State Track & Field Meet Preview
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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

State Track & Field Meet Preview

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS:  The 118th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Track and Field Championships and the 43rd Girls Track and Field Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, May 31-June 1, at the Veterans Memorial Stadium Complex on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. 

ADMISSION TICKETS:  Ticket prices for the meet are $8 for each session or $12 for both sessions Friday if purchased at the stadium. A $1 convenience fee is added for tickets purchased online. Tickets can be ordered online with a link on the track and field home pages or  at:  
https://expressoticketing.com/wiaa/pickeventtrack.aspx

MEET INFORMATION:  The meet features two sessions Friday. The Divisions 2 and 3 events begin at 9:30 a.m. with the competition proceeding in the order of events. Division 1 events begin at 4:30 p.m. The competition resumes Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The order of the finals for each event Saturday begins with Division 3, followed by Divisions 2 and 1, respectively.

LIVE  STREAM:  The entire 2013 State Track & Field Meet will be produced by Play-On Sports (formerly When We Were Young Productions) and streamed live on foxsportswisconsin.com.

LAST YEAR’S TEAM RESULTS-BOYS:  Brookfield East won the Division 1 championship for the second straight season, scoring 39 points. La Crosse Central was runner-up with 35 points. Belleville/New Glarus won the Division 2 title, compiling 42 points, which was five more than runner-up Dodgeville/Mineral Point. In Division 3, Edgar won the title by scoring 44.5 points. Marathon was runner-up with 43 points. West Bend East won its second consecutive team championship in the wheelchair competition with 36 points. Verona was second for the second straight season with 32 points.

LAST YEAR’S TEAM RESULTS-GIRLS:  In Division 1, Milwaukee Riverside won the team championship with 37 points. Plymouth finished runner-up with 34 points. Aquinas captured the title in Division 2 with 31.5 points, topping Platteville, the closest challenger, with 28 points. Edgar won its third straight Division 3 championship with 112 points. Manitowoc Lutheran finished a distant second for the second straight year with 51 points. Fort Atkinson won the team title in the wheelchair competition with 38 points with Oconomowoc placing second with 36.

BY THE NUMBERS-GIRLS:  Madison West and Rosholt have won the most girls team titles with six.  Three of West’s titles came in succession from 1980-82. Arcadia, Marathon and Nekoosa have won five titles with Madison Memorial, Milwaukee Bradley Tech, Prairie du Chien, Waukesha West and Whitewater next on the list with four. Eighteen girls have won the same event four times during their career. Molly Seidel of University School and Joanna Schultz of Holmen are the only athletes to do it in two different events. Seidel won the 1,600 and 3,200 runs from 2009-12, and Schultz captured the titles in the 200 and 400 dashes from 2003-06. Jaclynn Kriegl of Florence (1995-98) holds the record for the most championships won by an individual with 10. Dana Collins of Milwaukee Marshall, Heather Hyland of Nekoosa and Jenni Westphal of Marinette are next in line with nine.

BY THE NUMBERS-BOYS:  Whitefish Bay has won the most boys team championships with 18, 16 of them coming consecutively from 1937-52. Milwaukee Riverside and Kohler are second with 16 titles each. Only two individuals have ever won the same individual event four times. Dave Greenwood of Park Falls won four titles in the high jump from 1976-79 and Paul Annear of Richland Center repeated the feat in the same event from 2005-08. Three individuals have won four relay titles in the same relay. Kevin Bledsoe of Milwaukee South did it in the 400 relay (1984-87) as did Josh Dickerson of D.C. Everest (1993-96) and Greg Bracey of Milwaukee Vincent (2000-03). Justin Austin (2005-08) of Brown Deer holds the boys record for the most titles won by an individual with nine. Darrell Jansen of Kimberly (1958-60) and Annear have won eight championships. Three others have won seven titles. Only Alvin Kraenzlein of Milwaukee East has won five State titles in one meet (1895), and Andrew Rock of Stratford is the only other athlete to win four State titles in the same year (2000).

DIVISION 1 NOTES - BOYS:   Mukwonago has qualifiers in 14 events, including relays, to lead the rest of the division. Appleton North, Green Bay Preble and Kimberly  have competitors in 12 events, while Waukesha South and Wisconsin Lutheran have participants in 11 events. Four individual events and one relay returns its champion from last year.  Senior Carl Hirsch of Brookfield Central accounts for two of the individual events returning their champions. He won both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs in 2012. In his quest to repeat, he has the top qualifying time in both events at 4:14.13 and 9:21.32, respectively. Senior Alex Sharrock of Kettle Moraine is the returning champion in the 300 hurdles. He enters the meet as one of the favorites to win the event with the best qualifying time of 38.44. Senior Brad Johnson of Brookfield East returns in the 800 run to defend his title. He enters the meet with a qualifying time of 1:54.69, which is the fastest among all qualifiers in the event. The La Crosse Central 1,600 relay squad is racing for a repeat title, but it has its work cut out for it with a number of teams posting better seed times.

DIVISION 2 NOTES - BOYS:  Little Chute will compete in 12 events, which is the most of any school in the division. Freedom, Monroe and Seymour are represented in nine events, with East Troy, Marshall and Shorewood next with eight. There are six defending individual event champions and two relays attempting to win consecutive titles. In addition, three individual events have the 2011 champion seeking to return to champion status. Senior Cody Zaeske of East Troy is the returning champion in two events. He won the long jump in record-setting fashion last year and returns this year with the top qualifying leap of 22-3. He also won the triple jump a year ago and enters the meet this year with the fourth-best jump of 44-8 3/4. Senior Justin Rabon of Shorewood ran to glory in the 200 dash last season and is back to defend his title with a qualifying time of 22.46, which is the fifth fastest among all the qualifiers in the event. Senior Ben Davisson of Parkview is the reigning champion in the high jump. He enters the meet at a height of 6-2, which ranks 11th among the qualifiers, four inches off of the top qualifiers. Senior Brad Walski of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau has qualified again in the shot put after tossing for a title last season. He has qualified with a throw of 54-5 1/4, which is six feet shorter than the longest qualifying throw. Junior Ethan Moehn of Monroe won the 800 run in record time last year. He possesses the second-fastest time among those qualified in the event this year at 1:55.03. In order to retain the title, he will need to fend off 2011 champion Jake Schimenz, a senior from Brown Deer, who has earned another chance at the title by virtue of his fourth-fastest qualifying time. Michael Christianson of Aquinas won two events in 2011, the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. He is back in the qualifying field in each of those events to challenge for those crowns. His pace currently ranks second among the qualifying times in the 3,200 and fifth among the 1,600 qualifiers. The Monroe 3,200 relay team is attempting to win the event for the third straight time. They have an edge on the rest of the qualifying competition with a time of 8:02.17. The 1,600 Shorewood relay is attempting to win back-to-back titles. It enters the State Meet with a time more than three seconds faster than the next fastest qualifying time.

DIVISION 3 NOTES - BOYS:  St. Mary’s Springs will be competing in the most number of events with 11, including relays. Marathon and Pardeeville have competitors in nine events, and Whitehall has qualifiers in eight events. Two former champions return to their events in Division 3 with sights on an additional title. In addition, three relays have qualified in pursuit of repeating as champions. Senior Jake Wiedemeier of Crivitz is the two-time defending champion in the pole vault. He qualifies this season at 13-0 in pursuit of his third straight title. That height ranks him tied for third on the qualifying performance list. Senior Tyler Schartzman of Tri-County attempts to repeat in the 300 hurdles. He boasts the top qualifying performance this year with a time of 39.76. The Rosholt 3,200 relay is attempting to win its third straight title. It has the third quickest time among the qualifiers entering the State meet. The Regis 400 relay team and the 800 Hilbert relay squads have both qualified in those respective events in pursuit of their second-straight crowns. Hilbert has the fastest qualifying time in its event, more than two seconds faster than the next swiftest competitor, and the Regis foursome enters ranked 13th among the qualifiers.

DIVISION 1 NOTES - GIRLS:  West Bend West is entered in the most events with 18, including relays. Milwaukee King is next with 11. Arrowhead and Franklin are next in line with participants in 10 events, and Sun Prairie is next with nine. Three individual events and four relay teams feature the return of their defending champion. In addition, one champion from two seasons ago has also qualified. Senior Alex Flucke of Ashwaubenon is the two-time champion and record holder in the pole vault. She should challenge for the title again this season, entering the meet with the second-best sectional vault at 11-6. Another defending champion in position to capture another title is senior Corinne Franz of Madison Memorial in the discus. She enters competition with a qualifying toss over 10 feet farther than any of the other qualifiers. Junior Kanesha Freiberg of Madison La Follette won the long jump a year ago, and has returned to the field with a qualifying leap of 17-9, which ranks eighth among all competitors in the event this year. Senior Allison Parker of Neenah is attempting to regain the title she won in the 800 run in 2011. She has the fifth fastest qualifying time this season. The relays attempting to repeat include Milwaukee King in the 400, La Crosse Logan in the 800, Milwaukee Riverside in the 1,600 and Neenah in the 3,200, which would actually be the Rockets’ third straight title in that event.

DIVISION 2 NOTES - GIRLS:  Notre Dame is represented in the most events with 12, including four relays. East Troy has competitors in 11 events, while Hayward has 10 events covered. There are six individual events and two relays that have returning champions from 2012 among their qualifiers. In addition, one event has a 2011 champion that did not repeat last season among its qualifiers. Junior Bonnie Draxler of Wrightstown has won the 400 dash and the pole vault the last two years and appears in good position to make it three straight in both those events. She has the top qualifying time in the quarter mile at 58.02, as well as the top qualifying height in the pole vault at 13-0, an event for which she already possesses the State record. Senior Tess Nelson of Northwestern is also seeking a third straight title. She has won the 300 hurdles in each of the past two years, and her time of 46.65 is less than a second off the fastest qualifying time. Senior Andrea Ostenso of Ladysmith seeks to run to her second consecutive victory in the 3,200 run, and to recapture the gold medal she won in the 1,600 run in 2011. She qualifies this season with the second fastest time in the 3,200 at 10:59.50 and has posted the eighth best qualifying performance in the 1,600 at 5:16.29, which is almost 12 seconds behind the fastest qualifying pace. Junior Bryzena Santos of East Troy is the returning champion in the long jump. Her qualifying distance of 17-5 is tied for fourth-best in the field. Among the relays attempting to win back-to-back titles are Osceola in the 400 relay and Notre Dame in the 800 relay, 

DIVISION 3 NOTES - GIRLS:  Three-time defending champion Edgar has athletes competing in 11 events, including relays, as does Regis and St. Mary’s Springs. Luther and Marathon both have student-athletes qualified in nine events. The division features three individual event champions and a pair of relays back to defend their titles. Junior  Kennedy Blahnik of Algoma is a two-time champion and record holder in both the shot put and discus. She returns in pursuit of her third championship in the shot put with the field’s top qualifying mark of 45-4 3/4, which is more than five feet farther than the next qualifier. Her prospectus in the discus is even brighter with a qualifying distance of 150-7, which is more than 27 feet longer than the next best qualifying performance. Senior Elizabeth Pospyhalla of Edgar returns with intentions of retaining the crown she captured in the 400 dash a year ago. She qualified this year with a time of 59.38, which ranks third on the qualifying performance list. Edgar has owned the 1,600 relay in recent years. It has won the past seven years dating back to 2006, and it possesses the top qualifying time again this year at 4:04.27. The 3,200 St. Mary’s Springs relay will be attempting to win the event for the second consecutive season. They enter the meet with the best qualifying time of 9:44.70.

WHEELCHAIR NOTES:  Senior Dani Ebben of Fort Atkinson is the two-time defending champion in the girls 400 race, and she added the 800 and shot put titles last year. This year, she possesses the swiftest qualifying time in the 400 race, as well as the top qualifying distance in the shot put with performances of 1:21.19 and 13-3, respectively. Senior Melanie Watson of Oconomowoc is attempting to reacquire the title in the 800 race after winning the event in 2010 and 2011. She enters competition with the fastest qualifying time of 2:59.71. Senior Nathaniel Whitrock of Cedarburg is the returning champion in the boys 1,600 race. He will race uncontested to win his second straight title.

NEED THE QUALIFIERS?:  Qualifiers and qualifying performance lists, along with meet schedule, heats and lane assignments are available on the WIAA website by navigating to the track & field results page  at: http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/BoysTrackField.aspx or http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/GirlsTrackField.aspx

NEED RESULTS?:  The quickest way to get results of the 2013 State Track and Field results is to access the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org and access either the boys or girls track and field home page to choose the appropriate results link and for live updates as the meet unfolds, provided in cooperation with PrimeTime Event & Race Management, LLC. 

FOLLOW THE TOURNEY ON TWITTER: Receive the updates of the Boys State Tennis Tournaments on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaawitrk.

WIAA CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS:  FS Wisconsin will air the highlights of the meet. See the dates and times of the programming below. Check your local cable listings for the FS Wisconsin channel in your area.

Event Date Time
Girls-Division 1 June 8 6 p.m.
Girls-Division 2 June 15 7 p.m.
Girls-Division 3 June 13 7 p.m.
Boys-Division 1 June 8 8 p.m.
Boys-Division 2 June 15 9 p.m.
Boys-Division 3 June 13 9 p.m.

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