Marathon boys win state!

By Casey Krautkramer

Marathon’s varsity boys track and field team had the WIAA Division 3 state championship wrapped up going into Saturday’s last event, the 4x400-meter relay. Marathon led Coleman by half a point in the team standings and the Cougars didn’t have a relay competing in the final race.

The Red Raiders’ 4x400-meter relay consisting of senior starters Levi Krautkramer and Logan Rohland and sophomores Garrett Bracewell and Brady Annis were still motivated to win the event. Alternates were senior River Stanecki and sophomore Fred Tylinski.

Bracewell crossed the finish line ahead of Owen-Withee senior Mason Gay as the Red Raiders finished faster than the Blackhawks, 3:24.60 to 3:25.63, for the 4x400-meter state relay championship. This event win gave Marathon another 10 points to win the Division 3 state championship with 48-1/2 points compared to 38 for state runners-up Coleman.

Bracewell said Marathon’s 4x400-meter relay members were as close as family members would be.

“As teammates we are just a great group together,” he said. “We all love each other very much. We boost each other’s morale and give each other confidence and that’s

See STATE CHAMPIONS/ page 18

EXHILARATING FINISH FOR THE 4X400-METER RELAY- Marathon sophomore Garrett Bracewell is relieved to cross the finish line during the 4x400-meter relay in the final event of the two-day WIAA Division 3 state tournament in La Crosse. The 4x400meter relay of Bracewell, Logan Rohland, Brady Annis and Levi Krautkramer took first place. STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER State champions

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why we can perform so well.”

Krautkramer shared the same sentiment while expressing gratitude to Red Raiders head coach Curt Miller and assistant coaches EJ Otto and Ted Knoeck for helping the relay team succeed.

“This was Logan (Rohland), Jeremy as we call him, and my last race as seniors and these two sophomores have so much bright stuff ahead of them,” Krautkramer said. “Logan and I just love them to death. We are like a family. It was just a great bond that I don’t think will ever be broken.”

Marathon junior Chris Marcell, who won the shot put and discus state titles, waited to greet the 4x400-meter relay after they exited the track.

“They added the cherry on top to our team state championship,” he said. “It feels great. I’ve never been a part of this before.”

Marathon’s varsity boys track and field team captured its fourth state title in school history on Saturday. The Red Raiders boys other state championships were in Class C in 1990 under coach Jim Allmann, in 2015 in Division 3 under coach EJ Otto and in 2016 when the team tied for first place with Coleman and Wild Rose under Otto.

Current Red Raiders head coach Curt Miller was happy to led the team to its first state championship under his leadership.

“It’s pretty incredible,” he admitted. “These kids deserve it. They worked hard all year long and they bought into the system all year long and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

He enjoyed watching the 4x400-meter relay win the event to cap off the successful two-day state tournament in La Crosse.

“We knew going into that 4x400 that we already had the state championship wrapped up but it sure was nice to be able to run that one on house money and the kids felt great about that,” Miller said. “I think that made them a little more loose and then to finish the meet with a 4x400 state championship was a little icing on the cake.”

Track and field teams don’t score many points on the Friday of the state tournament because there are preliminary races for the dashes, hurdling and relays. The top 10 athletes who finish in each of Friday’s preliminary races advance to Saturday’s finals races. Marathon’s varsity boys track and field team did score 10 points on Friday when Marcell won the shot put state championship. Freshman Cael Riesgraf placed 11th in the high jump with six feet but he didn’t score any team points. He qualified for state in his first high school season which is a big accomplishment itself. Marathon’s boys team began amassing points on Saturday when the 4x800-meter relay took third place in 8:02.44 with starters Krautkramer, Rohland, Annis and sophomore Logan Peters. Alternates were juniors Ethan Huebsch and John Kahn. The relay gained six team points.

Marcell easily won the discus state championship to earn 10 more team points. Freshman Alec Miller placed seventh in the pole vault with 13 feet to gain 1-1/2 team points. Bracewell took second place in the 110-meter hurdles to gain eight team points. Marathon now was up to a total of 35-1/2 team points.

Red Raiders senior Logan Witberler concluded his solid high school track and field career with an 11th-place finish in the triple jump with 42 feet, 1-3/4 inches, even though he didn’t gain any team points from it.

Marathon’s boys 4x200-meter relay placed sixth with starting members Bracewell, Krautkramer, Annis and sophomore Fred Tylinski to add three team points for a total of 38-1/2. Alternates were Witberler and junior Luke Hoenisch. The 4x400-meter relay then won the race to add 10 more team points for a winning state championship total of 48-1/2.

Curt Miller reflected on the athletes who were able to add points in different events on both days to win the WIAA Division 3 state title.

“We have a fantastic program,” he said. “Every one of our event coaches was working today (Saturday) because we had events all over the place over the course of the weekend and we received little contributions everywhere, and I’m super proud of all our event coaches and athletes and it’s a super fun win for the team.”

Although Marathon’s boys team loses a few key seniors, he believes the Red Raiders are plenty capable of winning back-to-back WIAA Division 3 state championships next season.

“We want to enjoy this one,” Curt Miller said. “These guys earned it and deserve it and we have a lot of great seniors on our team that really set the tone for us so thanks to those guys but we can’t wait to run it back next season.”

Red Raider girls at state

Marathon senior Shiloh Blake concluded her stellar high school running career in cross country and track with a 11thplace finish in the 3,200-meter run in 11:37.04 which is a new school record. Freshman Bristal Baumann tied for 12th place in the pole vault with nine feet on Friday.