River Ridge, Wauzeka-Steuben, Seneca at Boscobel Sectional
River Ridge, Wauzeka-Steuben have state qualifiers
By Ted Pennekamp
River Ridge, Wauzeka-Steuben and Seneca competed in the Division 3 Boscobel Sectional June 17.
River Ridge scored 15 team points in the girls’ meet.
Wauzeka-Steuben scored 23.5 points in the boys meet. River Ridge scored 5 points in the boys meet.
River Ridge’s Shayna Graf, a freshman, qualified for the State Track and Field Meet in La Crosse June 25 by finishing second in the shot put with a toss of 34-5.
“I am so happy for Shayna to get a chance to get to the state meet as a freshman,” said River Ridge Coach Shane Sperle. “She is a talented kid that is very coachable and I am glad she gets to showcase her talent at the state meet as a freshman.”
The River Ridge boys 3200 relay team also qualified for state by finishing in fourth with a time of 8:53.94 (Brett Kerscher, Aidan Gage, Sam White, Brad Hoffman).
“The boys relay team was seeded 10th going into the meet and ran their hearts out,” said Sperle. “Aidan Gage has sprinted all year, but stepped up in the distance relay. He ran cross country well last fall so we knew he could do it. The other three seniors have been amazing young men over their careers and have worked so hard. You usually see them doing work at practice after everyone has left. It is always so great as a coach when you see great people get rewarded for their hard work.”
River Ridge had a couple of near misses in qualifying for state as well. The top four finishers in each event qualified for state.
“Our girls 4x200 team ran faster than I could ever have imagined,” said Sperle. “They came up one place short, but we are beyond proud of them. They had their best race of the season by far at the sectional meet and that is all you can ask for.” The girls 4x200 team took fifth in 1:51.74 (Rachael Zinkle, Glenna Marshall, Cayton Clark, Maddie Thornton).
Glenna Marshall just missed in the 200 and the 4x200 relay, but has had an outstanding career at River Ridge. Marshall was sixth in the 200 in 27.61.
“She is a hard working young lady that has been a pleasure to coach,” Sperle said. “Glenna always gives a maximum effort and that is all you can ask for as a coach.”
Wauzeka-Steuben’s Gavin Ralph finished second in the high jump at 6-3 to qualify for the state meet.
Wauzeka-Steuben freshman Lucius Cooley qualified for state by taking fourth in the 110 high hurdles in 17.47. Cooley will also be headed to state due to his second-place finish in the 300 hurdles in 42.88.
Boys Meet
In the boys meet at the Boscobel Sectional, Zach Fischer of River Ridge was ninth in the discus at 119-0.
Matthew Nies of River Ridge was 14th in the high jump at 5-4.
Lucius Cooley of Wauzeka-Steuben was seventh in the pole vault at 10-6.
Seth Breuer of River Ridge was tied for 10th in the pole vault at 10-0.
Xander Zach of River Ridge was tied for 10th in the pole vault at 10-0.
Aidan Gage of River Ridge was ninth in the triple jump at 38-1.25.
Wauzeka-Steuben was 11th in the 1600 relay in 3:49.66 (Nate Martin, Zach Martin, Gavin Ralph, Reed Stenner).
River Ridge was 12th in the 400 relay in 48.8 (Brady Bunge, Seth Breuer, Gavin Esser, Carter Bausch).
Wauzeka-Steuben was eighth in the 800 relay in 1:38.45 (Nate Martin, Zach Martin, Lucius Cooley, Gavin Ralph).
River Ridge was ninth in the 800 relay in 1:38.66 (Seth Breuer, Zach Martin, Lucius Cooley, Gavin Ralph).
Brad Hoffman of River Ridge was 11th in the 800 in 2:10.11.
Hoffman was 12th in the 1600 in 5:13.56.
Girls Meet
Jessica Patterson of River Ridge was 12th in the 400 in 1:06.78.
Olivia Zach of River Ridge was 12th in the pole vault at 7-0.
Maddie Thornton of River Ridge was 10th in the long jump at 14-11.75.
Taylor Snyder of Seneca was 14th in the triple jump at 30-2.75.
Shayna Graf of River Ridge was 12th in the discus at 87-1.
Faith Webb of River Ridge was 13th in the discus at 85-3.
