Abby track sets more records in Gilman

By Nathaniel Underwood

It was another record-setting evening for the Abbotsford track and field team as they competed at the Division 3 regional track meet held in Gilman on Monday. Margo Pogodzinski and the girls’ 4x800-meter relay team made Falcons’ history while the team qualified for sectionals in 14 different events. The girls team took third overall at the meet, finishing with a final score of 89 points while the boys team took fifth with a final score of 49 points. Cadott won the girls competition, posting a final score of 105 points while McDonell boys claimed the regional title with 133 points.

After setting two new school records in the Marawood conference meet, Abbotsford added two more in Gilman. The 4x800-meter relay team of Iris Cruz, Celia Schindler, Ana Flores and Azul Diaz broke their own record before it was even a week old, cutting a second off their time to post a new top time of 10:37.31 in the event. The team took second in the event to move on to sectionals, placing behind only Cadott.

Meanwhile, Pogodzinski was setting the bar for all future Falcons in the field events. The junior unleashed a throw of 118 feet in the discus, which not only earned her the regional title in the event and a spot in the sectional meet, but also topped the previous school record in the event. The prior record of 114 feet, five inches was held by Jordan Welsh. Pogodzinski had been within striking distance of the record all season, entering Monday’s competition with a seeded throw of 111 feet, but finally overcame the hurdle.

Oriah Harris very nearly broke her own school record that she had set at the Marawood conference meet en route to a victory in the 200-meter dash. Her time of 26.70 seconds was two-tenths of a second off the pace of her race in Abbotsford, but still earned the freshman the top spot in Gilman as she defeated Rib Lake’s Olivia Lopez by three-tenths of a second.

Chase Boller had the sole individual second place finish for the Falcons in Gilman, reaching a height of five feet, six inches in the high jump to tie with Gilman’s Sawyer Winger for the runner-up spot. Rib Lake’s Jed Henderson took first in the event with a height of six feet even.

The girls 4x100 and 4x200-meter relay teams also grabbed second place spots on Monday. Both were close to setting school records of their own, as both finished four-tenths of a second off the top times’ paces. The 4x100-meter relay of Harris, Sommer Brodhagen, Chloe Cihlar, and Sydney Falteisek put together a 52.02 second performance to earn their spot in the sectional meet while the 4x200-meter team of Cihlar, Falteisek, Schindler and Harris posted a time of 1:49.35.

Three Falcons earned a top four spot in the distance events. Cruz and Diaz both took third in their respective events, with Cruz posting a time of 2:34.73 in the 800-meter run and Diaz putting up a time of 12:43.66 in the 3200-meter run. Jack Schindler then took fourth in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:51.81.

In the field events, Falteisek and Pogodzinski moved on by taking third in the high jump and shot put events respectively. Falteisek topped a height of four feet, nine inches in her competition while Pogodzinski had a throw of 33 feet, nine-and-a-half inches.

Carter Cihlar also took third for the Falcons to qualify for sectionals. The freshman put forth a career best performance to earn his spot in the pole vault, clearing a

See REGIONAL TRACK/ Page 16

AIMING FOR SECTIONALS - Margo Pogodzinski launches her best throw of the day in the shot put. She took third in the event and also set a new school record in the discus in Gilman.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Regional track

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height of 11 feet, six inches.

Harris and Celia Schindler both had fourth place finishes to round out the qualifiers, with the former doing so in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, five inches and the latter taking her spot in the triple jump, her furthest attempt measuring 32 feet, five inches.

There were a few events where Abbotsford athletes were on the cusp of qualifying but just missed out. Marcus VanLuven finished in fifth place in the shot put, posting a throw of 39 feet, three-and-a-half inches while Brodhagen took fifth in the discus with a throw of 101 feet, one inch. The boys 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400-meter relays all ended the day one place short of qualifying. The 4x100-meter relay of Irvin Aguilera, Jovanny Cruz, Luis Gonzales Lujan and Alex Sundermeyer was particularly close, with their time of 47.79 seconds just a tenth of a second behind the time posted by the McDonell Central relay that took fourth.

Two athletes finished two spots away from sectionals, with Eduardo Acuna picking up a sixth place in the 400-meter dash, Hazel Flink adding a sixth in the pole vault.

The Falcons will travel to Cameron for their sectional meet on Thursday, May 23. The competition is set to begin at 3 p.m.

FINAL LEAP - Jesus Reyes sails into the pit during the triple jump. He took eighth at Gilman.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD