Although it was cloudy in Big Foot, the sun was shining on the Whippet Track and Field Program as the team competed in its regional competition Monday, May 23. The top four finishers in each event earned a spot to compete in Thursday’s Sectional competition in Prairie du Chien.
On the girls’ side, a complete team effort allowed the team to earn enough points to finish runner-up in the regional. In the 100M Dash final, Maddie Buehler placed second in 12.86 seconds, and A’Lani Rogers finished 9th with a sub 14 effort of 13.99. In the 200 Prelims, Kindyl Kilar roared to the finish line with a time of 26.14, catapulting herself to the 3rd fastest ever in program history. In the finals, Kindyl took the crown in 26.48. Grace Villarreal and Calli Grosinske torched the track and both earned spots at Sectionals by placing 2nd and 4th in the 400. Carley Boudreau is really coming on strong when it matters most and posted a PR in the 100 Hurdles with a time of 21.01, good enough for 6th. In the 300 Low Hurdles, she ripped a 54.05 to claim 2nd overall and dropped 2.5 seconds from her previous best. The 4×100 and 4×200 relays feature the same four girls and consist of Olive Coburn, Maddie Buehler, Emma Weigel, and Kindyl Kilar. The 4×100 Relay took the crown and ran the 7th fastest time in program history with a 50.78. The 4×2 was just off the top 10 list in program history but still took the tape with a time of 1:47.56. The 4×400 Relay of Callie Grosinske, Gwen Truesdale, Nola Coburn, and Grace Villarreal brought the stick home in 3rd overall with a time of 4:35.56.
The field events also produced many sectional advancers. Gwen Truesdale advanced in the High Jump by having fewer misses against her competitor and took the final spot to sectionals with a jump of 4′ 6″. Evie Troxel and Izzy Dieter advanced with 1st and 4th place finishes in the Pole Vault. Evie is on the cusp of a top ten position in program history by just brushing the bar off 9′ 6″, and advanced with a 9′ 0″ clearing. Izzy cleared 7′ 6″. Izzy got it done in the ring as well by placing 3rd in the Discus with a toss of 95′ 2″.
The boys finished in a very respectable 3rd place behind some stellar performances themselves. The 400 featured Ethan Dugan throwing down on the home stretch to run a lifetime best of 51.99 and Connor Sharlow in 3rd to take two Whippets in that event to Sectionals. Connor’s time was 53.44, which was also a personal best. In the 800, Nate Holden and Miles Nickelsburg ran PRs of 2:15.61 and 2:23.17 and were able to cap their seasons off on a high note. Cooper Hammond gutted out a strong effort in the 1600 to run his second-best time ever with a time of 5:00.04 but finished one spot short of advancing on to Sectionals. Colin Dugan ran his lifetime best in the 1600 with a time of 6:02, very close to his goal of breaking 6:00. The 3200 featured freshman Jack Hefty who ran a comfortable pace before letting his legs stretch out a bit. Jack finished under 10:00 for the first time and claimed the regional title in 9:58.92. The 300 Low Hurdles produced two lifetime bests for Caleb Clapper and Andrew McCullars. They finished 6th and 7th, respectively, with times of 49.21 and 49.34. The relays were thrilling as the Boys’ 4×100 of Traysen Thomason, Quincy Boudreau, Nate Black, and Noah Coleman took third in 46.63. The 4×200 was ever so tight but found themselves just short of 4th to take 5th in 1:40.89. That relay consisted of Traysen Thomason, Caleb Clapper, Adrian Rios, and Nate Black. On the anchor leg, Nate was mowing down the field but just ran out of track. The 4×400 finished off the track events for the evening in a heart pumping finish to take the crown. Connor Sharlow set the table giving Cooper the baton in the lead. Cooper then gave it to Quincy who blazed the home stretch to give it to Ethan in the lead. A strong athlete from Big Foot passed Ethan within the first 150m, and Ethan patiently waited until the time was right to strike; he did so in a convincing fashion to take the crown, and the best time of the year in the relay with a finish time of 3:36.18.
The field events were also very fruitful for Whippets as CJ Tomomitsu cleared 12′ in the Vault to take 2nd. The Discus again was the place to be if you are a Whippet fan as Connor Raupp and Jake Kuhlow advanced by placing 1st and 3rd. Connor’s throw was 129′ 7″ and Jake’s was 123′ 3″. The Shot-Put ring was on fire for Jake Kuhlow as he sent the 12-pound steel ball to a 3′ personal best and placed 3rd with a put of 42′ 4″. Connor was close to advancing in both events but ultimately placed 5th.
Next up is the WIAA Sectional Track and Field meet in Prairie du Chien on Thursday, May 26. Field events start at 3:30, and track events begin at 4:15. GO, WHIPPETS!
Complete Results: https://wayzatatiming.com/track/2022/WIAAD2RegionalBigFoot/Results.htm
Article Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Track and Field Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Bob Mischka
