Colby track opens season at Marshfield, UW-Stout
By Nathaniel Underwood
The indoor track season began last week with a pair of competitions for both the boys and girls Colby Hornet teams as they traveled to Marshfield for their opening action on Tuesday and Thursday and then competed at the small school Northern Badger Classic at UW-Stout on Saturday.
Northern Badger Classic
In their second meet of the new season, the Hornets tested their mettle against athletes from over 30 other teams in Menomonie last Saturday. Daelyn Rieck, Annamarie Schmitt and Rolyn Hopperdietzel all had top-five individual finishes for Colby, helping the girls team take 12th place with 16 points and the boys team place 21st with five points.
Saint Charles took first place in the boys team competition, finishing with 76.5 points, while Cameron grabbed the top spot for the girls, finishing with 77 points.
In her first action since the state meet in 2024, Rieck appeared to be in good form for the Hornets on Saturday. The junior thrower snagged first place in the shot put after unleashing a throw of 39 feet, five-and-three-quarters inches on her third attempt of the day. It was almost a foot and a half further than her first place throw at last year’s Northern Badger Classic, an improvement that proved necessary to retain the top spot in the event.
Athens’ Sy’Rih Hartwig had two tosses that would have beaten out Rieck’s mark last season, her furthest traveling 38 feet, 10.25 inches during the fourth round of throws, but neither cracked 39 feet to challenge Rieck’s best attempt. Fellow Hornet Edynn Hinker also posted a top-20 performance for Colby in the event, taking 19th with a throw of 26 feet, seven-and-a-quarter inches.
Schmitt competed in the longest race of the day for Colby, grabbing third place in the 3200-meter run. Her time of 12:42.33 was nearly a minute faster than her eighth place performance at the 2024 meet at UW-Stout and put her behind only Taylor Sylla of Independence-Gilmanton and Prescott’s Kyra Dix. Schmitt and the second place Cardinal sophomore were close for much of the race and while Schmitt made a move to close the distance down the stretch, Dix was able to just hold on to the runner up position, finishing just five-tenths of a second ahead.
Hopperdietzel and teammate Xander Buchanan had the two top finishes for the boys team in the same event. Both had improvements over their 2024 Northern Badger Classic performances in the long jump, but saw their placements slip slightly with a more competitive field. Hopperdietzel grabbed fourth place for his jump of 19 feet, four-and-a-quarter inches and Buchanan took 11th with a leap of 18 feet, four-and-a-half inches.
Both sophomores added more top-30 finishes, with Buchanan taking 18th in the triple jump with a distance of 34 feet, 10.5 inches and a 25th place finish in the high jump by clearing a height of five feet, three inches. Hopperdietzel, meanwhile, took 27th in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.14 seconds.
Oliver Steen also had a top-30 performance for the boys’ team, taking 16th in the shot put. His last throw of the day was his longest, measuring 38 feet, one-half inch.
Ali Adams and Nicole Verhoef picked up a 21st place
See HORNET TRACK AND FIELD/ Page 14
STARTING OFF THE SEASON STRONG - Edynn Hinker launches her best throw of the day in the shot put, earning herself 12th place in the shot put.
LONG LEAP - Veronica Mateer vaults into the pit during the long jump competition in Marshfield. The senior took 13th in the event.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Hornet track and field
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finish and a 25th place finish respectively for the girls squad. Adams did so in the 1600-meter run, where she posted a time of 6:50.71 and Verhoef represented the Hornets in the 400meter dash, putting together a time of 1:20.68 in the event.
Romina Perez and Chase Heeg both cracked the top-40 in their respective 55-meter dash competitions. Perez grabbed 39th with a time of 8.51 seconds in the girls race while Heeg finished in 40th with a time of 7.27 seconds.
Marshfield Tiger Invite
Both Colby teams opened their 2025 seasons in Marshfield last week, the boys competing on Tuesday while the girls followed on Thursday. The boys placed ninth out of 14 teams, collecting 23 points, while the girls finished with 12 points, putting them in 10th out of 15 squads.
The Hornets looked to be testing the waters at both meets, though some of the potential strengths began to shine through.
Rolyn Hopperdietzel, Xander Buchanan, Chase Heeg and Oliver Steen all came up with scoring performances for the boys squad on Tuesday. Hopperdietzel had the highest finish, taking third in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, one-andthree- quarters inches, trailing only Marshfield’s Jackson Anderson and Monty Woltmann. Buchanan took fifth in the same event, placing fifth with a leap of 18 feet, two-and-aquarter inches.
Heeg led Colby in the sprinting events, taking sixth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.92 seconds and grabbing 11th in the 220-yard dash with a time of 26.71 seconds. Steen took 18th in the 60-yard dash with a time of 7.52 seconds and Dany Nunez placed 17th in the 220-yard dash.
Steen picked up the boys final scoring finish in the shot put. His throw of 38 feet, five-and-a-half inches earned him seventh place on Tuesday.
Rhys Rau and Jacob Raatz represented Colby in the distance events. Rau placed 13th in the 880-yard run with a time of 2:35.00 and 15th in the one mile run with a time of 6:12.31 while Raatz picked up a pair of 16th place finishes, putting up times of 2:48.00 and 6:50.01 respectively.
On Thursday, Annamarie Schmitt had the top finish for the Hornet girls. The junior led the team’s distance runners with a second place finish in the one mile run, posting a time of 6:16.63 to finish closely behind race winner Phoenix Losievski of Pittsville. Teammates Jennelle Ertl and Carisa Steen placed 13th and 18th in the same event, posting times of 7:17.10 and 7:50.20 respectively.
Ali Adams and Alexis Vanderhoof represented the team in the other distance event, taking 15th and 16th in the 880-yard run as they finished back-to-back with times of 3:12.63 and 3:12.93.
Veronica Mateer earned a top-10 spot in the 60-meter hurdles where she posted a time of 11.02 seconds and then picked up a 13th place finish in the long jump, where her furthest attempt measured 12 feet, five-and-a-quarter inches. Edynn Hinker also had a solid performance in the field events for Colby, taking 12th place in the shot put with a throw of 27 feet, five inches.
Romina Perez had the best finish in the sprints for the Hornets, placing 19th in the 60-yard dash with a time of 8.40 seconds.
Colby’s indoor season will continue with another trip to Menomonie this Thursday, April 3 for the UW-Stout Elite Meet. The competition is set to begin at 3 p.m.
CRUISING IN MARSHFIELD - Ali Adams rounds the corner as the Hornets’ anchor during the 4x880yard relay.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
SETTLING INTO A GROOVE - Annamarie Schmitt finds her pace early in the one mile run in Marshfield. STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
