Schley second at state in 400 meters; Spencer’s Zastrow same in pole vault

Senior Savannah Schley of Loyal and junior Leah Zastrow of Spencer both finished in second place at the WIAA State Track and Field Championships for Division 3 held at UW-La Crosse from June 24-26. They, along with several other athletes from Loyal, Spencer and Greenwood, competed at the meet, with most of them placing in the middle of their fields.

Schley’s second-place finish came in the 400m dash after she took fourth place at sectionals. She ran a 59.47 at the state meet, taking the runner-up spot just behind Brynlee Nelson of Fennimore (58.0). Schley also took fourth place in the 800m run, improving her sectional time by a hair (2:21.16) and placing higher than she did in the sectional round. She also competed in the 100m dash, but her 13.46 time was not fast enough to move on past the preliminary round, taking 11th overall.

Two other individuals and a relay team also competed at state for the Greyhounds. Aubre Robida joined Schley in the 100m dash, and like Schley, only competed in the preliminary round. Robida took 16th overall with a time of 13.54. In the pole vault, Margaret Reis vaulted 8’6” to place 14th at state, and the 4X100m relay team of Leah Scherer, Sheila Tellock, Aubre Robida and Alyssia Zvolena took seventh place, breaking a school record with their combined time of 51.26.

For Spencer, Zastrow took second place in the pole vault, vaulting nine inches higher than the height she reached at sectionals (11’9”) to take second. She placed just behind Raegan Sorensen of Unity, who vaulted 12’3” to take first. Zastrow also competed in the 100m hurdles, first running a qualifying time of 16.49 to move on to the finals. She ran a 17.44 there, taking 10th place overall. Her teammate, Connor Clark, also participated at the state meet in the pole vault, but did not get over the bar in his attempts, recording no height at the meet.

Ashtin Palms was the sole representative from Greenwood at state. He competed in the 300m hurdles, running a 46.01 that put him in 15th place overall.

As a team, both the Loyal and Spencer girls earned points. Loyal placed 15th with 15 points and Spencer took 33rd with eight points.

ROSS PATTERMANN/STAFF PHOTO