Two qualify for D3 state track meet
It will be a quiet day for most of the area when the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division Three state track and field meet starts in La Crosse on Thursday, but one area athlete has a chance to make some noise.
Independence/Gilmanton’s Ziy Conner reached new speeds last week as she broke the school record time in the 100 hurdles four separate times and will enter the state meet as the favorite to win the title.
Conner first broke the school record in the preliminary race at the Mondovi regional, then broke it again in the final race there last week Monday. At the Boscobel sectional on Thursday, she topped her time again in the preliminary then scorched the track with a time of 15.11 in the final. Her final three races were all faster than anybody else in Division Three has run this season and her time of 15.11 is the eighth-fastest recorded in any division this year.
Conner was the only area athlete to crack the top four at the Boscobel sectional, but Blair-Taylor’s Faith Olson also qualified for the state meet. While she finished sixth in the sectional, her high jump height was enough for her to be an extra qualifier.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state meet will have a different structure this year. Instead of having all three divisions compete on Friday and Saturday, the Division Three meet will take place on Thursday, followed by Division Two on Friday and Division One on Saturday.
Mondovi regional
Conner not only set a new school record, but put up one of the best times in the state as she won the 100 hurdles.
The I/G senior broke the school record in the preliminary race with a 15.41 then clocked a 15.27 in the finals to win the race with the best time anyone in Division Three had posted to date.
Callie Zastrow also advanced for I/G, taking second in the shot put.
Paige Kelly took second in the 100 and fourth in the 300 hurdles for B-T while also running on the fourth-place 800 relay team. Faith Olson was on the relay team and took second in the high jump. Sara Steffenson was fourth in the long jump.
Avery Sonsalla advanced in two events for Whitehall, taking third in the triple jump and fourth in the 400.
Kevin Carroll had the best finish for the Whitehall boys, taking second in the 800 as he also was third in the 1600 and was on the third-place 1600 relay team. Jonathan Thorn was also on that relay team and the 3200 relay team that took third while finishing third individually in the 400.
Ben Mohan ran on both relay teams, took third in the 800 and fourth in the high jump. Greg Santos was fourth in both the 200 and the long jump.
The only other area athlete to advance to the sectional in an individual event was Matthew Brandenburg, who took second in the long jump. Brandenburg also ran on B-T’s fourth-place 3200 relay team with Riley McAdams, Uriel Ortiz and Delorean Peterson.
The highest-placing I/G boys competitor was Michael Onstad, who was fifth in the 3200.
Boscobel sectional
Conner and Olson were the only athletes to advance to the state meet, while the Whitehall boys came up just short in a couple of events.
Conner’s win may have been even more significant because she defeated the state’s second-ranked Division Three hurdler, Adelynn Hyatt of Cashton, twice. The I/G runner won the preliminary race with a time of 15.14 then won the final with a 15.11 to Hyatt’s 15.36.
The Whitehall boys team was on the cusp in two events. The 1600 relay team finished in fifth, roughly one second behind Auburndale, missing the cut. Carroll, one of the runners on the relay team, also just missed the cut individually, taking fifth in the 1600.
Carroll was also ninth in the 800, Thorn was 10th in the 400, while the 3200 relay team took 11th and Mohan was 14th in the high jump.
Representing the WHS girls team, Sonsalla was 10th in the triple jump and 13th in the 400.
Faith Olson took sixth for the B-T girls in the high jump. Paige Kelly was ninth in the 300 hurldes and 11th in the 100. Their 1600 relay team finished 15th and Sara Steffenson was 16th in the long jump.
Brandenburg was 11th for the B-T boys in the long jump and their 3200 relay team was 15th.
Conner’s teammate, Zastrow, took ninth in the shot put.
Girls track, WIAA Division Three Mondovi Regional, June 14, 2021 at Mondovi High School
Fall Creek 120.5 Mondovi 112.4 C-FC 108 Eleva-Strum 71 Augusta 58 Mel-Min 49 B-T 43.5 Alma/Pepin 33 I/G 31.5 Whitehall 30 Osseo-Fairchild 22 Alma Center Lincoln 9
B-T
Seconds — Kelly, 100, 13.63; Olson, high jump, 4-10.
Fourths — Kelly, 300 hurdles, 52.05; 800 relay (Olson, Brandenburg, McAdams, Kelly), 3:36.19; Steffenson, long jump, 14-5.5.
I/G
Firsts — Conner, 100 hurdles, 15.27.
Seconds — Zastrow, shot put, 30-9.75.
Whitehall
Thirds — Sonsalla, triple jump, 32-4.5.
Fourths — Sonsalla, 400, 1:07.97.
Boys track, WIAA Division Three Mondovi Regional, June 17, 2021 at Mondovi High School
Fall Creek 156 Mondovi 108 C-FC 94 Mel-Min 74 Whitehall 72 A/P 52 E-S 44 Augusta 41 B-T 21 I/G 16 AC Lincoln 4 O-F 4
B-T
Seconds — Brandenburg, long jump, 19-2.75.
Fourths — 3200 relay (McAdams, Ortiz, Peterson, Brandenburg), 10:09.66
Whitehall
Seconds — Carroll, 800, 2:09.57.
Thirds — Thorn, 400, 54.62; Mohan, 800, 2:13.04; Carroll, 1600, 4:49.46; 1600 relay (Thorn, P. Thompson, Mohan, Carroll), 3:41.42; 3200 relay (Thorn, P. Thompson, Pank, Mohan), 9:20.15.
Fourths — Santos, 200, 24.65; Mohan, high jump, 5-4; Santos, long jump, 18-8.5.
Girls track, WIAA Division Three Boscobel Sectional, June 14, 2021 at Mondovi High School
Top 10: Royall 70 Lancaster 69 Cashton 64 Fennimore 59 Aquinas 38 Fall Creek 34 C-FC 33 Loyal 32 Colby 31 Riverdale 30
B-T
Sixths — Olson, high jump, 5-2
I/G
Firsts — Conner, 100 hurdles, 15.11
Boys track, WIAA Division Three Boscobel Sectional, June 14, 2021 at Mondovi High School
Top 10: Aquinas 99 Lancaster 68 Mondovi 51.5 Fall Creek 40 Auburndale 37 New Lisbon 32 Boscobel 31 C-FC 29 Colby 27.5 Luther 25
WHS
Fifths — Carroll, 1600, 4:45.4; 1600 relay (Thorn, P. Thompson, Mohan, Carroll), 3:38.48
