Colby conquers the Cloverbelt
A jagged fork of lightning split the sky on Tuesday night and dark clouds and heavy rain fell upon the track near Colby High. But not even the wrath of Mother Nature could stop the Colby girls from their date with destiny.
For the first time in over three decades, the Colby girls are queens of the Cloverbelt once again. The Hornets turned in a dominant display to defeat second place Loyal 192.50 to 166.50.
“The girls team was a complete team effort for all the girls doing what each needed to do in order to become champs,” head coach Chrisie Wright said in the aftermath of the Hornets milestone. “This goes for them during the school day, after school, during workouts and especially on performance days and nights.”
Jazmyn Heeg was fifth in the 100-meter dash in 13.70. Hayden Willner grabbed fifth in the 200-meters in 28.30. Trinity Severson and Willner took all-conference when they placed second and third in the 100-meter hurdles in 1:02.54 and 1:03.27.
Willow Oehmichen, Mercedes Sarkkinen and Daisy Feiten put on a huge charge in the 800-meters to place second, third and fourth for all-conference in times of 2:38.35, 2:41.79 and 2:43.93.
Oehmichen, Feiten and Reagan Schraufnagel were a potent trio in the one mile. Oehmichen captured the event in 6:06.40. Feiten was in second and Schraufnagel fifth in 6:08.51 and 6:48.67.
The same trio placed in the top five of the two mile race. Oehmichen was second in 13:59.60, Feiten fourth in 14:17.05 and Schraufnagel fifth 14:34.56.
Severson and Willner went took more honors when they finished second and third in the 100-meters 16.36 and 17.80. Just as she has all season, Severson was top of the class in the 300-meter hurdles, taking the title in 48.62 seconds.
The 4x100-meter team was all-conference with their place showing in 55.88 seconds. Colby senior Emma Kroll was one of the members, and she was elated to go out as a conference champ in her final year in Hornets green and gold.
“This means so much,” Kroll said after she took a selfie with the title. “It’s all our hard work and dedication over the years - this is our legacy.”
Kroll and Colby continued to rack up the points in the relays. The 4x200-meter was second in 1:58.73, and the 4x400 meter relay, the event of the night, saw the Hornets finish third in 5:04.62.
Colby’s best relay result was the 4x800. The Hornets won the first race of the day with a time of 12:14.90. Kaylee Podevels and Lydia Decker went third and fourth after both reaching heights of 4-8.
Severson and Willner went fourth and fifth in the long jump in 14-8.5 and 14-5.75. Willow Oehmichen won more Cloverbelt Conference honors by placing third in the pole vault in 8-6.
Malayna Rieck swept the throwing events, taking the shot in 35-0.5 and the discus in 112-6. Katrina Gosse placed fourth in the discus in 87-2 and third in the shot put in 32-1.5.
The Colby Hornets were hoping to make it a clean sweep, and were neck and neck with Neillsville all night. But the Warriors dominance in the 300-meter hurdles, was the deciding factor as the Warriors took over twenty points in that event alone.
Colby fell to Neillsville 195 to 175. But in between the frustration of coming so close to a season long dream was incredible moments of triumph.
Every Hornet rejoiced as senior Chase Oehmichen, after twice finishing runner- up in the 800-meters and one mile in 2:06.38 and 4:38.76, left the field in his dust as he won the two mile in 10:42.22.
Oehmichen crossed the finish line to the cheers and applause of his teammates and Colby faithful. It was a journey four years in the making, and as he crossed the finish line, his joy could not be contained.
“It’s amazing,” Oehmichen said, trying to describe his feelings. “I’ve been waiting for this moment going on four years now. Getting the chance to come race against amazing people, and chance to be all-conference is amazing.”
Oehmichen was not the only Colby boy to be crowned champion. Caden Healy put his stamp on the meet with an amazing hat-trick of titles. Healy won the 100-meter dash in 11.44 seconds, and then followed this up with the 200-meter crown in 23.46 seconds. Healy’s dominance in the long-jump earned him the title with his leap of 20-0.5.
The Hornets completely owned the throwing events. Mason Voss won the discus with his throw of 130-1, and Brent Jeske took the shot with a throw of 46-7. Brent was runner-up to Voss in the discus with a throw of 128-6.
Cory Steen and Derek Jesek were second and fourth in the shot put, with distances of 41-11 and 38-11.5.
Voss and Brent Jeske finished tied for fourth in the 100-meters in 12.07 seconds.
Jay Irizarry did an excellent job in the 110-meter hurdles, taking third and allconference in 19.37. The 4x100 relay was second in 49:03. The 4x200 placed third in 1:48.28. The 4x400 was third in 4:09.91 and the 4x800 took second in 9:51.21.
Brandon Voelker was fifth in the triple jump in 34-6.5. Oehmichen was all conference in the pole vault after taking second place with a height of eleven feet.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAMWORK -The Colby Hornets girls track and field team made history on Monday when they won the Cloverbelt Conference Championsips for the first time in nearly 30 years. The Hornets will now prepare for regionals next week, June 14, in Colby.STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN
TOP OF THE FIELD -Malayna Rieck outclassed the field in the throwing events, winning the shot and discus. See
LEAN INTO IT - Mason Voss flings himself across the line in the 200-meter dash. STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN
