Wisconsin's classes of 2028 and 2029 continued to shine as one of the Midwest's deepest young talent pools during the May 11th-17th competition window, producing standout marks across the state at meets including the Big 8 Conference Championships, Classic 8 Championships, West Allis Hale Invitational, Steve "Sparky" Reynolds Memorial Invitational, and Myrhum Invite.
Sprints & Hurdles
On the boys' side, Juan Randle (Sun Prairie East) led the underclassmen in the 100 meters with a blazing 10.68 at the Big 8 Conference Championships to finish second, while freshman Skylar Watson (Madison Memorial) impressed with a 10.89 to finish fourth in the same meet. Liam Regner (The Prairie School) added a strong 10.93 performance at the West Allis Hale Invitational.
In the 200 meters, Ben Hoeppner (New Richmond) ran 21.82 to win at the Osceola Open, followed closely by Kylor Loomis (Waterford Union) who won the KML Varsity Invite in 22.16. Randle doubled back with a 22.55 performance in the Big 8 final.
Hoeppner and Loomis also led the 400-meter rankings for the week, clocking 50.09 and 49.84 respectively, while Jamier Mosley (Racine Case) added a 50.31 victory at the SEC Varsity Conference Championships.
One of the week's biggest breakthroughs came from sophomore Isaiah Hester (Green Bay West), who dropped his 200-meter best from 23.07 to 22.30 at the Bay Port DeMerit Invite. Hester also improved from 56.10 to 51.47 in the 400 meters during the same meet, establishing school records in both events and moving to #3 among Wisconsin sophomores in the 200.
The girls underclassmen sprint group was led by Juliana Doerner (Mishicot), who swept the short sprints with an 11.90 in the 100 meters and 24.30 in the 200 meters at the Manitowoc County Invite. Claire Napier (Verona Area) added a 12.23 in the 100, while Aviana Jones (Greendale) clocked 12.40 to win the West Allis Hale Invitational.
Sophomore Katelyn Zellmann (Homestead) also delivered a major improvement at the Myrhum Invite, lowering her 100-meter best from 12.85 to 12.45 while moving to #4 among Wisconsin sophomores and setting a Homestead school record.
In the girls 400 meters, Elin Gilles (Onalaska) led the underclass rankings at 58.05, followed by Libby Gnewuch (Mukwonago) at 58.28 and freshman Juliana Daugs (Arrowhead) at 58.62.
The hurdle events also featured several standout performances. Seamus Toshner (Campbellsport) led the boys underclassmen with a 15.89 in the 110 hurdles and a 39.81 in the 300 hurdles, while Adam Roder (Elk Mound) added strong marks of 15.97 and 40.08.
On the girls side, Paisley Egge (De Soto) ran 14.84 in the 100 hurdles, with Sofiia Dergacheva (Middleton) and Mackenzie Sanders (Wauwatosa West) both breaking 15.60.
In the 300 hurdles, Rayya Palecek (Chippewa Falls) led the week at 46.40, while Selci Sirrell (Berlin) continued her breakout season with a 46.89 performance alongside Sanders. All three underclassmen took the win in the event at their respective meets.
Distance
In the boys 800 meters, Logan Zeise (Milwaukee King) led the state underclassmen with a 1:56.67 at the Richmond/Erickson Invite. Grimord Liam (Arrowhead) followed at 1:57.70, while freshman Donovan Arndt (Arrowhead) dipped under 1:59 with a 1:58.30 effort.
Sophomore Kenton Kransel (Janesville Parker) also delivered a breakthrough performance at the Stoughton Invite, lowering his personal best from 2:00.43 to 1:58.55 and moving to #4 among Wisconsin sophomores.
The girls 800 meters featured one of the tightest groups of the week, led by Onika Colassacco (Bay Port) at 2:19.39. Freshman Penelope Ayala (Manawa) followed closely at 2:19.41, while Paxtyn Duellman (Cochrane-Fountain City) ran 2:19.93.
In the boys 1600 meters, Kaleb Mroz (Somerset) posted the top underclassmen mark at 4:24.57, followed by Will VanSlyke (D. C. Everest) at 4:26.84. Jonathan Simon (Abundant Life Christian) added a 4:31.86 before returning to dominate the 3200 meters in 9:35.85.
Freshman Owen Drier (Richland Center) impressed in the 3200 with a 9:44.94, while Mroz added another strong distance performance at 9:48.94.
On the girls side, Maddie Driscoll (Lancaster) led the 1600 meters with a 5:09.78 at the Steve "Sparky" Reynolds Memorial Invitational. Paxtyn Duellman (Cochrane-Fountain City) and Rubianne Kinsman (Holmen) also posted strong performances under 5:17.
Sophomore Celia Zoeller (Madison East) delivered one of the week's top breakthroughs in the distance events, improving from 5:16.15 to 5:07.20 in the 1600 meters at the Myrhum Invite. The mark moved her to #9 among Wisconsin sophomores and established a Madison East school record.
The girls 3200 meters featured strong freshman depth, led by Sofie Beadle (Kettle Moraine Lutheran) at 11:28.00. Freshmen Emerson Rubo (Lakeland Union) and Georgia Koss (Green Bay Preble) also posted standout marks of 11:28.59 and 11:31.46, respectively.
Freshman Charlotte Peirce (Stratford) also made a major jump in the 3200 meters, improving from 12:22.10 to 11:46.14 at the Stratford Invite and moving to #11 among Wisconsin freshmen.
Field Events
Sophomore Hunter Dehart (Coleman) dominated the boys throws with a massive 58-7 shot put and 184-6 discus at the Suring Freshman/Sophomore Meet, giving him two of the top underclass marks in Wisconsin this season. Deandre Ehlen (Brookfield East) added a 54-9 shot put, while Mason Campbell (Sun Prairie East) threw 163-8 in the discus.
Sophomore Tage Siegert (Germantown) also continued his rise in the discus, improving from 153-2 to 161-9 at the Myrhum Invite and moving to #3 among Wisconsin sophomores.
On the girls side, Emma Severson (Neenah) delivered one of the strongest combined throwing performances in the state with a 46-7 shot put and 148-2 discus. Emily Koeppel (Whitnall) and freshman Emma Schult (Marathon) added strong discus performances over 119 feet.
Freshman Jake Rodgers (Pewaukee) improved to 48-9 in the shot put at the Woodland West Relays, moving to #2 among Wisconsin freshmen.
The jumps were equally impressive. Brenton Mcatee (Beloit Turner) and freshman Luca Johnson (De Pere) both cleared 21-11 in the long jump, while Carlos Nunn (Appleton West) led the triple jump at 44-0.
In the high jump, Derek Frinack (Elk Mound) cleared 6-6 to lead the boys underclass rankings, while Aiden Goines (Menomonee Falls) and Aiden Hansen (Oregon) both cleared 6-4.
Sophomore Selci Sirrell (Berlin) highlighted the girls jumps with another elite week, clearing 5-8 in the high jump to move to #1 in Wisconsin while setting a Berlin school record. Sirrell also added a state-leading 37-11 triple jump and a 46.89 performance in the 300 hurdles.
Freshman Norah Eidahl (Hortonville) improved to 5-4 in the high jump at the FVA Relays, moving to #3 among Wisconsin freshmen.
Freshman Lexie Olmstead (Lancaster) emerged as one of the week's top all-around field event athletes, clearing 5-7 in the high jump while also jumping 37-1 in the triple jump and 17-6 in the long jump.
In the pole vault, Colden Searles (Oshkosh West) led the boys at 13-6, while Sydney Luety (Parkview) and freshman Audrey Haberkorn (Whitefish Bay) both cleared 11-0 on the girls side.