Seven Falcons battle best in Wisconsin
By Nathaniel Underwood
In a season full of new school records and impressive results, the Abbotsford track and field team saw one final record fall during the WIAA Division 3 state meet held at UW-La Crosse as seven athletes represented the program in seven different events across the two day competition. The boys team ended up tying with Owen-Withee for 23rd overall with a final score of 12 points, and while the girls team did not place, they still had three athletes compete in the postseason finale.
Christian Fuentes added his name to the Abbotsford track annals once more with a record-setting performance in the long jump on Friday. The junior, who helped the Falcons’ 4x200-meter team break a school record at the sectional meet the week prior, raised the bar for all future Abbotsford long jumpers on his final attempt of the 2025 season.
After posting an attempt of 21 feet, 3.25 inches on his third jump, Fuentes found himself sitting in fifth place heading into his final jump of the season. But the Abbotsford junior had saved his best for last, unleashing a leap of 21 feet, 7.25 inches on his sixth attempt, the furthest distance in school history. The jump catapulted Fuentes into second place, placing him behind only Ladysmith’s Ashton Clark, who won the state title with a leap of 21 feet, 8.25 inches.
The effort also pushed him past Steve Schultz, who had held the Abbotsford record up until Friday. Fuentes had gotten close to breaking Schultz’s record of 21 feet, 6.25 inches at the sectional meet in Colby, but finally pushed past the mark on Wisconsin’s biggest stage.
Jovanny Cruz, Carter Cihlar and Chase Boller also represented the boys team in La Crosse. The team of Cruz, Cihlar, Boller and Fuentes combined for the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relays while Cihlar and Boller competed in individual events themselves.
The quartet, coming off their school record performance at sectionals, took 13th place in both relay races. It took a record setting performance for the team to make it to state in the 4x200-meter relay and they would have needed two more records in order to reach the second day of races.
Just two-tenths of a second separated the squad from doing so in the 4x100-meter relay. After qualifying with a time of 44.82 seconds, the Falcons shaved off nearly twotenths of a second off, posting a season-best time of 44.65 seconds. Despite the improvement, it was not quite
See ABBY STATE TRACK/ Page 13
LOADING UP - Margo Pogodzinski had an incredible send off for a decorated high school career, taking 10th place in the shot put at the state meet held in La Crosse this past weekend. The senior is the current Falcons record holder in both the shot put and the discus.
STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY
PREPARING FOR IMPACT - Lauryn Harris sails into the pit during the triple jump at UW-La Crosse’s Veterans Memorial Sports Contest on Friday.
STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY
PERFECT HAND OFF - Jovanny Cruz, right, completes the transfer of the baton to teammate Chase Boller, left, during one of their state relay races.
STAFF PHOTO/VALORIE BRECHT Abby state track
Continued from page 11 enough to move them into the finals, where Webster was able to claim the 10th and final spot with a time of 44.45 seconds. They were also about two-tenths of a second off from breaking another school record, as the current 4x100-meter record held by Jason Beran, Jon Beran, Brandon Marcott and Jon Ley stands at 44.44 seconds.
While the team was not quite able to recreate their sectional performance in the 4x200-meter relay, they still had a very impressive day, finishing with a time of 1:33.87. Their school-record time would have put them on the cusp of qualifying for the finals, but even if they would have been able to replicate it, they would have finished in 11th, one spot short. Bonduel was able to capture the final qualifying spot with a time of 1:32.99.
Cihlar had the Falcons’ second highest placement in La Crosse, earning himself fifth place in the pole vault. While Athens’ Kyle Schreiner was able to distance himself slightly from the field by reaching a height of 14 feet, three inches, the top of the standings were cluttered behind him. Cihlar found himself in the middle of that pack, one of five athletes to top out at the 13-foot mark.
After moving through the prior two height increments without issue, Cihlar needed two attempts to clear the bar at 13 feet. Only four of his competitors were able to make it through on their first try, with three more staving off elimination by clearing it on their final attempt. The faults would have implications on placement as five of the final eight athletes failed to get past the next height increment. Because he made it over with just one fault, Cihlar held the tiebreaker over three of his opponents, and landed himself a fifth place finish.
Boller rounded out the boys’ performances with a 16th place finish in the high jump. A starting height of five feet, 10 inches signaled the skill of the competition; at times reaching such a height would earn one a win at some meets over the course of the season. Boller cleared the
See ABBY STATE TRACK/ Page 20
FULL CONCENTRATION - Carter Cihlar keeps his focus as he glides over the bar during the pole vault. The sophomore would reach a height of 13 feet and take fifth place in the Division 3 competition.
STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY Abby state track
Continued from page 13
first bar on his second attempt, but could not quite match his sectional performance of six feet, bowing out at the second increment. While three other athletes were also bounced from the competition after failing to clear the six foot mark, each held the tiebreaker over Boller, having cleared the previous height on their first attempt.
After coming on strong late in the season, decorated senior Margo Pogodzinski rounded out her high school career with a state bid. The current record holder in the discus and shot put, both of which she set new marks for in 2025, Pogodzinski represented Abbotsford in the shot put in La Crosse.
Pogodzinski worked her way into the finals with a throw of 36 feet, eight inches on her third attempt of the day, defeating Weyauwega-Fremont’s Macy Fee by four inches to earn the spot. The throw ended up being her best of the day, though her final attempt also broke the 36-foot mark. While she could not quite reach the distance she had reached at the sectional meet, it was still a solid day for Pogodzinski, earning herself a 10th place finish.
Celia Schindler and Lauryn Harris both measured themselves against the best in the state in the triple jump competition. The pair, who pushed each other in the regional and sectional meets, once again finished neck and neck.
For the third meet in a row, Schindler and Harris finished back-to-back in the final standings, with only inches separating the Falcons teammates. Both had their best leap of the day on their second attempt, where Schindler posted a jump of 33 feet, 3.5 inches and Harris had an attempt measuring 33 feet, 0.5 inches. This was good enough to earn Schindler 14th place and Harris 15th place in the state.
With the state meet now in the rearview mirror, the Falcons’ 2025 season comes to a close. A year that saw five new school records saw Abbotsford pick up steam heading into the postseason, culminating in a third place finish for the boys at regionals and seven athletes competing for the Falcons at state. While replicating such a feat may be a difficult task in 2026, there is some reason to believe that could be in the cards for the future. Six of the seven state participants have an opportunity to return next season and, though their three senior members were large contributors to the varsity squad, most of the core could remain intact for the Falcons. While the Marawood will likely remain a difficult conference to crack, Abbotsford certainly seems positioned to continue to put together strong performances, especially in the field events.
WE HAVE LIFTOFF - Christian Fuentes, left, and Celia Schindler, right, both launch themselves as far as they could stretch during their respective events at the state meet. Fuentes went on to take second in the long jump and set a new school record while Schindler placed 14th in the triple jump.
STAFF PHOTOS/MATT FREY
