Hornets are taking on new things in the early season
By Ginna Young
The Cadott track program began their season in two away meets, prior to a foot of snow falling. Whether that will effect other events, remains to be seen.
March 19 UW-Stout
In what coach Pat Rothbauer called a typical first meet of the year, the Hornets headed to UW-Stout.
“There was very good competition in every event,” said Rothbauer. “For an early meet, I was very happy with our competition level.”
The girls side did well, with the 4x400-meter relay team earning third place, with a time of 4:32.16.
“Both 4x400 teams ran well,” said Rothbauer. Taking top honors for the girls, was returning State champion, sophomore Iszy Sonnentag, who placed third in the 200-meter dash (27.3) and 55-meter hurdles (9.23). She also placed fourth in the long jump (15-07).
Junior Adrianna Goodman also placed high for Cadott, finishing in fourth place in the triple jump (32-04.75), while sophomore Haley Mathison was ninth in the shot put (31-02).
Following that, was junior Cortney Weggen, who placed 10th in the 3,200-meter run (15:05.61), with senior Jaycee Stephens ending in 13th in the 800-meter run (2:45.4) On the boys’s side, freshman Beau Steinke came in seventh in the 3,200 run (11:15.65) and sophomore Saibyn Will was 12th in the 1,600-meter run (5:02.55).
“It is always good to get a number in the book, so that the athletes have a goal to shoot for,” said Rothbauer. “We now have a number of field event technique things to work on, in order to improve.”
March 23 UW-La Crosse
To end the week, the Hornets were again on the road, this time, to the new indoor facility at UW-La Crosse, something the squad was looking forward to.
“This was a very fun meet,” said Rothbauer. “[It] was great for our athletes to get to run there.”
The girls 4x400 again placed high, claiming third (4:29.63), consisting of runners Stephens, Sonnentag, and sophomores Taylor Hager and Lilly Spaeth.
“We had a smaller crew for this meet, as it coincided with the high school archery State tournament,” said Rothbauer. “Once again we had numerous PRs, as the kids really worked hard. We had athletes in some events that they have never tried before and they did a very good job competing.”
Individually, Sonnentag took first place in the 200 dash (27.65) and second in the 55 hurdles (9.37), as well as fifth in the long jump (15-09). Mathison came next, in sixth in the shot put (31-08), with freshman Tessa York placing seventh in the 400-meter run (1:08.59).
Stephens followed that up with a 10th place finish in the 800 run (2:42.89) and senior Emma Kowalczyk was 12th in the triple jump (28-11).
Steinke took top honors for the boys in the 1,600 run (55:12.73).
“It was nice to see so many athletes run better times than they did at UW-Stout,” said Rothbauer. “We are all excited to start the outdoor season and really hope the snow is over for the year.”
