MEDFORD TRACK & FIELD - Richter resets 3,200 record; Raiders score well on both sides of Friday’s Marshfield Invitational

MEDFORD TRACK & FIELD

Highlighted by another school-record performance by senior Meredith Richter, the Medford Raiders put together a highscoring effort on both sides of Friday’s Marshfield Invitational.

In their final tune-up before the Great Northern Conference championships and WIAA post-season competition, the girls placed second in the seven-team meet with 141.5 points, easily outscoring Neillsville (94), Mosinee (68.5), Spencer (39), Columbus Catholic (29) and Granton (15.5). Marshfield ran away with first place with its 269.5 points.

The boys hit triple figures as well, scoring 106 points to place third ahead of Mosinee (98.5), Neillsville (68), Spencer (27) and Granton (0). Marshfield again had no trouble winning the meet, piling up 243 points. Columbus Catholic was second with 111.5.

Girls highlights

Richter’s winning time of 11:11 in the 3,200-meter run was a repeat performance of a year ago at this meet. In 2023, Richter did not compete in the 3,200 until the Marshfield meet and set the school record at 11:19.51. This time she was more than eight seconds faster despite the fact she was really unchallenged. Marshfield’s Miriam McKee was a very distant second in Friday’s race at 13:43.9.

Felicity Ziehlke, Ella Dassow, Richter and Ella Daniels were convincing winners in the 3,200-meter relay, taking it in 10:26.98, well ahead of Marshfield (11:41.21). Columbus Catholic (12:39.05) and Neillsville (12:47.18). To end the meet, Toryn Rau, Morgan Liske, Alexis Zuleger and Richter took fourth in the 1,600-meter relay at 4:40.1. They were ahead of Columbus Catholic (5:25.4) and trailed Marshfield A (4:19.1), Mosinee (4:28.8) and Marshfield B (4:29).

Ziehlke added a win in the 1,600-meter run, finishing in 5:58.6 and beating Braelyn Anding of Neillsville by 6.71 seconds. Dassow was fourth in a seasonbest 6:08.59 and Carly Koski was sixth in 6:42.04.

In other relays, Medford was credited with 10 first-place points while taking second in the 800-meter relay in 1:54.8, a halfsecond behind Marshfield B. The team of Aliyah Pilgrim, Rivalee Stokes, Avery Losiewicz and Jaylin Machon was 0.7 seconds ahead of third-place Mosinee. The 400-meter team of Stokes, Brenley Beran, Machon and Bridget Wesle was fourth in 56.15 seconds. Marshfield won in 50.55 seconds.

Stokes was another of Medford’s winners as she threw the discus 101 feet, 6 inches, easily beating the rest of the field. Mosinee’s Isabella Verhasselt was the runner-up at 79-6. Rachel Wesle got the eighth-place point for Medford at 68-10 and Bridget Wesle was 10th at 59-6. Rachel Wesle took fifth in the shot put at 29-3, Losiewicz was sixth at 28-8 and Bridget Wesle improved to 25-8.5 and was 12th.

Machon had another big meet for Medford. The senior was second in the pole vault at 10 feet, equaling the height reached by winner Devyn Le Moine of Marshfield. Losiewicz tied for fourth at 8 feet. Machon was second in the 100-meter high hurdles at 17.02 seconds, a new personal best and just a hundredth of a second behind Marshfield’s Ashley Grancorvitz.

Losiewicz took second in the 300-meter hurdles at 50.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds behind Marshfield’s Ella Allar. Adalyn Dittrich was fifth for Medford at 59.4 seconds.

Pilgrim scored in three individual events, led by a fourth-place time of 28.9 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Alexis Zuleger was sixth (30.1) and Rachel Wesle was 10th (31.9). Pilgrim was sixth in the 100-meter dash at 13.62 seconds and eighth in the triple jump at 29-11.25.

Daniels took fourth in the 800-meter run in 2:50, Liske was fifth at 2:51.1 and Koski was seventh at 3:05.2. Daniels added a sixth-place and personal-best leap of 1410.5 in the long jump.

Rau (1:08.31), Zuleger (1:08.48) and Addison Juedes (1:10.45) were sixth, seventh and eighth in the 400-meter dash.

Boys highlights

Medford’s boys got 60 of their points with six event wins in Friday’s meet. Three of those wins came in relays.

The 3,200-meter team of Anthony Seidel, Peyton Ried, Evan Pagel and Adyn Gripentrog started things on the track by winning in 9:17.72, well ahead of runnerup Mosinee (9:50.61). Columbus Catholic was third in 10:02.03.

The 800-meter team of Paxton Rothmeier, Will Daniels, Adam Kowalski and Isaac Kautzer won its race in 1:37.5, finishing 1.96 seconds ahead of runner-up Marshfield, while Mosinee was third in 1:40.95.

The 400-meter team of Kautzer, Rothmeier, Gage Losiewicz and Evan Paul sprinted to a win in 45.3 seconds, 1.7 seconds ahead of Marshfield and 2.5 seconds ahead of third-place Spencer. The 1,600-meter team of Gripentrog, Losiewicz, Ried and Seidel finished the meet by tacking on five more points with a fourth-place time of 4:02.1. Mosinee had the top time in that race at 3:47.3.

Paul sprinted to victory in the 200-meter dash at 23.5 seconds, 0.4 seconds ahead of Marshfield’s Trey Parr, and he was second in the 100-meter dash in a season-best 11.59 seconds, 0.17 seconds behind Marshfield’s Jackson Anderson. Kautzer was fourth, lowering his time to 11.8 seconds and Daniels was seventh in 12.09 seconds while running his first open 100 of the spring. Paul added a thirdplace height of 5-10 in the high jump. Dirk Vanderwyst of Marshfield won at 6 feet, while Mosinee’s Christoffer Martin was credited with second while clearing 5-10.

Daniels got a win in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles at 43.0 seconds, 1.3 seconds ahead of Marshfield’s Travis Weigel. Losiewicz was the winner in the pole vault competition. He cleared 12 feet, beating Marshfield’s Emerson DeJarlais by 6 inches.

Gripentrog (55.97) and Caleb Scoles (56.61) were third and fourth for Medford in the 400-meter dash, just behind Parr (55.33) and Marshfield’s Beckett McFarlane (55.95). Rothmeier was fifth in the 110-meter high hurdles at a seasonbest 17.41 seconds.

Pagel had a big drop in time in the 1,600-meter run, taking seventh at 5:43.37, while Seidel (5:55.66) was eighth and Nevyn Gripentrog (6:05.44) was ninth. Ried got the eighth-place point in the 800-meter run at 2:31.7 and Axel Brushaber got the eighth-place point in the triple jump at 336.75.