Clintonville High School’s Allison Johnson won a state championship, Menominee Indian’s Ania Smith took second in the discus, and Gresham/Bowler’s Drew Payne was fourth in the triple jump as the WIAA State Track and Field Championships wrapped up on a rainy Saturday in La Crosse.
Rain and lightning, which forced the meet’s morning session to be postponed until the afternoon, pushed back the Division 2 girls 800-meter run until the evening.
Johnson, a junior, won the event with a time of 2:16.41, eclipsing her school record by 3 seconds and edging out Dodge/Mineral Point’s Mary Hanson by .59 seconds.
Smith, a sophomore, locked down second place in the Division 3 girls discus on her first throw of the day. The throw went 123 feet, 3 inches.
Smith finished behind only four-time champion Kennedy Blahnik, of Algoma, who beat her own state record with a throw of 161-5.
“My goal was to get second today,” Smith said. “I don’t know. I was really relaxed.”
Smith, making her first trip to state, said she was much more relaxed than she was during Friday’s session, when she took fifth in the shot put.
“She did a great job, and she got that right on her first throw,” Menominee Indian coach Chris Clache said. “Yesterday she was so nervous. Today she was relaxed. I’m happy for her.”
Smith was already looking to the future on Saturday.
“I want both next year,” Smith said.
Menominee Indian teammate junior Gordon James III took 10th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.02.
Gresham/Bowler junior Drew Payne was fourth in the long jump.
“It feels amazing,” Payne said.
After getting 20-6 3/4 on his first jump, Payne improved to 20-9 1/4 on his second. He was beaten by Iola-Scandinavia’s Kristian Welch (22-2 1/2), Spring Valley’s Zac Webster (21-11 1/2) and Eleva-Strum’s Gabe Toft (21-7 1/4).
“Starting off with the first flight, I was worried,” Payne said. “I was worried about the jumps coming in.”
Payne, who was fifth in the triple jump on Friday, was happy to reach the podium in both events.
“This is so much fun,” Payne said of the state meet. “You get to see the best of the best here. It’s fun to compete against them for sure.”
Also for Gresham/Bowler, junior Cody Montez placed eighth in the 3,200 run (9:58.10), senior Austin Olsen placed 10th in the 300 hurdles (43.60) and senior Andrew Pleshek was eighth in the high jump (6-0).
Shawano’s Kia Smurawa took 17th in the girls Division 1 long jump. Her best jump was her third, which went 15-10 3/4.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Division 2 girls 4x800 team of Erica White Eagle, Alexis Balliett, Taylor Nier and Mikayla King took 15th. Micah Nier fouled out of the triple jump competition.
Marion’s Cole Drafahl reached the podium in the Division 3 boys shot put, taking fifth with a throw of 51-11.
Results
Division 1
Boys
Team scoring: 1. Kimberly 57, 2. Wisconsin Lutheran 47, 3. West Bend West 38, 4. Racine Park 37, 5. Middleton 34.5
Girls
Team scoring: 1. Kenosha Tremper 48, 2. Brookfield East 40, 3. Whitefish Bay 26, 4. De Pere 25, 5. Milwaukee King 24
Division 2
Boys
Team scoring: 1. Monroe 63, 2. Seymour 37, 3. Milwaukee Lutheran 35, 3. Grafton 35, 5. Little Chute 33
Girls
Team scoring: 1. Hayward 38, 2. Dodgeville/Mineral Point 37, 3. Jefferson 32, 4. Lakeside Lutheran 30, 4. Wrightstown 30, 25. Clintonville 10
Division 3
Boys
Team scoring: 1. McDonnell Central 40, 2. Marathon 38, 3. Darlington 30, 4. Spring Valley 27, 5. St. Mary Central, 28. Gresham/Bowler 11
Girls
Team scoring: 1. Lourdes Academy 50, 2. Cuba City 46, 3. Algoma 42, 4. Wild Rose 38, 5. Newman Catholic 30.75, 24. Menominee Indian 12, 31. Marion 6
Categories
