MEDFORD TRACK & FIELD PREVIEW - Medford anxious to see where the pieces fit
MEDFORD TRACK & FIELD PREVIEW
The Medford Raiders open the 2024 track and field season with some known quantities, including a defending WIAA Division 2 state champion in Meredith Richter and several athletes who were key contributors to the program’s second-place girls and boys team finishes last spring in the Great Northern Conference, a couple of whom also finished their year at state.
There is also plenty to be learned about this year’s rosters, which is always part of the intrigue and excitement at the start of a new season for head coach Shawn Sullivan and her staff.
“We’ll find out where our strengths are,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of unknowns yet. It’s that way in every season. A lot of kids don’t know either. They’re like, ‘throw me in whatever.’ The kids have such great attitudes this season. Maybe it’s the weather, but they’ve been very positive at practice, just working really hard.”
The weather certainly was one of the stars of the first two weeks of practice. While winter is threatening to make a little bit of a comeback in the next few days, the very spring-like weather to start March put the Raiders and every other northern Wisconsin squad ahead of schedule heading into the indoor season.
For Medford, that kicked off Tuesday with the boys competing at the Marshfield Invitational. The girls are in Marshfield today, Thursday. The full squad heads to UW-Stout Friday for the Northern Badger Large Schools Classic.
“We are so much further ahead and it’s only two weeks in,” Sullivan said. “We’ve been able to segment practice so that we can differentiate between short sprinters, long sprinters, distance, jumps. Shot and discus, they’re out there throwing already. Kids are actually able to jump in the pits. We always do the Marshfield meets because of the field events, really. We usually are never able to high jump, pole vault, all of that. You just need to get the kids in the events. This year, we have the pits out. The hurdles are out. We’re hurdling on the track.”
Numbers wise, Medford sits in decent shape to start the season with the boys roster close to 30 athletes and the girls a little lower in the 22-23 range. With most athletes competing in multiple events, that should be enough to fill the lineup sheets and score competitively once the outdoor season starts, which as of now will be April 11 with Medford’s annual Early Bird Invitational.
The girls finished 2023 21 points and change behind Mosinee in the GNC meet, which was hosted by Lakeland. They took fourth at the WIAA Division 2 regional meet in Colby and sent Richter to state, where she won the 800-meter title in a school-record time of 2:14.08 and competed in the 400- and 1,600-meter races as well. She set school records last season in the 400-, 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter events and seems ready for a strong finish to her spectacular career. Richter is headed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha next year to compete in cross country and track.
“She has been working so hard,” Sullivan said. “I’ve had her on a running plan and she’s been hitting her 40 miles a week. She’s been in the weight room too and looks great. She’s healthy.”
Sullivan is excited about the girls’ entire senior class. Lindsey Klapatauskas returns as Medford’s leading shot putter, a sectional triple jump qualifier and a staple in Medford’s 400-meter relay. Jaylin Machon is back in the hurdles and pole vault. Machon was a sectional qualifier last year in the 100-meter high hurdles and just missed returning to state in pole vault. Ella Daniels returns likely to run in the 800- and 1,600-meter races, plus she can long jump. Brenley Beran returns for a fourth year as jumper and sprinter and Rachel Wesle returns for her second year, potentially doing shot put and discus, high jumping and sprinting.
The junior class is light with just three girls currently, two of whom are new athletes trying to find their roles, Toyrn Rau and Carly Koski. Ella Dassow is back as a two-year veteran in the long-distance runs.
Nine sophomores bring some depth to the girls roster. Lindsay Kahn joins Dassow as a leader in the distance department, while Aliyah Pilgrim returns after a solid first year in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and long jump. Alexis Zuleger returns in the short sprints, Ady Dittrich is back in the hurdles and is adding pole vault to her list this season, Autumn Cooley returns likely to high jump and sprint and Rivalee Stokes could add some sprinting after getting some shot and discus work last spring.
One of Medford’s top cross country runners, Morgan Liske, has joined the track team with Sullivan guessing she could slide into the 400- and 800-meter races, while newcomers Addison Juedes and Felicity Ziehlke are also looking to find their roles. Fresh off her third-place state finish in wrestling, freshman Avery Losiewicz looks to gain points for Medford as a pole vaulter and hurdler. Bridget Wesle is working on shot and discus and Ellie Eckert and Erin Kreklau are starting out as sprinters.
“I told them you’re going to be multievent athletes,” Sullivan said. “We’ll be working hard in practice, building up that stamina. We’ve got everything pretty much covered. There’s not a lot of depth. But that’s all right. You can still have a lot of success with that.”
The boys, who were 34 points behind Lakeland in GNC competition and third at the Colby regional last May, graduated a big senior class, but their numbers remained stable with a lot of freshman additions and a fair amount of returning athletes.
In the senior class, Adyn Gripentrog ended last year as the only non-senior on the state awards podium after Medford’s sixth-place finish and school-record run in the Division 3,200-meter relay. A first-year track participant last spring, Gripentrog was a huge find for the Raiders in 800- and 1,600-meter races.
Owen Stockwell looks to build off a solid first season with the program where he got up to 40 feet, 2 inches and qualified for the sectional in the triple jump. Adam Kowalski is back to pole vault and sprint. The Raiders are hopeful they can get Cory Lindahl back to form following a wrestling injury. He was a key relay runner and sprinter and he scored some long jump points last spring.
Sprinter Isaac Kautzer is back and the Raiders got cross country runners Logan Gubser, Hunter Briggs and Silas Briggs to join adding some needed distance depth.
Sullivan is anxious to see how much a talented junior class brings this spring. It’s led by Medford’s state wrestling champion Gage Losiewicz, who qualified for state pole vault competition last spring, finishing 11th at 13 feet. He got as high as 13-3 at the Arcadia sectional and is a key 200- and 400-meter sprinter. Evan Paul should score well in the long, triple and high jumps and he sprints as well. He joined Stockwell in sectional triple jump competition last year. Paxton Rothmeier was 12th at the sectional in the 110-meter high hurdles and is looking to improve in that event as well as the 300-meter intermediates.
“Evan’s been working really hard,” Sullivan said.
“He has put the time in in the weight room, right along with Gage. Paxton Rothmeier puts in so much work. He’s healthy and feeling good. Hopefully he has a great season.”
Caleb Scoles returns likely to fill a role in the 200- and 400-meter spots. Jason Scott is another junior who looks to be much improved as a sprinter. Hudson Briggs adds depth in hurdles and could fill a distance role. Anthony Seidel is back, possibly filling spots in the 800- and 1,600-meter races. Hayden Koester and Brandon Curtis joined the team this year. Koester is looking at long jumping and possibly running the 400 and 800. Curtis is another cross country addition.
Will Daniels heads the four-member sophomore class. He had a solid freshman season as a hurdler. Thrower William Bartnik, sprinter Ryker Hallam and Evan Pagel, who could run several different distances also return.
The nine-member freshman class includes Logan Langdon, who could fill multiple field and sprint roles; Axel Brushaber, a jumper/sprinter; thrower Christopher Dunn; Nevyn Gripentrog, who figures to fit in the 800- to 1,600 group; short sprinter Arden Kautzer; Jordy Lavin, a potential pole vaulter and sprinter; Peyton Ried, another cross country runner who should fill a long sprint role; Kade Wellman, who’s trying discus and short sprints, and Alan Scheel, who could jump and sprint.
“Sometimes when you have a little smaller team you have more of that flexibility to try kids in different spots,” Sullivan said. “That makes it really fun.”
One of the highlights of the 2024 schedule is its home cooking. If the weather allows in April, Medford will host the Early Bird meet, its annual invitational on April 23 and a middle school meet on April 22. May brings the GNC Championships to Raider Field on May 14, the GNC JV meet two days later and the WIAA Division 2 regional meet on Monday, May 20. Those who advance to the sectional won’t have to go far as Colby is this year’s host on May 23.
“We are sitting with home court advantage really in so many ways,” Sullivan said. “We’re pretty excited about that. We’re really looking forward to having all of those home meets. It’s really nice for the athletes.”
Medford senior Logan Gubser takes the baton from teammate Hayden Koester and goes on to secure a second-place finish for the Raiders in the mile relay, the final event of Tuesday’s boys indoor meet in Marshfield.
Rib Lake’s Kaleb Scott accelerates through a turn during his second-place finish in the 440-yard run during Tuesday’s season-opening track and field meet in Marshfield. PHOTOS BY MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
