Hornets set records, PRs at regionals

The Colby Hornets were on familiar ground for their regional meet on Monday, having the opportunity to host the event on their home track. What was perhaps less familiar were the opponents that they faced. After several years of competing at the D3 level during the WIAA postseason, the Hornets were bumped up to Division 2 for the 2023 season and with that elevation came new competition from larger schools. However, Colby’s athletes did not let that fact daunt them, as 18 qualifiers grabbed topfour spots to move on to the sectional meet in Arcadia.

The girls team came up just a few points short of their third straight regional championship. They finished the evening in third with a final overall score of 96 points. Northland Pines took first with 107 points and Mosinee took second with 101.5.

The boys’ team placed sixth after accumulating 65 points. Lakeland narrowly defeated Stanley-Boyd for the overall regional championship, scoring 149 points to the Orioles’ 145.

The difference in competition was notable and will continue to be something the Hornets will have to contend with as their postseason continues.

“D2 is tough,” head coach Chrisie Wright said. “That’s why we had some of the larger schools come to our last meet, so the kids could see a little more of that competition. Otherwise, we’re not seeing a lot of that [in the outdoor season]. There was a little taste of that last night, but we were where we thought we would be. The kids see what is going on, they are keeping up with where the competition is at and where they need to be.”

Of the 18 sectional qualifiers, the Hornets came away with five victories, one of which set a new school record. Daelyn Rieck continued on her tear in the discus, her furthest throw of the evening traveling 129 feet, seven inches. Not only did the throw earn her first place on Monday, but it also topped previous record holder Kathryn Tesch’s 2005 throw of 127 feet, 11 inches.

“It feels really good to have both middle school and high school records now,” Rieck said. “I’ve been working up towards it all year. I had [throwing coach Jon] Kleinschmidt to help me along the way and I knew that he could teach me a lot. I was hoping it would be something I could accomplish this year and I’m happy that I could do it in his last year of coaching here.”

Rieck also took first place in the shot put. The freshman’s throw of 35 feet, nine-and-a-half inches was nearly a foot further than the toss of second-place Tommie Springer of Northland Pines.

And while Rieck may be the most newly minted record holder, the Hornets boast several others who own Colby records on their team that grabbed top spots at the regional meet.

Willow Oehmichen, who broke her own school record in the pole vault earlier this season, reached a height of 10 feet, six inches on Monday to take first place in the competition and move on to sectionals. She battled Medford’s Jaylin Machon for the top spot, with the pair measuring heights a foot-and-a-half higher than the rest of their competition.

Long jump record holder Caden Healy took first in the event at regionals, posting a leap of 20 feet, nine inches. Teammate Ivan Haemer will be joining him to compete in the event in Arcadia after taking fourth with a jump of 20 feet, one-quarter inch.

Jazmyn Heeg put forth her best performances of her high school career en route to winning the 100-meter dash. The junior ran her preliminary race in 13.69 seconds to take the top seed going into the finals. She then cruised to a first place finish by posting a new PR time of 13.29 seconds in the event’s finals.

Heeg also took second in the 200-meter dash, putting up another personal best by finishing the race in 27.69 seconds.

Seth Hopperdietzel notched a second place finish for Colby by reaching a height of 12 feet in the pole vault, trailing only Stanley-Boyd’s Zack Boes in the competition.

The girls’ 4x800-meter relay team picked up the final runner-up spot for the Hornets. The team of Pearl Feiten, MaKenna Herrmann, Casey Reynolds and Annamarie Schmitt advanced to sectionals by posting a time of 10:41.07 in the event. Feiten also moved on in the 800-meter run after finishing fourth with a time of 2:32.26.

Hayden Willner had two third place finishes in the two hurdle events. She ran the 100-meter hurdles in 17.57 seconds and the 300-meter hurdles in 49.14 seconds. The senior will also be competing in Arcadia in the long jump after taking fourth in the competition on Monday. Her longest leap of the day measured 15 feet, nine inches.

Veronica Mateer posted a personal best in the triple jump to snag the final sectional spot in the triple jump. She recorded a distance of 29 feet, 10.75 inches to take fourth place for the Hornets.

Haemer and Healy added two more third place finishes, with Haemer taking third in the shot put by posting a throw of 42 feet, 10 inches and Healy advancing in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.65 seconds. Nathaniel Robida joined his teammate in qualifying for the 100-meter dash by posting a time of 11.91 seconds in the event, earning himself fourth place.