Spencer, Loyal finish in middle of pack at Neillsville meet

Nine area track and field teams traveled to Neillsville High School to compete in the Meurett Invitational held April 22, with Loyal and Spencer taking fifth and sixth for the boys and girls team competitions. A couple of individuals —Addysen Wolf and Breckin Miller — showed their versatility to claim podium finishes in running and field events.

Athletes had to place in the top eight in their event to score points.

Loyal girls On the Loyal girls’ side, junior Addysen Wolf showed her capability as an all-around athlete, winning two events and claiming the silver medal in another two. She won the 100-meter dash, finishing in 12.7 seconds, which put her in the Wisconsin top 25 according to MileSplit.com. She also won the 200m dash with a time of 26.92 and took second in the 400m dash at 1:01.9. On the field side of things, she placed second in the high jump, clearing the bar at 4-10.

Other point winners for the Loyal girls were as follows. Junior Summer Smith won the triple jump with a mark of 30-11.5. Freshman Kennedy Luchterhand took third place in the shot put at 29-5.5 and sophomore Payten Wolf took eighth in that event with a distance of 24-7. Senior Hope Peroshek, sophomore Annika Schley, and Payten Wolf placed third, sixth, and eighth in the discus throw, respectively, with throws of 87-11, 77-8, and 67-7.25. Sophomore Aaliyah Pearson took fifth in the 300m hurdles at 55.48. Senior Noelle Teschner placed eighth in the 200m dash with a time of 29.2.

Senior Olivia Nikolai tied for fifth place in the pole vault, at 7-6. She also took sixth place in the 100-meter hurdles at 19.31 seconds. Her teammate Lesly Soto was not far behind. Soto, a sophomore, took eighth in the 100m hurdles at 21.75.

The girls 4x200m relay team won their event, with a time of 1:53.95. Team members were Smith, Peroshek, Teschner, and Pearson. The same four ladies competed in the 4x100m relay and took third with a time of 54.13.

As a team, the Loyal girls scored 91.5 points, good for fifth place out of nine teams. Neillsville had the most points, with 140, while Thorp had the lowest at 6.5.

Loyal boys On the Loyal boys’ side, senior Payton Tsai took third in the pole vault at 11-6. Freshman Andrew Lavengood placed third in the 800m run at 2:19.05. Senior Jaden Smith took fifth in the discus throw at 109 feet. Joe Treffinger, a junior, took eighth in the 400m dash at 1:03.91.

The 4x100m relay team consisting of Jacob Schmidt (a junior), Treffinger, Lavengood, and Jerome Buchanan (a sophomore) took sixth with a time of 50.49.

The Loyal boys took sixth out of nine teams with 20 points. Neillsville won the boys meet with 151.5 points.

Spencer girls The Spencer girls team had six events place in the top eight. Freshman Kaitlin Radue took second in the discus with a throw of 89 feet. The 4x100m relay team consisting of Rachel Nieman (a junior), Brooklyn Baumgarten (a sophomore), Alina Jackson (a senior), and Caitlin Clark (a senior) placed fourth with a time of 54.84. Clark also took fourth in the long jump with a distance of 14-8.5. Senior Ribeka Sakai took fifth in the 1600m run at 6:56.81. Baumgarten took sixth in the 100m dash with a time of 14.1. The 4x200m relay team placed seventh with a time of 2:07.84. Team members were Tahneya Anderson (a junior), Katherine Yorgey (a freshman), Abril Alvarez Macias (a junior), and Ashley Fitzgerald (a senior).

The Rocket girls took sixth place out of nine teams with a score of 27 points.

Spencer boys If Addysen Wolf was Loyal’s standout athlete, junior Breckin Miller certainly was that for Spencer. He took first place in three events, along with second place as part of a relay team. He won the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.78, the long jump at 19-7, and the pole vault at 13-0. The 4x100m relay team he was on took second with a time of 46.26. Other team members were Jackson Hoeper (a junior), Ben Felgner (a junior), and Efrain Olguin-Cano (a senior).

Other top finishes for the Spencer boys included the 4x200m relay team, which took first place with a time of 1:41.6. Team members were Felgner, Mason Dieringer (a junior), Sam Helgestad (a junior), and Teddy Meyer (a senior). Also Hoeper placed sixth in the 200m dash, finishing in 24.7 seconds. Junior Mathers McHone took seventh in the 800m run with a time of 2:29.02. Sophomore Kade Dovenbager placed seventh in the 1600m run at 6:27.39.

The Spencer boys placed fifth out of nine teams with 55 points.

Granton Granton athletes scored in five events. Senior Koltin Luchterhand took third in the 3200m run with a time of 14:00.06. Fellow senior Emma Woller placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 87-1. Jordan Berg, also a senior, took seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 26-6. Freshman Perpetua Thomas took eighth place in the long jump with a jump of 13 feet. The girls 4x100m relay team consisting of Kaitlyn Timm (a junior), Kennedy Young (a junior), Thomas, and Berg placed eighth with a time of 1:00.34.

The Granton girls took eighth place out of nine teams with 9 points. The Granton boys finished ninth out of nine teams with 6 points.

Spencer students make memories at MCSE track and field meet Spencer students participated in the Marathon County Special Education (MCSE) Spring Track and Field Games last Thursday morning at Edgar High School. Above left, Spencer’s Jerry Baker takes part in the 50-meter dash. Above center, Spencer’s River Boyd competes in the softball throw as teammates (left) Max Sternweis and (right) Zenly Westbay look on. Above right, Spencer’s Zac Waughtal is excited as he runs to the starting line being announced as Spencer’s representative in the school mascot race. Below right, Waughtal is shown with the mascots he competed against, along with Maxwell Wienke, Marathon Area Elementary School/Marathon Venture Academy principal. Below left, volunteers displayed a flag for the national anthem on the Edgar High School football field before the games began. The MCSE consortium includes six schools.

CASEY KRAUTKRAMER/THE RECORD REVIEW