Hornets on pace to set records throughout season

Beginning a little behind some teams, the Cadott track program came out in good form and placed high in their first two meets of the year.

May 4 Gilman Invitational

The Hornets headed to Gilman for an invitational compettition, in what coach Pat Rothbauer describes as a typical first meet of the year.

“Considering it was our first in two years, that is pretty good,” he said. “Everyone got into the meet, so that is always a good thing.”

As a team, Cadott placed second on the boys side, out of eight schools, while the girls came in fifth. Individually, for the boys, sophomore Peter Weir carried off top honors, finishing first in the 300-meter hurdles, with a time of 45.76, as did freshman Wyatt Engel, who ended in first place in the 110-meter hurdles (20.47).

Weir also placed second in the 1,600-meter run (5:05.11), while sophomore Cameron Messenger ended in third in the 300 hurdles (51.51). Junior Tad Weiss also finished in third place, this time, in the 800-meter run (2:22.96) and in the 3,200-meter run (12:19.59).

Junior Kaleb Sonnentag ended his day in fourth place in pole vault, with a height of 8-06, while sophomore Nick Fasbender finished fifth in the 110 hurdles (22.61) and senior Brad Irwin placed fifth in the high jump (5-04). Weir also competed in the high jump, for seventh place (5-02).

Messenger took sixth in the triple jump for the boys, with a distance of (31-08.25).

On the girls side, freshman Jaycee Stephens placed the highest, with third in the 300 hurdles (1:02.92). Senior Lexxie Rowe came next, in fifth place for the 400-meter dash ((1:09.66), with sophomore Lucy Lindeman right behind her, in seventh (1:14.07).

Senior Taylor Lindsay also placed high in the 800 run, coming in seventh (3:03.68), with senior Autumn Yeager just a step behind for eighth place (3:06.81). Sophomore Julia Sedlacek ended her night in the 100-meter hurdles in sixth place (20.03), while senior Haylee Rowe ended seventh in the 200-meter dash (30.83).

In pole vault, senior Carissa Woodford, earned sixth (600).

“It is great to get the first meet done, because there are always so many things going on at once, that it can be intimidating for new athletes,” said Rothbauer.

The relay teams also fared well in their first attempts, with the boys 4x400-meter relay taking first place (3:57.46), as well as the girls team (4:40.86). The 4x800-meter relay teams also earned second place, with the boys finishing in 11:56.97, while the girls came in with 10:40.18.

“I was very pleased with our effort overall and we have a number of athletes that enjoy competing,” said Rothbauer.

May 7 Stanley-Boyd Invitational

Three days later, the team was off to Stanley-Boyd, where temperatures were the real competition.

“It was a cold blustery day,” said Rothbauer.

The boys placed fairly high that day, in third place, while the girls came in seventh.

On the individual side of things, Weir ended in first with the 300 hurdles (45.94), with Messenger right behind in second place (49.26). Engel finished the night in second place in the 110 hurdles (19.91), while senior Andy Falkenberg was second in pole vault (8-00).

Weir also placed third in the 1,600 run (5:02.31), with Weiss next in fifth place (5:30.01). Irwin took third in the high jump, setting a new personal best for him (5-06). Fasbender also set a new best, taking fourth in the 110 hurdles (20.51), while Sonnentag ended third in the 400 dash (56.68).

“[The] Heart Award went to Kaleb Sonnentag, for subbing into the 4x8 relay, when he already was running two, 400 dashes, all with a broken nose,” said Rothbauer.

Weiss also did well, ending fifth in the 1,600 run (5:30.01).

Finishing high for the girls, Sedlacek came in third, in the 100 hurdles (19.65), with freshman Emma Kowalczyk just a step behind in fourth (21.14). Woodford soared high in the pole vault, for third place (6-06), and Yeager came in fifth (5-06).

Stephens finished up in sixth place in the 300 hurdles (1:04.05), while Lindsay earned seventh in the 400 dash (1:16.30) and eighth in the 800 run (3:01.79). Junior Mallory Kyes also set a personal record in the 100 dash, with a time of 15.08.

Competing in the boys’ relays, the 4x400 of Falkenberg, Fasbender, Sonnentag and Weird, took second (3:50.74), with the 4x800 of junior Ethan Duck, Falkenberg, senior Sage Handrick and Weiss, also taking second (10:01.64).

For the girls, the 4x800-meter team of Lindeman, senior Hailey Wellner, Yeager and Stephens, came in second (14:21.03), while the 4x400 of H. Rowe, L. Rowe, Sedlacek and senior Kaileigh Tice, finished third (4:33.05), shaving 7 seconds of their last performance.