Healy, Rieck take on D2 state champions


The Colby Hornets track and field team concluded its season by sending two of its members to compete at the D2 State Championship meet in La Crosse this past weekend. Senior Caden Healy and freshman Daelyn Rieck competed in three events at the two-day competition, pitting themselves against the best that the state of Wisconsin has to offer.
In the case of Healy, it was the conclusion of a high school track career that had two prior state appearances. As in the two earlier seasons, the now-graduated senior competed in the long jump on Friday. He qualified for the event after finishing third at the sectional meet in Arcadia the week prior.
Healy took 15th overall in the competition. Scratches on his first two attempts made it an uphill battle, as a third miss on his final jump would leave him without a chance to get into the top 10 and earn himself three additional leaps. On his third attempt, Healy recorded a distance of 19 feet, four-and-a-half inches. While it got him on the board, unfortunately it could not push him into the next round. Sam Tsoris of New Berlin West set the mark that served as the cutoff, putting up a distance of 20 feet, three inches on his third attempt. Jacob Abel of Waupun Area schools dominated the competition, posting a leap of 24 feet, three-and-a-quarter inches to defeat the next closest competitor by over a foot.
While Healy’s high school athletics were coming to a close, the state competition was hopefully just the start for the other Hornets’ athlete in La Crosse.
Rieck competed in both the shot put and the discus after taking third place in both events at the sectional meet. The freshman thrower earned herself a podium spot in the shot put, taking fourth in the competition, and took 10th in the discus.
She opened the shot put competition on Saturday with a new personal best, putting her in the upper echelons of the competition. Her throw of 38 feet, onequarter inch was the fourth best of the first round and would remain there for the rest of the competition. She would hover around that number in her later attempts, but none would surpass that initial toss. Aubree Koenings of Campbellsport would be the only thrower behind Rieck to get close to surpassing her throughout the rest of the competition, putting up a distance of 37 feet, nine inches in her final throw of the day. New Berlin West’s Meaghan Schultz held a comfortable lead in the event after her first throw and then completely blew past her previous mark by notching a toss of 49 feet, two-and-a-half inches in her last attempt.
Rieck saw consistent improvement in her first three throws of the discus. After putting up throws of 93 feet, eight inches and 105 feet, eight inches, she recorded her furthest toss of the day in her third attempt. The throw traveled 113 feet and pushed her into the top 10, allowing her three more attempts. Scratches in the fourth and fifth rounds and a throw of 112 feet, three inches for her final throw meant that she would remain in 10th place. Jefferson’s Ayianna Johnson took first place by posting a distance of 154 feet, two inches, over twenty feet more than the second place finisher.
With the state meet concluded, the 2023 season for the track and field team comes to an end. It was another season of recorded breaking, with Rieck claiming Colby’s all-time top spot in the discus and Willow Oehmichen shattering her own school record in the pole vault. The two teams had another season of solid conference finishes, with the girls taking second overall and had to battle their way through a tougher D2 playoff schedule. While there are a number of key seniors that have graduated, there is still a solid foundation of talent that the Hornets will be able to return next year.