Track and field: Fort's Stricker, Heagney, Gray qualify for State Championships

BEAVER DAM — Ben Stricker battled against a loaded field in the 3,200-meter run to punch his return ticket to the State Championships, while Mykenna Gray and Grant Heagney earned the right to compete on the big stage for the first time.

Fort Atkinson’s track and field team qualified for state in three events out of Thursday’s WIAA Division 1 track and field sectional hosted by Beaver Dam.

Stricker, a senior and University of St. Thomas recruit, nabbed the final qualifying spot in the two mile with a third-place finish in 9 minutes, 27.18 seconds.

Stricker stuck tight at the back of the top six pack during the first mile, briefly moved into the lead during the sixth lap, then went with La Follette senior Nico Castellanos and Hartford senior Mason Weber, holding off a late surge by DeForest sophomore Lucas Tanner to qualify. Castellanos won in 9:21.90, Weber was second (9:26.08) and Tanner placed fourth (9:27.51). Those four athletes have the top four seeded times, respectively, for the State Championships with Tanner earning a special invitation to compete.

“Ben had to run a great race just to qualify out of what turned out to be the fastest distance field in the state,” Fort Atkinson track and field coach Dennis Schwedrsky said.

Stricker took fourth in the 1,600 in 4:29.78. That event was equally loaded with the top three finishers all seeded in the top five for the State Championships.

Last season, Stricker competed at state in the 1,600, 3,200 and as a member of the 3,200 relay team. His 3,200 time at sectionals this season was 16 seconds faster than in 2023.

Heagney, a sophomore, finished second in the 400 in 50.54.

“Grant’s run in the 400 was fantastic,” Schwedrsky said. “He just keeps getting faster. It will be exciting to see him run a 400 on fresh legs at state.”

Heagney just missed a state berth in the 400 at sectionals last season, finishing fourth in 52.41.

Gray took second in the discus with a throw of 121 feet, 11 inches. Senior teammate Rebecca Christ finished fourth (118 feet).

“The girls discus was very exciting,” Schwedrsky said. “Both Rebecca and Mykenna knew that they needed to have career days, and both delivered. Both threw personal bests on their last throws.

“Mykenna started finals in qualifying position, was passed by two competitors, and with everything on the line, had a huge 10 foot PR on her last throw. I’m so proud of both of them.”

Fort’s girls scored 36 points to place eighth.

Junior Ashlie Riley finished fourth in the 300 hurdles in 46.98, missing out on qualifying by 15 one-hundredths of a second, and finished sixth in the 100 hurdles in 16.44.

“Even though she just missed qualifying, Ashlie had a tremendous first season of track and field,” Schwedrsky said.

Junior Mary Worden finished sixth in the 800 in 2:29.36.

Sophomore Ava Leurquin was sixth in the 3,200 in 13:10.68.

Junior Geneva Fisher finished sixth in the shot put (32-11).

Sophomore Hannah Baldry was seventh in the 300 hurdles in 51.97.

Freshman Ashlyn Holloway was eighth in the 100 hurdles in 18.14.

The 1,600 relay team of sophomore Savanna Hendrickson, Baldry, Worden and Riley took seventh in 4:16.96.

The 3,200 relay team of junior Claire Kucken, freshman Layla Kohl and sophomores Mya Wenhardt and Macayla Graham took eighth in 11:10.53.

Fort’s boys team took 12th with 30 points.

The 3,200 relay team of juniors Owen Geiger and Ethan Leslie, Stricker and Heagney took fifth in 8:13.47. Leslie finished sixth in the 400 in 51.51.

The 1,600 relay team of senior Payton Wiesen, Leslie, senior Marcus Tesch and Heagney took seventh in 3:33.53.

Senior Evan Zachgo took eighth in the 300 hurdles in 43.62.

Sophomore Alex Ehleiter took eighth in the triple jump (39-2).

The 2024 State Track and Field Championships will be held May 31-June 1 at the Veterans Memorial Stadium Complex in La Crosse.

WIAA DIVISION 1 BEAVER DAM SECTIONAL

Top three qualify for state

Team scores — boys: Oconomowoc 91.5, Sun Prairie East 90.5, Janesville Parker 62.5, Milton 56, Madison La Follette 54, Hartford Union 50, Sun Prairie West 48.5, Janesville Craig 48, Oregon 45, Stoughton 35, Slinger 34, Fort Atkinson 30, Watertown 24, DeForest 17, Beloit Memorial 6, Beaver Dam 5

BOYS STATE QUALIFIERS

100 — 1. Levi Booker (JC) 11.16. 2. Caeden Oppold (Ocon) 11.20. 3. Kai Sheridan (M) 11.20. 200 — 1. Cayden Brandenburg (JP) 22.11. 2. Sheridan (M) 22.42. 3. Jace Stolte (SPE) 22.49. 400 — 1. Brandenburg (JP) 48.16. 2. Grant Heagney (FA) 50.54. 3. Arik Loomans (Sl) 50.82. 800 — 1. Jayden Sayles (Ocon) 1:57.69. 2. Ethan Zywicki (Sto) 1:58.31. 3. Gustas Montvyas (MLF) 1:58.94. 1,600 — 1. Nico Castellanos (MLF) 4:15.82. 2. Reed Grotenhuis (Sl) 4:17.36. Jonah Marshall (SPE) 4:19.41. 3,200 — 1. Castellanos (MLF) 9:21.90. 2. Mason Weber (HU) 9:26.08. 3. Ben Stricker (FA) 9:27.18.

400 relay — 1. Janesville Craig (Quintin Jackson, Dylan Tyler, Alex Lawton, Booker) 42.79. 2. Sun Prairie East 42.94. 3. Oconomowoc 42.95. 800 relay — 1. Sun Prairie East 1:28.61. 2. Janesville Craig (Tyler, Ben Hayd, Lawton, Booker) 1:28.83. 3. Janesville Parker (Jonathon Aguiniga, Cody Slater, Paul Kim, Avery Eastman) 1:29.10. 1,600 relay — 1. Janesville Parker (Eastman, Kim, Aguiniga, Brandenburg) 3:22.24. 2. Sun Prairie West 3:24.60. 3. Hartford Union 3:24.72. 3,200 relay — 1. Madison La Follette 7:58.72. 2. Oconomowoc 8:01.27. 3. Hartford Union 8:06.53.

110 hurdles — 1. Daniel Wilson (SPW) 14.58. 2. Ethan Mitchell (M) 14.88. 3. Rodrigue Nakigane (Ocon) 15.07. 300 hurdles — 1. Wilson (SPW) 38.12. 2. Domenic Cifaldi (HU) 40.24. 3. Jahdiel Guerrero Bastardo (MLF) 41.29.

Shot put — 1. Alton Williams (SPE) 57-8. 2. Curtis Johnson (SPE) 53-8.5 3. Truman Mankowski (MLF) 53-6.5. Discus — 1. Jamison Klein (Ocon) 166-10. 2. Aidan Scholze (W) 156-6. 3. Aiden Miller (W) 153-11. High jump — 1. Hans Kiesau (Ore) 6-2. 2. Stolte (SPE) 6-1. 3. Brooks Ohmen (D) 6-1. Pole vault — 1. Jacob Yoerger (Ore) 14-0. 2. Myler Maughan (SPE) 13-3. 3. Ethan Soderbloom (Sto) 13-0. Long jump — 1. Mitchell (M) 22-10. 2. Cole Schwefel (Ocon) 22-8.75. 3. Brady Kaufman (SPE) 22-2.5. Triple jump — 1. Mitchell (M) 44-8.75. 2. Dane Meinerz (HU) 44-5.75. 3. Markus Duddeck (Ocon) 43-2.75.

Team scores — girls: Slinger 92, Oregon 88.5, Sun Prairie East 82, DeForest 61, Oconomowoc 54, Sun Prairie West 51, Janesville Parker 50, Fort Atkinson 36, Beaver Dam 30, Hartford Union 29, Janesville Craig 29, Watertown 28, Madison La Follette 26, Milton 18, Stoughton 16.5, Beloit Memorial 9,

GIRLS STATE QUALIFIERS

100 — 1. Alayna West (MLF) 12.59. 2. Dakota Mitchell (SPW) 12.62. 3. Sydney Holiday (SPW) 12.86. 200 — 1. Mitchell (SPW) 25.60. 2. Jaclyn Schelitzche (Ore) 25.60. 3. West (MLF) 25.89. 400 — 1. Harper Brandenburg (JP) 59.39. 2. Mya Barnes (JP) 59.97. 3. Jaslyn Gama (BM) 1:01.66. 800 — 1. Mila Westra (BD) 2:18.60. 2. Delaney Nyenhuis (Ore) 2:19.36. 3. Shaela Elert (SPE) 2:19.87. 1,600 — 1. Piper Schuster (Sl) 5:12.35. 2. Ava Dziedzic (Sl) 5:12.57. 3. Quinn Aulik (D) 5:16.05. 3,200 — 1. Schuster (Sl) 11:16.41. 2. Stella Gruendemann (Sl) 11:23.99. 3. Violet Schulteis (Sl) 11:25.18.

400 relay — 1. Oconomowoc 49.10. 2. Sun Prairie West 49.23. 3. Oregon 49.25. 800 relay — 1. Sun Prairie East 1:44.20 2. Oconomowoc 1:45.71. 3. Janesville Parker (Mia Riley, Shay Schuh, Olivia Schober, Violet McCue) 1:46.55. 1,600 relay — 1. Oregon 4:06.87. 2. Janesville Parker (Barnes, Schober, Schuh, Brandenburg) 4:07.32. 3. Sun Prairie East 4:07.51. 3,200 relay — 1. Slinger 9:33.31. 2. Sun Prairie East 9:41.45. 3. Oconomowoc 9:45.74.

100 hurdles — 1. Stacy Kipkoskei (D) 15.10. 2. Anna Johnson (Ore) 15.44. 3. Luciana Gonzalez (BD) 15.50. 300 hurdles — 1. Kipkoskei (D) 45.45. 2. Anna Waszczyk (SPE) 46.82. 3. Alexa Wornson (SPE) 46.83.

Shot put — 1. Megan Doherty (W) 41-3.5. 2. Kate Tesmer (Ocon) 37-6. 3. Caitlin Zingsheim (M) 36-7. Discus — 1. Doherty (W) 134-0. 2. Mykenna Gray (FA) 121-11. 3. Allyson Armstrong (D) 120-8. High jump — 1. Armstrong (D) 5-5. 2. Malena Benz (S) 5-3. 3. Rory Dexter (Ore) 5-2. Pole Vault — 1. Wornson (SPE) 11-6. 2. Phoebe Meske (Ocon) 10-9. 3. Audrey Seefeld (SPE) 10-9. Long jump — 1. Annabelle Schwarz (Ore) 17-7.75. 2. Chloe Hedman (JC) 17-4.5. 3. Morgan Maertz (BD) 16-8.5. Triple jump — 1. Mackenzie Hawk (SPW) 34-9. 2. Addison Maas (W) 34-3. 3. Schwarz (Ore) 34-0.5.