Loyal girls win conference track meet, boys finish 5th

By Valorie Brecht Last week, the Loyal girls ran, jumped and threw their way to the top of the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference, taking first place at the conference meet at Colby High School May 14. The conference championship marked the continuation of a new era in the Loyal track and field program, as the girls were also named conference champions last year. Prior to that, the last time they won conference was in 1977.

This year’s conference meet fell on a sunny afternoon with highs in the upper sixties, providing the perfect backdrop for the outdoor competition. Athletes had to place in the top eight for their event to earn points for their team, with Loyal boasting several first-place finishes, including one individual setting a new record, and the Greyhound girls picking up points in every event except two (the shot put and 1600m run).

“I want to personally thank all the girls for doing extra events and events they were not training to do. When looking at the events and where the Loyal girls could pick up points, it was apparent that they had a good chance to win. They trusted the coaches and put a lot of effort into their performances,” wrote Loyal coach Jim Genteman in an email.

“There were athletes that won four individual events (Addy Wolf), and there were athletes who ran the 3200 who hadn’t run further than a 200 or an 800 for the season. The coaching staff is very happy and proud of their performances.”

For the Loyal girls, point earners were as follows. Sheila Tellock, a senior, took first in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 9’6”. Summer Smith took first in the triple jump at 31’10”. Addysen Wolf won the 100m dash, finishing in 13.3 seconds; as well as the 400m dash at 1:03.69, the 200m dash at 27.79 and the high jump at 5’. Tellock took second in the 100m dash at 13.34 and in the 200m dash at 28.01. Molly Zvolena took second in the triple jump at 31’7”. Olivia Nikolai claimed second in the pole vault at 9’. Hope Peroshek placed third in the discus throw at 91’4”. Summer Smith placed fourth in the 3200m run at 14:29.05.

Nikolai took fifth in the 100m hurdles at 18.18. Peroshek took sixth in the 100m dash at 14.12. Annika Schley took sixth in the 400m dash at 1:10.78 and seventh in the discus throw at 75’8”. Zvolena took seventh in the long jump with a distance of 14’8.5”. Schley took seventh in the discus throw at 75’8”. Nikolai placed seventh in the 300m hurdles at 55.8, and Gwen LaMarr placed eighth in that event at 1:03.69. Schley finished eighth in the 800m run at 2:52.3. Addison Holm finished eighth in the 3200m run at 16:13.5.

The girls 4x200m relay team won at 1:52.98 and the 4x100m team also won, at 52.88. Team members for the 4x200 were Summer Smith, Noelle Teschner, Peroshek and Tellock, while the 4x100m consisted of Summer Smith, Teschner, Peroshek and Zvolena. The 4x400m run took third at 4:46.18 and the 4x800m relay placed fifth at 12:50.54.

On the boys’ side, Connor Genteman won the 800m run at 2:01.18 and set a new conference record. Bryce Deegan took first in the 400m dash at 52.77, second in the triple jump at 40’3.5” and third in the 200m dash at 23.74. Jaden Smith placed second in the shot put, with a distance of 38’3.25”, and third in the discus throw at 120’8”. Payton Tsai took third in the pole vault at 11’.

Team scores The Loyal girls won the girls varsity team competition with 152 points. Other scores were Neillsville 134, Colby 120.3, Owen-Withee 109, Gilman 86, Columbus Catholic 36.3, Spencer 32.3, Greenwood 17 and Granton 11.

The Loyal boys placed fifth out of eight teams with 54 points. Other scores were Neillsville 165, Owen-Withee 153, Columbus Catholic 128, Gillman 84, Spencer 50, Colby 48 and Greenwood 8.

Spencer On the girls’ team, Alicia Ostricki placed fourth in the discus throw, with a throw of 80’7”. Caitlin Clark took sixth in the long jump at 15’ Kaydence Plaskey placed sixth in the 3200m run at 15:51.79. Autumn Davis finished eighth in the 100m dash at 14.21 and Kaitlin Radue placed eighth in the discus throw at 75’5”. Addison Knecht was part of a three-way tie for eighth place in the high jump, clearing the bar at 4’2”.

The girls 4x800m relay team took sixth at 12:59.31, while the 4x200m relay team placed third at 1:55.94, the 4x400m team took fourth at 4:53.75 and the 4x100m team took fourth at 54.1.

For the boys, Breckin Miller won the pole vault at 12’. Rhyan Pokallus placed fourth in the shot put at 37’6.25” and fifth in the discus throw at 104’11”. Alexander Baumgarten took sixth in the pole vault at 10’. Mathers McHone took seventh place in the high jump at 5’2”. Mason Dieringer placed seventh in the shot put, sending the shot 33’2”. Efrain Olguin-Cano placed seventh in the 100m dash at 12.23. Teddy Meyer took eighth in the triple jump at 37’. McHone took eighth in the 3200m run at 13:25.81. Sam Helgestad also took eighth in the discus throw at 102’9”.

The boys 4x100m relay team placed second at 47.11, while the 4x800m team placed fourth at 10:40.46. The 4x200m team took sixth at 1:42.33 and the 4x400m team took sixth at 4:14.81.

Greenwood On the girls’ side, Renaya Horvath placed first in the wheelchair shot put, with a distance of 13’6”; first in the wheelchair 100-yard dash, at 26.77; and first in the wheelchair 400-yard dash, at 1:50.43. Other girls scoring points were Faith Kolano, who placed fourth in the 1600m run at 6:04.7 and seventh in the 800m run at 2:50.13; and Sarah Beth Reiff, who took sixth in the shot put at 28’7.5” and seventh in the 400m dash at 1:10.84.

Also, the girls 4x200m relay team took seventh at 2:09.86. The 4x400m team took seventh at 5:07.89. The 4x100m team finished eighth at 59.8.

The boys 4x200m relay team placed seventh at 1:52.09, as did the 4x100m team at 54.29.

Granton On the girls’ side, Anna Kayhart took fourth in the 100m hurdles at 17.8 and seventh in the triple jump at 30’8”. Faustina Thomas placed eighth in the long jump at 14’7.5”. Mayleth Gonzalez finished eighth in the 1600m run at 7:19.7.

All-conference Athletes earning first or second place in their individual event received all-conference honors. Earning all-conference first place were: Tellock, Summer Smith, Wolf, Teschner, Peroshek, Zvolena, Genteman and Deegan from Loyal; Miller from Spencer; and Horvath from Greenwood. Earning all-conference second place were: Tellock, Zvolena, Nikolai, Deegan and Jaden Smith from Loyal.

For more photos from the conference meet, see page 12.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO