Colby relay, Rieck take first at state

The thrill of participating at the highest level of the WIAA D-3 state tournament was palpable on Friday afternoon in La Crosse. The best athletes from across the state had gathered to compete against one another, all hoping to place well enough to make it to the meet’s second day and have a chance at placing on the podium. For many of the members of the Colby Hornet track and field team, participating in the finals on Saturday seemed like a realistic goal, if prior results were anything to go by. Not only did they meet these expectations, but they exceeded them.

Whether it was facing the fiercest competition that the state could offer or if the Hornets flourish when the lights are brightest, something brought out the best in the Colby athletes over the twoday event. Several personal bests were set en route to podium finishes for multiple Hornets. Leading the way were five athletes that proved they were the best in the state after winning their events on Saturday.

The 4x400-meter relay team of seniors Daisy Feiten and Trinity Severson and juniors Hayden Willner and Willow Oehmichen put together the two best races that the Hornets have ever recorded in the event en route to their victory at La Crosse.

Their time of 4:07.35 in the preliminary race on Friday shattered the previous school record of 4:09.88, which the same team had set at their home meet earlier in the season. This time was also three seconds faster than the time they had posted at the sectional meet in Mondovi the week prior. And while this time was good enough to give the relay the first seed going into Saturday’s finals, the team needed to replicate their performance if they hoped to stand atop the podium. After the preliminaries, second-place Dodgeville and third-place Cochrane-FC had also posted times that would have broken Colby’s old record. Three other teams had finished with faster times than Colby had posted at sectionals.

The Hornets would respond accordingly; starting with Willner’s first leg where she would have to play catch up on the inside lane and continuing through Oehmichen and Severson’s middle legs where they built up their lead. It seemed like the Hornets were setting themselves up for success as they handed the baton off to their anchor. Looking back only once to make sure that she had the hand off secured, Feiten stretched the gap between the Hornets and their nearest competitors. A hint of a smile started to cross the senior’s face as she neared the finish, the outcome of the race becoming increasingly obvious with each stride down the final stretch. It would break into a full-on grin as she crossed the finish line, realization setting in as she was hugged by her equally excited teammates.

The Colby relay took their record-setting pace from the day before and shaved off an entire second in the finals, posting a time of 4:06.20. Both Dodgeville and Cochrane-FC would post slower times in Saturday’s race than in the preliminaries and Lancaster, who would end up placing third, could not make up enough ground, giving the Hornets a comfortable three second cushion en route to their first place finish.

Breaking one school record at the state meet wouldn’t be enough for Severson. In addition to the part she played in the 4x400-meter relay’s performance, she also broke the Colby track team’s record in the 300-meter hurdles. The previous record was also set at the state finals, when Sarah Gamillo placed sixth in 2012 with a time of 46.98 seconds. Severson beat that time in the preliminaries, when she finished with a time of 46.67 seconds to move on to the finals. She then took down her own record in the finals. In Se- verson’s final hurdles race of her high school career, she posted a time of 46.40 seconds on her way to a third place finish.

Also eclipsing her personal best while eyeing a school record on her way to the top of the podium was Malayna Rieck. After winning the discus in Mondovi and posting the furthest distance in any sectional with a distance of 123 feet, three inches, Rieck would be the favorite heading into the event.

The senior would show why, surpassing her sectional showing with her furthest throw traveling 126 feet, eight inches before crashing back to earth. While her throw would leave her only a foot short of the school record, it would be more than enough to secure her place at the top of the discus standings in La Crosse. Second place Nora Skoraczewski from Drummond would post a distance of 122 feet, two inches, giving Rieck a comfortable victory.

Rieck also competed in the shot-put, where a throw of 33 feet, ten inches would give her 13th place in the event.

Several other athletes also participated in multiple events at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Oehmichen battled her way through a tough pole vault competition, eventually taking third after reaching a height of ten feet, three inches. This result was a foot-and-a-quarter better than her performance last year in La Crosse and as a result she jumped seven spots to find herself on the podium. Willner, who was making her first appearance at the state meet, joined Severson in the 300-meter hurdles. She placed 11th with a time of 48.71 seconds.

The 4x800-meter relay team of Feiten, Severson, Oehmichen and Mercedes Sarkkinen just missed the podium, finishing seventh out of 17 teams in the event after they posted a time of 10:01.54.

The girls’ team finished fifth overall at the state meet. Their team score of 34 points was only four points behind first place Webster’s 38.

The Colby boys team had Caden Healy representing them in La Crosse. The junior was invited to the state meet after placing second in the long jump at sectionals. He would face some stiff competition at the meet, with all but two of the participants posting jumps over 20 feet at their respective sectionals.

Healy would improve on his state finish last year, continuing the trend of his fellow Hornets. His jump of 20 feet, tenand- a-quarter inches was good enough to put him on the podium with a fifth place finish.

“We finished the season at state with eight events; that’s simply amazing,” head coach Chrisie Wright stated when asked about the team’s performance in La Crosse. “Then to have school records and champions at state leaves me speechless. They worked so hard all year, and last year, to get here! The entire team helped them get to where they are with workouts and meets.”

With the state meet completed, the 2022 Colby Hornet track and field team’s season has come to a close.

“With the girls’ team fighting for first place during the season it takes all of them to get there and the boys too,” Wright stated while reflecting on the season. “To put it simply, I couldn’t be more proud of them and being part of such a wonderful family. It takes all of us, Coach Graun, Coach Kleinschmidt and Coach Rau, to work as a family.”

For some graduating seniors, Friday and Saturday would be the last time they would compete for the green and gold, but they could take pride in what they had accomplished in their time with the team. For the rest of the team, they will start looking forward to their next challenges, where they can take their experiences from this season, both good and bad, and use them to build towards future goals.

FLY LIKE A HORNET -Caden Healy leaps into the sand pit during the long jump event. He would finish fifth in La Crosse.STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY