The Bluejay track teams put their depth up against the rest of the Valley in last Tuesday’s WVC Relays.
The boys ranked 4th of seven tough conference squads, while the girls ended up 5th.
“The WVC meet was a good meet to see how the team is improving,” MHS coach Kurt VandenHeuvel said. “Even though we took fourth, we are not far away from challenging for that third place.
“The guys competed fantastically, putting me in a tough spot come Otto Bacher and the other limited entry meets because they are all deserving of a spot! This is a great problem to have because it shows the depth we have as a team, along with the huge strides the younger guys are making. No one wants their season to end early, making the competition at practice and the meets much more enjoyable to see!”
For the girls, MHS coach Bethany Martinovici noted, “We didn’t have much depth behind events and our girls are feeling the normal aches and pains of the mid season. I have to give it up for the youth and newbies on our team.”
The boys tied for first in the pole vault with Eric Ball, Trey Stevenson and Scott Arneson. They grabbed several thirds, in the: shot put (Tyler Schmidt, Cole Rajek, Austin Bonnell); triple jump (Jake Anderson, Brandon Bartz, Jake Nohr); 1600 sprint medley (Schmidt, Ball, James Nohr, Bryce Litschauer); 400 (Tyler Butler, Lucas Lee, Nick Peterson, Kriss Philipp); and 3200 (Paul Theorin, Michael Seaman, Jacob Jensen, Dalton Wilding).
Fourths were garnered in the: discus (Schmidt, Matt Rekowski, Sam Skic); long jump (Peterson, Dan Blakeslee, Jake Nohr); high jump (Blakeslee, Philipp, Tyler Holbach); 800 (Philipp, Lee, Anderson, Nick Hoffmann); 900 hurdles (Andrew Seaman, Arneson, Bartz); 800 sprint medley (Anderson, Hoffmann, Peterson, Butler). The distance medley (Tom Grund, Wyatt Strombom, Dylan Schielke, A. Seaman) was 5th.
“Paul Theorin and Andrew both broke 5:00 in the mile which was a good stride, along with the 4-by-100 team putting up a solid time as well,” VandenHeuvel said.
The top girls squad (Morgan Marnholtz, Lauren Hojan, McKenna Robbins) triple jumped third. Fourths came in the: long jump (Bri Piepenbrok, Sierra Smith, McKenna Folz); 300 shuttle hurdles (Christa Schleif, Katelynn DeLosh, Hannah Marrier, Larissa Jahnke); and 1600 sprint medley (Schleif, Kaitlin Berry, Marnholtz, Sarah Ranta).
Numerous fifths were recorded, from the: discus (Aubrey Wardall, Lisa Krueger, Melanie Monnot); pole vault (Schleif, Cassandra Chism, Caylin McCarthy); 800 (Smith, Robbins, Kennedy Soderberg, Sarah Cournaya); 400 (Marrier, Anna Finnell, Piepenbrok, Berry); 900 hurdles (Marrier, Schleif, Hojan); 3200 (Kendra Andreska, Jewell Charbarneau, Kate Williams, Ranta); 800 sprint medley (Daneeca Stewart, Piepenbrok, Soderberg, Finnell); and distance medley (Svatlana Heisinger, Ranta, Willimas, Morgan Pettit).
Sixths came in the: shot put (Finnell, Monnot, Krueger); high jump (Folz, Hojan, Rylee Folz); and 6400 (Heisinger, Williams, Andreska, Pettit).
“We had a couple of athletes-sophomore Sarah Ranta and freshman Kennedy Soderberg-who stood out in the running events because of the challenging triples they competed in without any reservations or complaints,” Martinovici said. “Kennedy stepped into the sprint medley at the last minute and she competed well with a lot of determination. She ran a very smart race and was able to edge out a D.C. Everest athlete at the back stretch. You could tell by her stride that she wasn’t going to let anyone pass her or let up towards the end. Sometimes, we could use more of the type like Kennedy.
“Sarah also competed in a grueling triple-800, 800, 400-and took each race in stride and was very consistent with her split times for each relay. By the 400, you could tell her legs were fatigued, but she persevered and remained tough throughout. She doesn’t seem to shy away, even when there is a difficult challenge facing her.
“Anna Finnell had an interesting night in shot put, learning the technique the night before. She has a lot of natural strength, that with practice, will come some competitive throws. She also ran a 400 in the 800 Sprint Medley relay and would have run another 400 in the 4×4 if the rain would have held off. I am really pleased with the young athletes on our team. They jumped in where they needed to be and did well when we needed them to.”
Team standings-Boys-SPASH 131, D.C.E. 104, Marshfield 84.5, Merrill 67, Wausau W. 60.5, Wis. Rapids 31, Wausau E. 30…….Girls-W.W. 124, D.C. E. 104, SPASH 80.5, Marshfield 68, Merrill 47.5, W.R. 46, W.E. 30.