Wisconsin Middle School May 4th-10th: Standout Performances

Middle school athletes across Wisconsin delivered standout performances during a busy week of competition across the JH/MS Evergreen Invite, Greendale MS Invite, Dodgeville Middle School Meet, and numerous conference and quad meets around the state.

Sprints & Hurdles

Boys sprinting was led by Michael Brown (Marshfield Middle School), who broke the tape in 11.49 to win the 100 meters at the JH/MS Evergreen Invite. Bentley Goodenough (Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle School) followed in 11.67, while Aven Mohr-Harrison (DC Everest Junior High) ran 11.83.

In the 200 meters, Remington Langenfeld (Einstein Middle School) posted a state-leading 23.54 at the AASD Dual, ahead of Ronmel Ferguson's (DC Everest Junior High) 24.11 win at Evergreen and Austin Burrough's (Einstein Middle School) second place 24.14 at AASD Dual.

Ferguson also impressed in the 400, running 56.05 to win the JH/MS Evergreen Invite. Treylyn Heinz (Boyceville Middle School) followed in 56.75, while Wyatt Lawson (Spencer) ran 57.05.

Griffen Ludlow (Aquinas Middle School) ran a strong 14.24 in the 100-meter hurdles to lead the week. Marcus Link (Clayton) followed in 14.64, and Cohen Weavers (Oostburg Middle School) clocked 15.12.

The girls sprint races were equally competitive. Stella Konkle (Appleton West) led the 100 meters in 12.74, narrowly ahead of Colette Dunn (Mineral Point Middle School) at 12.87 and Maryah Sparks (Whitman - Tosa) at 12.93. All three girls won the 100m at their respective meets this past week.

Sparks returned to lead the 200 meters last week in 26.72, edging Dunn's 26.76. Iris Abts (Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle School) also dipped under 27.5 with a 27.21 performance.

In the girls 400, Olivia Eades (James Williams Middle School) ran 1:03.42 to take the top mark of the week. Jayda Beilke (DC Everest Junior High) followed in 1:03.99, while Kialee Meyer (Chippewa Falls Middle School) posted 1:04.17.

Girls hurdles featured an impressive meet-winning trio led by Anna Piggush (Aquinas Middle School) in 15.94. Isla Zastava (Ben Franklin Junior High) ran 16.14, and Calliope Clobes (Parkview) finished in 16.80.

Several athletes also posted major breakthroughs. Wesley Staples (Sauk Prairie) dropped his 100-meter best from 23.21 to 16.11, while Eric Richardson (Redeemer Lutheran School) improved dramatically in both the 100 and 200. On the girls side, Nevaeh Hedrich (St Mary's Springs Middle School) cut more than seven seconds from her 100-meter best, and Lily Smajda (Einstein Middle School) lowered her hurdles PR by 13.5 seconds.

Distance Events

The boys distance races produced several sub-5 performances in the 1600. Porter Faust (Campbellsport) led the week with a 4:56.60 victory, just ahead of Sebastian Cortes-Cadena (JC McKenna Middle School) at 4:57.00 and Carsten Huenink (Cedar Grove-Belguim Middle School) at 4:58.60.

In the 800 meters, Abram Keiler (Lomira) clocked in at 2:15.62 to narrowly edge Gavin Anderson (New Glarus) at 2:16.16. Porter Faust doubled back with a 2:17.63 showing.

The girls distance group delivered some of the strongest marks of the week. Julianne Johnsen (Forest Park Middle School) ran 5:16.84 in the 1600 and also ranked second in the 800 at 2:26.53. Brenna Meyer (Kimberly JRG) ran 5:24.80, while Emilia Tippen (Marshfield Middle School) posted 5:25.11 after leading the 800 in 2:25.53.

Other standout girls 800 performances came from Margaret Lawless (Richland Center/Ithaca) at 2:32.18 and Reagan Balint (Danbury Hatters HCYS Track & XC Club), who ran 2:27.86 at the Hillhouse Youth meet.

The distance events also featured major breakthroughs. Ryan Mantz (Westfield Area/Montello) cut more than a minute off his 1600 PR, while Atley Abing (Logan Middle School) improved to 2:29.70 in the 800. For the girls, Adelyn Shimniok (St. Peter's/Sacred Heart) improved nearly two minutes in the 1600, and McKenna Brown (Two Rivers) ran 7:22.36 after previously holding an 8:40 best.

Relays

The boys 4x100 relay was led by Mishicot in 48.18, followed closely by Neenah Middle School at 48.84 and Forest Park Middle School at 48.86.

New Glarus posted the top boys 4x400 time of the week at 4:05.07, while P. J. Jacobs Junior High ran 4:05.99 and Aquinas Middle School followed at 4:09.80.

DC Everest Junior High dominated the boys 4x800 with a 9:18.34 performance, ahead of Marshfield Middle School and P. J. Jacobs Junior High.

On the girls side, Logan Middle School narrowly won the 4x100 in 55.04, just ahead of Menomonie MS at 55.07. Ben Franklin Junior High led the girls 4x400 in 4:26.49, while Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle School won the 4x800 in 11:01.71.

The relays should be fun to watch come championship season.

Throws

Brock Weeden (New Glarus) dominated the boys throws, winning the shot put with a massive 54-6 mark and discus with an outstanding 163-2 throw at the Dodgeville Middle School Meet. Emmett Raymond (Edgerton) also surpassed 150 feet in discus with a 158-10 effort.

Additional boys shot put standouts included Kemmerin Payne (Platteville Middle School) at 46-1 and Owen Christopherson (Boyceville Middle School) at 44-0.

The girls throws were led by Sally Kooiker (Faith Christian), who won shot put at 37-10. Lydia Wettstein (Campbellsport) threw 36-3, while Faith Begrow (Marion) reached 34-9.

In discus, Anna Meyer (Clear Lake) led the week at 92-8, just ahead of Eliana LaRue (Mosinee Middle School) at 90-10 and Adlee Kuklinski (Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle School) at 87-9.

Several throwers also recorded enormous PR jumps. Jace Davis (Riverview Middle School) improved more than 30 feet in the shot put, while Matthew Campbell (Riverview Middle School) improved by nearly 80 feet in discus. On the girls side, Brielle Van Baren (Faith Christian) added over 26 feet in the shot put, and Neha Ezhilarasan (Kromrey Middle School) improved by 40 feet in discus.

Jumps & Pole Vault

The boys horizontal jumps featured standout performances from Jonathan Miller (Brookfield Academy MS), who reached 20-0 in the long jump, and Ronmel Ferguson (DC Everest Junior High), who won the triple jump with a 40-0 mark.

Henry DeBlaey (Oostburg Middle School) jumped 18-1.5 in the long jump, while Titus Johnson (P. J. Jacobs Junior High) hit 37-0 in the triple jump.

In high jump, four athletes cleared 5-6: Korbin Taylor (River Ridge Middle School), Jacob Stark (Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle School), Grant Giertz (Menomonie MS), and Callum Koenig's (Ben Franklin Junior High).

The boys pole vault was tightly contested with Trevor Ellis (River Ridge Middle School), Oliver Jachthuber (Princeton/Green Lake), and Michael Brown (Marshfield Middle School) all clearing 8-6.

For the girls, Colette Dunn (Mineral Point Middle School) added another elite performance by leading the long jump at 15-9 after already placing among the top sprinters of the week. Eva White (James Williams Middle School) followed closely at 15-8.25.

The girls triple jump was led by Jayda Beilke (DC Everest Junior High) at 33-8.5, while Aubrey White Murphy (Kickapoo/La Farge Middle School) and Sophie Krasselt (Weyauwega-Fremont) also surpassed 31 feet.

In the high jump, four athletes tied for the state-leading mark of 4-10: Catherine Cairns (Hillsboro Middle School), Charlotte Wilder (Logan Middle School), Madison Locke (Neenah Middle School), and Camilla Doyle (Notre Dame).

Girls pole vault was topped by Katelyn Draeger (Dodgeland) at 8-0, while Braelyn Schneider (River Ridge Middle School) and Lily Griswold (Fennimore) both cleared 7-6.