ALL-EASTERN CLOVERBELT TRACK & FIELD - Six were champs as Pirates made strides in Eastern Cloverbelt

ALL-EASTERN CLOVERBELT TRACK & FIELD

The Gilman Pirates made their presence felt in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference with 10 athletes earning awards with top-two finishes in 13 events during the conference track and field meet held at Colby May 14.

Six of those athletes were at least a part of conference title performances.

Claire Drier, a junior, set a school record while winning the girls 100-meter high hurdles in a time of 17.28 seconds and lowered that to 17.15 seconds six days later at the WIAA Division 3 Gilman regional. She added a runner-up finish in the 300-meter hurdles at conference in 49.17 seconds, just 0.04 seconds behind Owen-Withee’s Kendall Weiler.

Junior Chad Konsella and freshman Taydyn Angell claimed two of Gilman’s three boys Eastern Cloverbelt championships. Konsella won the long jump at 20 feet, 7 inches, which wound up being his best of the spring. Konsella later qualified for state and finished 13th in Division 3. He added a runner-up finish at conference in the 100-meter dash at 11.74 seconds, 0.02 seconds behind Neillsville’s Brody Bergemann.

Angell’s shot put throw of 40-2 was his best at the time and beat Loyal’s Jaden Smith by nearly 2 feet. Angell got as far as 40-10 in the regional and qualified for the sectional.

The other boys title came in the 1,600-meter relay where Konsella, Logan Halida, Brady McAlpine and Sawyer Winger teamed up to win in a season-best time of 3:46.16, 1.36 seconds ahead of runner-up Columbus Catholic. That same group also took second in the 800-meter relay at 1:38.1, 0.52 seconds behind Owen-Withee.

Winger, a sophomore, cleared 5-10 in the high jump to add a second-place award to his day.

Bailey Angell, a senior, earned second- place finishes in the shot put and discus behind Colby’s Daelyn Rieck. The Minnesota-Duluth recruit threw the shot 32-7.75 and the discus 105-3.

Freshman Addison Vick also earned two second-place awards by going 15-10 in the long jump, an inch behind champion Kaylee Lawrence of Neillsville, and by clearing 4-10 in the high jump, 2 inches lower than Loyal’s Addysen Wolf.

The team of Jaylen Copenhaver, Drier, Patricia Kloss and Vick earned second place in the 800-meter relay at 1:54.34. Loyal won in 1:52.98.

Gilman’s boys finished fourth in the nine-team conference meet with 84 points, trailing Neillsville (165), Owen-Withee (153) and Columbus Catholic (128). Gilman’s girls finished fifth with 86 points. Loyal put up 152 points to outscore Neillsville (134), Colby (120.333) Owen-Withee (109).