Tigers aiming for Marawood

Squads look to end their title drought

By Casey Krautkramer

It’s been 16 years since the Stratford varsity girls track and field team and 19 years since the Tiger varsity boys have won Marawood Conference championships. Head coach Nathan Heeg, now in his fourth season, is hoping his boys and girls end their conference title drought this season.

“It’s been a long time; we have had discussions as a team about this very thing,” Heeg said. “The team has already indicated its goal to compete for the conference title on both the boys and girls side of things. I believe we have a strong chance to do because we have a bigger team than we’ve had in years, and the talent across multiple events is also there to score points where we’ve not been able to in the past. We look forward to the challenge.”

The following are the top returning Stratford girls track and field athletes this season: seniors Jaidyn Wright, long and triple jump; Alexis Folz, shot put and discus; Sarah Zuelke, 200-meter run and high jump and Lydia Goldbach, 800 and 1,600-meter runs and sophomore Sadie Weigel, 200 and 400-meter runs.

Girl track and field athletes who are top newcomers to the Tigers varsity squad are junior Ella Heidmann, 800 and 1,600-meter runs; freshmen Kayla Casperson and Breleigh Skaya, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs, Kassedey Downey, high jump and 200-meter run and Haley Woodford, 100 and 300-meter hurdles.

The following are the top returning Stratford boys track and field athletes this season: seniors Elijah Lucio, 400 and 800-meter runs, Darin Heeg, 200-meter run and 300-meter hurdles; juniors Connor Weigel, 200 and 400-meter runs and triple jump and Lance Krieg, 800 and 1,600-meter runs; sophomores Noah Lucio, 400 and 800-meter runs and Koehler Kilty, shot put.

Boy track and field athletes who are top newcomers to the Tigers varsity squad are freshmen Jett Schoenherr, 100 and 200-meter runs, Ethan Heeg, 800 and 1,600-meter runs, Garrett Zuelke, 110 and 300-meter hurdles, Xander Curtice, high jump, 110-meter hurdles and pole vault and Cree Defoe, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.

Jaidyn Wright is hoping to at least make the WIAA Division 2 state podium in the triple jump this season, or even win the entire event. She achieved a school record distance 35 feet, 6.75 inches in the triple jump at the Division 2 state championships last season. Wright took seventh place at state and one spot shy of the podium.

“Jaidyn has big goals for this season, as does our jumps coach Joe Drexler,” Coach Heeg said. “She feels great to start the year, as she’s already jumped a mark of 34-10 in the indoor track season. She’s working harder than ever to achieve her goals for the podium at the state meet this season.”

The Stratford boys 4x800-meter relay team also competed in the WIAA Division 2 state championships last season. The relay of brothers Elijah and Noah Lucio, Conner Weigel and Evan Danielson, along with alternates Lance Krieg and Peyton Glenn, took 12th place at state. Coach Heeg is excited about the potential the boys 4,800-meter relay team has this season.

“I am looking for bigger things for the 4x800-meter relay team; the team is mostly returning for this season and they all believe they can get back to state,” Coach Heeg said. “Coach Tiny (Kevin Michalski) has them training well and they look to be in great shape to make another state appearance. A big reason is they can achieve greater things this year is the experience they now have from last season, and some new runners that will contribute to the team’s overall success this season.

Coach Heeg’s other high school track and field assistant coaches, besides Michalski and Drexler, are Robyn Hughes, Breanne Shaw and Derek Joswiak. Brenda Skaya is the middle school head coach and her assistant coaches are Amii Kreft and Bekki Schmidt.