Two Clintonville athletes named all-conference
By Scott Bellile
Shaving a couple seconds off her best 3,200-meter race time last week, Clintonville track runner Kara Pyatskowit broke her own Clintonville High School record she had set five days prior.
At the Shawano Invitational on May 10, Pyatskowit finished the 3,200 in 11:36.42. She won the race by 1:20.
That’s a two-second improvement over the record she set at the Seymour Invitational on May 5 when she ran the race in 11:38.45. In that race, she placed third overall.
“I am very excited about Kara breaking her own school record in the 3,200 meters,” Clintonville Head Coach Rod Moon said. “She has worked very hard this year and it has showed.”
Moon said the previous school record belonged to distance coach Stacy Hohn’s daughter, Samantha Hohn. That time of 11:39.57 was set in 2012.
At the North Eastern Conference Track Meet on Saturday, May 14, in Oconto Falls, Pyatskowit didn’t break the record a third time, but she did finish third in that race as well as the 1,600-meter run to earn two All-Conference Honorable Mentions.
Clintonville’s Allysin Booth finished third in the 100-meter hurdles to also earn an honorable mention.
Conference meet
The girls placed eighth and the boys 10th. Other Clintonville athletes who scored:
Jessie Barker (fourth, 100-meter fash and long jump; fifth, 200-meter dash), Booth (fifth, high jump; seventh, 300-meter hurdles), Brooke Wespetal (sixth, long jump), Lacey Jung (seventh, shot put), 4×800 relay team (Allison Graper, Jordan Tellock, Kaylie Branstrom and Wespetal; seventh), Nick Raasch (fourth, discus),Anthony Pues (fourth, 100-meter dash).
Shawano Invite
The girls placed third and the boys took seventh.
First place: Kara Pyatskowit (3,200-meter run and 1,600-meter run), Allysin Booth (100-meter hurdles) and Jessie Barker (200-meter dash).
Second place: Anthony Pues (100-meter dash), Allysin Booth (300-meter hurdles), Noah Hartleben (long jump).
Third place: Kaylie Branstrom (3,200-meter run), Chelsey Birling (100-meter dash), girls’ 4×800 relay (Taylor Young, Jordan Tellock, Kaylie Branstrom, Brooke Wespetal), boys’ 4×100 relay (Tye Ratfliff, Noah Hartleben, Samuel Wittman, Anthony Pues).
Q&A with Kara Pyatskowit
Is this your first track season with the Truckers? (Ed. note: Pyatskowit is home-schooled.) “Yes! This is my first time running track, and I’ve really enjoyed the season. Our team is very close-knit, and is like a second family to me. We’re constantly pushing each other to do our best, and we have a lot of fun during practices and at meets. My coaches and teammates are incredibly supportive, and I couldn’t have achieved the things that I have without them.”
Were you working to break the record this season, or did this come as a surprise? “Coming into this track season, I didn’t really know how things would go or if I’d do well, as track involves different racing strategies and paces compared to cross country. The season started and my first goal was just to get my 3,200 meters under 12 minutes. Once that occurred, and I became more familiar with racing my events, I realized I did have a chance at breaking the 3,200 meters school record, and it became my goal.”
How did your two record-breaking races go? “The Seymour meet (where I first broke the record) was a big invitational and there was a lot of competition there. I knew that this meet was my biggest chance at breaking the record, so I was really excited. The first mile went really well, but I regret not ‘going’ with the race leaders when they pushed the pace, during the fifth and sixth laps. All in all, it was a great race and breaking the school record was very exciting.
“The second time, at the Shawano Invite, it was cold and rainy, but I still wanted to PR (personal record), and lower the school record. Boys and girls ran together in the 3,200 meters, so that helped me with setting a pace, and trying to keep my lap splits consistent, in order to achieve my goal. I had a lot of family, as well as my teammates and coaches cheering me on, so breaking the school record the second time for them was an amazing feeling!”
How do you feel to accomplish the feat twice in a week? “It was very special and exciting! Setting the record in meets that were completely different from each other in terms of weather, size and competition helped me to see that anything can be achieved if you push yourself hard enough.”
Do you feel you have a chance at setting a 1,600 record? “My PR in the 1600 meters is 5:23.62, and I ran that at the Seymour Invitational. The current 1,600 meters record is 5:06.45 and is held by April Hanson. Breaking the current 1,600 meters record would be quite a feat! Even though the season is almost over, I’ll still continue to push myself, and would love to at least set a new PR.”