10 Polar Bears, 4 Bulldogs headed to sectionals
By Scott Bellile
Hortonville finished seventh and New London finished last as teams at the Division 1 track and field regional on Tuesday, May 26, but individually 10 Hortonville and four New London athletes continued on to sectionals.
Hortonville individuals who qualified for sectionals were Jacob Guyette in the shot put, Cody Lohrenz in the 400-meter dash and 800-meter run, Hannah Lohrenz in the 1600-meter run and 3200-meter run, Emma Rafuse in the 1600-meter run and Blake Soto in the triple jump.
As for Hortonville relays, the girls’ 4×200 team consisting of Lizzie Lohrer, Abby Diedrich, Emily Halfman and Emily Lasinski continued onward after a fourth-place finish at regionals. The boys’ 4×400 team made up of of Blake Soto, Trevor Coenen, Nathan Lichtfuss and Cody Lohrenz finished third.
The Bulldogs’ 4×200 relay was the sole New London event to advance to sectionals thanks to a fourth-place finish. Athletes on the team were Nick Thomas, Austin Wyngaard, Jonah Backus and Connor Hoell.
“It was a pretty intense race,” Thomas said about the regional race.
Hoell, the relay team’s anchor, said he passed Kimberly relay anchor Evan Dux at the the final 100 meters of the race. The Bulldogs finished with a time of 1:34.57, three-tenths of a second before Kimberly.
The team ultimately chose not to run at the sectionals meet at Ashwaubenon High School on Friday, May 29 because it conflicted with New London’s graduation ceremony.
Athletes who scored for New London and Hortonville at the regional meet were:
Girls’ individual events
Hortonville’s Kylie Hunter scored one point in the discus throw with her eighth-place throw of 94-07.
Hortonville’s Brooke Pernsteiner scored three points in the high jump with her sixth-place height of 4-08.00.
Hortonville’s Ellie McIntosh scored one point in the high jump with her eighth-place height of 4-08.00.
New London’s Cassidy Pethke tied for eighth place in the pole vault, scoring 0.5 point for clearing a height of 7-06.00.
New London’s Cassidy Pethke scored four points in the 100-meter hurdles for her fifth-place finish with a time of 17.63 seconds.
Hortonville’s Claire Van Beek scored three points in the 400-meter dash for her sixth-place finish with a time of 1:01.19.
New London’s Candince Zehner scored three points in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing sixth with a time of 50.55 seconds.
Hortonville’s Abby Diedrich finished eighth in the 200-meter dash, scoring one point with a time of 29.55 seconds.
Hortonville’s Hannah Lohrenz placed second in the 3200-meter run, scoring eight points with a time of 12:00.11.
Hortonville’s Emma Rafuse placed sixth in the 3200-meter run, scoring three points with a time of 12:17.16.
Hortonville’s Hannah Lohrenz ran to a second-place finish in the 1600-meter run, scoring eight points with a time of 5:21.39.
Hortonville’s Emma Rafuse ran to a third-place finish in the 1600-meter run, scoring six points with a time of 5:22.30.
Girls’ relay events
Hortonville’s 4×100 relay team consisting of Lizzie Lohrer, Abby Diedrich, Emily Lasinski and Claire Van Beek sprinted its way to a sixth-place finish, scoring three points with a time of 54.50 seconds.
New London’s 4×100 relay team consisting of Kayla Zehner, Bailey Briner, Natalie Degal and Hailie Schirpke finished eighth, scoring one point with a time of 56.74 seconds.
Hortonville’s 4×200 relay team consisting of Lizzie Lohrer, Abby Diedrich, Emily Halfman and Emily Lasinski ran its way to a fourth-place finish, scoring five points with a time of 1:55.65.
Hortonville’s 4×400 relay team consisting of Emma Rafuse, Emily Lasinski, Hannah Lohrenz and Claire Van Beek finished seventh, scoring two points with a time of 4:15.80.
New London’s 4×400 relay team comprised of Cassidy Pethke, Natalie Degal, Shannon Cross and Candice Zehner sprinted to an eighth-place finish, scoring one point with a time of 4:33.99.
Boys’ individual events
Hortonville’s Trevor Coenen scored three points in the high jump with a sixth-place height of 5-10.00.
Hortonville’s Jacob Guyette scored eight points in the shot put for his second-place throw of 53-07.00.
Hortonville’s Mitchell Gerhartz scored one point in the 100-meter dash for his eighth-place finish with a time of 12.03 seconds.
Hortonville’s Jacob Nicholson scored three points in the 1600-meter run for his sixth-place finish with a time of 4:51.77.
Hortonville’s Cody Lohrenz scored eight points in the 400-meter dash for his second-place finish with a time of 49.66 seconds.
Hortonville’s Trevor Coenen finished eighth in the 300-meter hurdles, scoring one point with a time of 44.39 seconds.
Hortonville’s Cody Lohrenz scored eight points in the 800-meter run, finishing second with a time of 2:01.52.
Hortonville’s Nathan Lichtfuss finished seventh in the 800-meter run, scoring two points with a time of 2:04.67.
New London’s Connor Hoell placed fifth in the 200-meter dash, scoring four points with a time of 23.93 seconds.
Hortonville’s Blake Soto leaped to fourth place in the triple jump, scoring five points with a distance of 40-07.25.
Hortonville’s Jacob Nicholson placed seventh in the 3200-meter run, scoring two points with a time of 10:38.58.
Boys relay events
Hortonville’s 4×100 relay team consisting of Blake Heimmermann, Kyle Weisshahn, Peter Van Wyk and Mitchell Gerhartz sprinted its way to a sixth-place finish, earning three points with a time of 46.74 seconds.
New London’s 4×100 relay team comprised of Jonah Backus, Jon Lee, Christian Hecht and Austin Wyngaard finished seventh, earning two points with a time of 47.39 seconds.
New London’s 4×200 relay team consisting of Nick Thomas, Austin Wyngaard, Jonah Backus and Connor Hoell sprinted to a fourth-place finish, earning five points with a time of 1:34.57.
Hortonville’s 4×400 relay team comprised of Blake Soto, Trevor Coenen, Nathan Lichtfuss and Cody Lohrenz sprinted to a third-place finish, scoring six points with a time of 3:34.61.
New London’s 4×400 relay team made up of Nick Thomas, Marty Metko, Eric Driebel and Connor Hoell sprinted to a seventh-place finish, scoring two points with a time of 3:40.82.
New London’s 4×800 relay team comprised of Eric Driebel, Schyler Garza, Dennis Christensen and Ryan Watling ran to a sixth-place finish, scoring three points with a time of 8:51.39.
Hortonville’s 4×800 relay team consisting of Gabe Dewar, Braden Stoeger, Cole Byom and Drew Sorrells ran to a seventh-place finish, scoring two points with a time of 9:19.45.