MARSHFIELD BOYS INDOOR MEET - SPRING HAS SPRUNG

MARSHFIELD BOYS INDOOR MEET

The spring high school sports season began locally Tuesday with the Medford Raiders placing third and the Rib Lake Redmen taking seventh in the team standings at the Marshfield Tigers Boys Indoor Track and Field Invitational.

Senior Evan Paul had a big meet for Medford, placing in all three of his jumping events. The Raiders also scored well in all three relay races.

Rib Lake won both distance relays and got individual third-place finishes from Jack Regier in the mile and Kaleb Scott in the 880-yard run.

The meet marked the head coaching debuts for Medford’s Josh Ognenoff and Rib Lake’s Todd Henderson. Medford scored 53.5 points to finish behind Marshfield (156.5) and Owen-Withee (61). Wittenberg-Birnamwood (47), Stratford (42) and Marathon (41.5) had point totals just a little bit higher than Rib Lake’s 39.5.

Auburndale (28), Colby (23), Adams-Friendship (12), Athens and Columbus Catholic (10), Pittsville (8) and Greenwood (4) rounded out the 14-team field.

Rib Lake’s relay wins came in the first and last races of the day on the fieldhouse track. Scott, Truman Smith, Connor Highfill and Jack Regier won the two-mile relay to start the meet with a time of 9:25.16 that beat Marathon by 2.14 seconds. Medford’s team of freshmen Angus Hamland and Judah Wipf and sophomores Ayden Tyznik and Peyton Ried took fourth in 9:58.6, well behind Marshfield (9:43.63) but also unchallenged by fifth-place Greenwood (11:27.23).

In the meet’s closing mile relay, the local teams got the top two spots. Rib Lake’s Regier, Smith, Seamus Highfill and Scott won it in 4:07.82, while Medford seniors Caleb Scoles, Hayden Koester and Anthony Seidel joined freshman Sawyer Hoops in taking second at 4:09.35, 1.95 seconds ahead of third-place Marshfield.

In the 4x160-yard relay, Medford’s team of Damien Dums, Levi Zuleger, Colton Long and Luke Klapatauskas took fourth in 1:20.23, while Rib Lake’s group of Gus Zuleger, Isaiah Hubbard, David Pichea and Kylan Bartelt got the eighthplace point in 1:25.4. Marshfield’s top team won the race in 1:12.64, while Colby was second at 1:16.94.

Paul’s top finish in the jumps was second in the triple jump. His best attempt covered 38 feet, 11 inches, leaving him 24.5 inches behind winner Monty Woltmann of Marshfield. Dums took sixth for Medford at 35-1. In the long jump, Paul was fourth at 18-10.25, trailing Marshfield’s Jackson Anderson (19-5) and Woltmann (19-2.5) and Colby’s Rolyn Hopperdietzel (19-1.75). Gus Zuleger led Rib Lake by placing 13th at 15-11.75.

The high jump was a good event for local entrants. Rib Lake’s Jed Henderson, a WIAA Division 3 state qualifier last year, opened the new year by clearing the bar at 6 feet, good for fourth place as Stratford’s Xander Curtice had the tiebreaker edge for third. Marshfield’s Dirk Vanderwyst (6-2) and Joshua Steinbach (6-1) were the top two finishers. Paul took fifth for Medford by clearing 5-10, while Koester got the eighth-place point when he cleared 5-6.

The day’s other field event standout was Medford senior Erich Moretz, who took fourth in the shot put competition with a toss of 40-4. The Raider newcomer to the sport got the fourth spot by an inch over Stratford’s Tyler Budtke. Marathon’s Chris Marcell won it with an impressive toss of 57-2, while Marshfield’s Ethan Knecht was second at 53-8.5.

Medford’s Will Daniels placed third in the 60-yard hurdles at 8.38 seconds, not far behind Marshfield’s Beckett McFarlane (8.21) and Gavin Larsen (8.24). In the 880-yard run, Scott took third for Rib Lake in 2:14, while Seidel and Schutt tied for seventh at 2:29 and Raider Brandon Curtis was ninth in 2:30.

Regier was third for Rib Lake in the mile run at 5:04.72, well ahead of fourthplace Marshall Neve of Marshfield (5:11.71). Hamland, a freshman, was ninth for Medford in 5:32.79, just ahead of Smith (5:36.21). Owen-Withee’s Colton Paczkowski won in 5:00.18, 0.26 seconds ahead of Columbus Catholic’s Isaac Scheer. Curtis was 14th in 6:10.06.

Jordan Lavin got two points for Medford by placing seventh in the pole vault competition. He cleared the bar at 9 feet. Klapatauskas was 10th at 8 feet.

Among other varsity notables, Medford’s Paxton Rothmeier was ninth (26.28), Scoles was 10th (26.46) and Pichea was 15th (27.64) in the 220-yard dash. Seidel was ninth at 1:02.75, Seamus Highfill was 10th at 1:03.46 and Ried was 13th in the 440-yard dash. Rib Lake’s Lawson Carlson (34-11) was 15th and Medford’s Logan Langdon (32-10) was 17th in the shot put. Pichea cleared 4-10 to take 15th in the high jump. Long was 16th in the 60-yard dash at 7.4 seconds.

Top-five finishers in JV competition included Medford’s Axel Brushaber (8 feet), who was second in pole vault; Connor Highfill, who was third in the mile (5:37.3); Klapatauskas (33-9) and Eric Paul of Medford (29-9), who were fourth and fifth in triple jump; Wipf (2:36), who was fourth in the 880-yard run Rib Lake’s team of Seamus Highfill, Schutt, Dene Zuleger and Kylan Bartelt was second in the two-mile relay at 10:44.32, while Connor Highfill, Schutt, Dene Zuleger and Bartelt were third in the mile relay at 4:25.53.

Medford and Rib Lake will be back in Marshfield today, Thursday, for the girls meet. Medford is at UW-Stout Friday for the Northern Badger Large Schools Invitational, while Rib Lake will be at there for the Small Schools meet on Saturday.

Rib Lake freshman Lawson Carlson pushes out a shot put attempt during varsity competition in Tuesday’s Marshfield Indoor Invitational. Carlson placed 15th with a throw of 34 feet, 11 inches. PHOTOS BY MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS

Left: Rib Lake’s Truman Smith holds a slight lead over Marathon’s Matthew Kindlarski during Tuesday’s mile run at Marshfield. Smith finished 10th in 5:37.56. Above: Medford’s Anthony Seidel accelerates around the corner and goes into his last lap in the 440-yard dash, where he placed ninth in 1:02.75.