NEW RICHMOND — The Rice Lake track and field team won five individual Big Rivers titles, including three from Eliana Sheplee, during Monday’s conference championship meet held in New Richmond.
Sheplee won the 100, 200 and 400 meters, while Addison Schmidt won the shot put championship and Jacob Madsen took the conference title for the 110 hurdles.
The Rice Lake girls placed fourth in the standings at 90 points as Chippewa Falls won Big Rivers championship with 117.5, just 1.5 points ahead of Hudson in second.
“I thought a lot of the kids came in here confident and ready to go, and I was happy with how we competed,” Rice Lake girls coach Brooke Schmidt said.
The boys title went to Hudson at 120 points with a three-point advantage over Chippewa Falls. The Warriors placed in a tie with Menomonie for sixth at 57.
Sheplee recorded season-best times in all three of her events as she ran in just her fourth meet of the season after an injury kept her out until late April. In the 100 finals she won in 12.7 seconds, and she had 12.69 time in the prelims. For the 200 she recorded a time of 25.86 and Sheplee won the 400 in 57 seconds.
“When she came back, right away everyone expected her to pick up right where she left off,” Schmidt said. “I think she had enough confidence in herself to know even though ‘I’m not where I want to be right now, I can still get there.’ I’m so proud of the work she puts in because I don’t think a lot of people realized how hard she works and how determined she it.”
Madsen gave the Warrior boys their one win on the evening as he set a personal record of 15.19 in the prelims for the 110 hurdles and came right back in the finals to take first in 15.26.
“He’s been hitting his stride right now,” Rice Lake boys coach Matt Tebo said. “He’s been looking forward to the last couple of weeks. That will be when his best times come, and he’s been working hard for it.”
Not only did Schmidt win the shot put title she was runner-up for the discus. Schmidt had put herself in first through the opening round of the shot put, but in the finals got passed on the first round of throws. The freshman came back and threw a personal record of 38 feet, 5.5 inches to take over the top spot and eventually place first. In the discus she had a top toss of 114-9.
“I’m really proud of how Addie came to compete tonight because after the prelims going into finals in first, and then to get out-thrown in finals, that can kind of crush a kid,” coach Schmidt said. “As a freshman, I was impressed with her composure — how after she got passed, to come back with a big throw and PR and take the lead again.”
The Warriors had Madilyn DeLawyer finish second in the long jump as she set a personal record of 16-10, and she was also fifth at 33-3.75 for the triple jump and added points in taking eighth in the 400 (1:03.7).
In the boys 3,200 relay, Carter Kucko, Austin Prince, Pierce Hastreiter and Bailey MacDonald set a season-best time of 8:24.78 to take third. The Rice Lake boys had three pole vaulters score points, led by Connor Durand in third place after clearing a personal best of 13-6. Jacob Jondreau was fifth at 11-6 and Peter Montgomery cleared 11-0 for seventh.
“That’s one of our strengths right now, we have at least two people everywhere, they are always competing with somebody trying to get the edge,” Tebo said.
In addition to Madsen, the Warriors had Kaden Willger place fourth for the 110 hurdles in a time of 15.57. Willger was also fifth in the 300 hurdles in 41.13, while Madsen was sixth at 41.19, a personal best.
“They both want to be No. 1,” Tebo said of Madsen and Willger. “It’s fun every day at practice. Jake a senior, wanting to finish out his career on a high note, and Kaden [a sophomore] wanting to close that gap and be that solid No. 1.”
The girls got a pair of top-five finishes from Sedona Gay. She was fourth in a personal best 2:26.92 for the 800, and for the 1,600, Gay placed fifth in also a personal record time of 5:26.63.
In the girls high jump Adaline Sheplee cleared 4-10 for fifth and in the boys high jump Wilbert Svendsen leapt over the bar a 5-10, a personal best, to also take fifth.
Both the girls 400 and 800 relays were fifth. Avery Ash, Safia Winfield, Sophia Knauff and DeLawyer finished the 400 relay in 52.39, while Ash, Winfield, Knauff and Ellie Pacholke had a time of 1:52.4.
The Rice Lake girls also got points from Morgan Stephens in sixth for the 3,200 and Pacholke in seventh for the discus. The Warrior boys added points from Jackson Frank in sixth for the discus, Kucko in seventh for the 3,200, Ethan Mullikin in seventh for the triple jump and Colten Eggleston in eighth for the high jump.
“”It’s a very strong team, I’m very excited,” Tebo said. “It’s taken us a long time for us to rebuild and get to the point of where we are, and it’s going to be very fun to watch regionals and beyond to see how all the hard work these boys have put in, in some cases for three or four years, to get to this point and watch it all unfold.”
Next up for the Warriors is the postseason as Rice Lake is the site for a Division 2 regional on Monday.
“We definitely have a few places that we might make a few changes with entries,” Schmidt said, “but I was happy with how we competed here. We were right in the mix — to be in the mix in the Big Rivers Conference is impressive in and of itself. Just a few minor changes to entries, but I think for the most part I think we’re pretty happy with how it looks. We’re hoping to having another good meet on Monday.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0