, only seven were seniors, while six were freshmen and five were sophomores. 

Boys track, WIAA Division Three Lancaster Sectional, May 25 at Lancaster High School

Top 10: Lancaster 69 Luther 63 Cashton 43.5 Kickapoo/La Farge 38 Wauzeka-Steuben 36 River Ridge 36 Bangor 34 Wild Rose 33 Riverdale 27 Fennimore 27

B-T results

Eighth — Turner, 100, 11.64; Peterson, 3200, 10:35.47; Wagner, 300 hurdles, 43.85

11th — Kruse, 200, 23.76; 800 relay (Kruse, Wagner, McAdams, Turner), 1:35.5

13th — 1600 relay (McAdams, Nehring, Sandal, Wagner), 3:44.97; Kniseley, high jump, 5-6

14th — Sandal, 800, 2:14.12

15th — 400 relay (Kruse, Nehring, McAdams, Turner), 49.13

16th — Wagner, triple jump, 36-2.25

I/G results

Sixth — Pyka, long jump, 20-0.25

Ninth — Marsolek, pole vault, 11-0

Whitehall results

15th — Hanson, 800, 2:15.02

Girls track, WIAA Division Three Lancaster Sectional, May 25 at Lancaster High School

Top 10: Lancaster 81 Westby 71.66 Cashton 50 Laconia 44 Fennimore 42 K/L 41 Riverdale 39 Cuba City 35 C-FC 34 Assumption 36

B-T results

Seventh — Kelly, 300 hurdles, 49.27 

12th — Halverson, triple jump, 30-3

I/G results

10th — 3200 relay (Rombalski, Martinez, Back, Sylla), 11:25.74

11th — Sylla, 1600, 5:52.7; Sylla, 3200, 12:40.29; Zastrow, shot put, 31-0.75

14th — Rombalski, 3200, 13:56.92

Whitehall results

Ninth — Herman, 300 hurdles, 51.08

13th — 1600 relay (Hemenway, Correa, Ausderau, Herman), 4:40.64

14th — Ausderau, high jump, 4-6

15th — Correa, 200, 29.57; 800 relay (Sygulla, Ausderau, Aasen, Bergerson), 2:04.18; Correo, triple jump, 29-4.5

16th — Herman, long jump, 12-10.75

Boys track, WIAA Division Three Luther Regional, May 22, Onalaska

Luther 186.5 Bangor 96 B-T 87 Neillsville 77.5 C-FC 58 Mel-Min 58 A/P 42 I/G 36 AC Lincoln 29 Whitehall 16 Granton 9

B-T Sectional Qualifiers

Firsts — Turner, 100, 11.71; Sandal, 800, 2:06.95

Seconds — Kruse, 200, 24.01; Peterson, 3200, 10:31.34; Wagner, 300 hurdles, 43.58; 3200 relay (Peterson, Lopez, Flynn, Sandal), 9:09.40

Thirds — 400 relay (Kruse, Nehring, McAdams, Turner), 46.75; 800 relay (Kruse, Wagner, McAdams, Turner), 1:36.03; 1600 relay (McAdams, Nehring, Sandal, Wagner), 3:42.77

Fourths — Kniseley, high jump, 5-4; Wagner, triple jump, 36-11.5

I/G Sectional Qualifiers

Thirds — Pyka, long jump, 19-4.5

Fourths — Marsolek, pole vault, 10-6

WHS Sectional Qualifiers

Fourths — Hanson, 800, 2:15.23 

Girls track, WIAA Division Three Luther Regional, May 22, Onalaska

C-FC 110.5 Luther 87.5 Neillsville 80.5 Mel-Min 78 Bangor 77 Whitehall 61 I/G 51 A/P 37 ACL 35.5 B-T 33 Granton 13 Providence Academy 9

B-T Sectional Qualifiers

Firsts — Kelly, 100, 13.15

Seconds — Halverson, triple jump, 29-8.75

Thirds —Kelly, 300 hurdles, 51.98

I/G Sectional Qualifiers

Firsts — Zastrow, shot put, 33-2

Seconds — 3200 relay (Rombalski, Martinez, Back, Sylla), 11:33.47 

Thirds — Martinez, 800, 2:51; Sylla, 1600, 5:59.26; Sylla, 3200, 12:51.97

Fourths — Rombalski, 3200, 14:20.55

WHS Sectional Qualifiers

Thirds — Herman, long jump, 15-4

Fourths — Correa, 200, 29.32; Herman, 300 hurdles, 52.72; 800 relay (Sygulla, Ausderau, Aasen, Bergerson), 2:03.17; 1600 relay (Hemenway, Correa, Ausderau, Herman), 4:47.02; Ausderau, high jump, 4-6; Correa, triple jump, 29-6