MIDDLETON - By making a living in the top three, the Lady Cheesemakers proudly pulled out a runner-up finish Tuesday at the Badger South Conference Track and Field Meet at Middleton High School.
Monroe placed in the top triumverate eight times and only failed to make the top four in three of the 18 events to compile 124.5 team points. While that tally was nearly 70 shy of Verona's 194, the Lady Cheesemakers edged another pack of cats as the Panthers of Oregon came up with 118.5. It was the third straight runner-up honor for Monroe, which met its coach's expectations.
"Our girls have not been beat by anyone in the last three years except for Verona," Miller said. "That's a pretty nice accomplishment."
Meaghan Tomasiewicz not only brought home the only gold medal by soaring past the pack in the pole vault. She broke a conference record in the process.
Her vault of 10 feet, 3 inches broke the mark set by Kristen Blair of Edgewood last year. Shannon Schlack of Oregon shared the former record before Tomasiewicz made her historic run.
"Winning a Badger South Conference title in an event is no easy task, and then becoming the new conference record holder makes it all that much better," Miller said.
As prominent as the freshmen were for the boys on Tuesday, another batch of underclassmen was brilliant for the Lady Cheese. Sophomore Claire Wyttenbach's time of 17.91 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles was just 21-hundredths behind runner-up Caylie O'Neil of Verona, while fellow Wildcat Niki Parker won at 16.89.
Another sophomore, Tyreisha Gibson, won her preliminary heat in the 100 dash before posting another fine time of 13.63. Gibson held off Verona's Shanna Beckwith, but couldn't rope in Eileen Gehring of Madison Edgewood, who won with a time of 13.37.
"I never gave up, though. I'm very happy, obviously, but I know I can do better if I keep working hard," Gibson said.
Yet another sophomore, Stephanie Wyss, placed second comfortably in the 400 (1:01.84) before narrowly breaking into the top three with a third-worthy 28.67 in the 200.
Monroe's first silver medal came right out of the gates as senior Calyn Bidlingmaier took the baton on the final leg of the 4x800 relay and turned a half-stride lead for second into a cozy cushion as the Cheesemakers were runners-up behind Oregon's team.
Miller commended Madeline Arnold for running a solid split before handing off to Bidlingmaier. "Bids" has been a glue-like force for Miller's squad that has such enormous upside.
Another enigmatic member of the squad is junior Paige Hoesly, who took third in the long jump (16-1) and provided what Miller called a "nice surprise."
"We almost didn't enter Paige in the long jump to give her a chance to focus on the triple," Miller said. "We did because we know her potential to hit a big one. She's a tough competitor and we were all glad to see her pop a nice jump today."
Monroe placed in the top triumverate eight times and only failed to make the top four in three of the 18 events to compile 124.5 team points. While that tally was nearly 70 shy of Verona's 194, the Lady Cheesemakers edged another pack of cats as the Panthers of Oregon came up with 118.5. It was the third straight runner-up honor for Monroe, which met its coach's expectations.
"Our girls have not been beat by anyone in the last three years except for Verona," Miller said. "That's a pretty nice accomplishment."
Meaghan Tomasiewicz not only brought home the only gold medal by soaring past the pack in the pole vault. She broke a conference record in the process.
Her vault of 10 feet, 3 inches broke the mark set by Kristen Blair of Edgewood last year. Shannon Schlack of Oregon shared the former record before Tomasiewicz made her historic run.
"Winning a Badger South Conference title in an event is no easy task, and then becoming the new conference record holder makes it all that much better," Miller said.
As prominent as the freshmen were for the boys on Tuesday, another batch of underclassmen was brilliant for the Lady Cheese. Sophomore Claire Wyttenbach's time of 17.91 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles was just 21-hundredths behind runner-up Caylie O'Neil of Verona, while fellow Wildcat Niki Parker won at 16.89.
Another sophomore, Tyreisha Gibson, won her preliminary heat in the 100 dash before posting another fine time of 13.63. Gibson held off Verona's Shanna Beckwith, but couldn't rope in Eileen Gehring of Madison Edgewood, who won with a time of 13.37.
"I never gave up, though. I'm very happy, obviously, but I know I can do better if I keep working hard," Gibson said.
Yet another sophomore, Stephanie Wyss, placed second comfortably in the 400 (1:01.84) before narrowly breaking into the top three with a third-worthy 28.67 in the 200.
Monroe's first silver medal came right out of the gates as senior Calyn Bidlingmaier took the baton on the final leg of the 4x800 relay and turned a half-stride lead for second into a cozy cushion as the Cheesemakers were runners-up behind Oregon's team.
Miller commended Madeline Arnold for running a solid split before handing off to Bidlingmaier. "Bids" has been a glue-like force for Miller's squad that has such enormous upside.
Another enigmatic member of the squad is junior Paige Hoesly, who took third in the long jump (16-1) and provided what Miller called a "nice surprise."
"We almost didn't enter Paige in the long jump to give her a chance to focus on the triple," Miller said. "We did because we know her potential to hit a big one. She's a tough competitor and we were all glad to see her pop a nice jump today."
