MONROE - The way Monroe High School girls track and field coach Matt Davis sees it, sophomore Cammi Ganshert was born to run.
Ganshert is the top sprinter for the Monroe girls team. She ran on the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams that each medaled at the WIAA Division 2 state meet last year. She's off to a blistering start this season.
"The biggest thing that makes her such an exceptional sprinter is her competitive nature," Davis said of Ganshert. "She's a competitor in every sense of the word. God really has given Cammi the genes to sprint. Not only is she athletic, but she combines it with her attitude and works hard. It's the perfect combination. She sets high goals for herself and works hard to achieve them."
Ganshert won the 100-meter dash at the Richard Glendenning Invitational on Monday. Ganshert's lifetime best time in the 100 is 12.4 seconds. Ganshert's time of 12.64 seconds in the 100 at the Mount Horeb quadrangular is the fastest Division 2 time in the state this year, according to the Wisconsin Track and Field Honor Roll.
"It's always kind of been my race," Ganshert said of the 100. "You have to get out fast, push through the end and not stop short."
Ganshert is a three-sport athlete at Monroe. She was on the Monroe-New Glarus swim team for the first time in the fall and was an alternate for state on the 400 freestyle relay. In the winter, she plays hockey, her favorite sport, as part of a co-op based out of Beloit Memorial.
Ganshert also has a passion for music and is the lead singer and plays the keyboard in her band, Precocious.
But now she has her sights set on becoming a four-event state track and field qualifier like teammate Jordan Hirsbrunner was last year.
"I want to go to state and PR in as many events as I can," she said. "(State is) a goal in the 100."
Before she settles into the blocks for the start of the 100, she always flips her hair to the left side.
"I just flip it to my left side, so it's out of my way," she said.
When Ganshert is not at a track meet, playing in a hockey game or at a swim meet, her hobbies she said are singing, playing with her band and biking with friends.
"We are thinking about changing the name of our band," she said.
Coaches don't want her to change anything on the track. Her speed and expressiveness can give the Cheesemakers a boost in any relay she may be used in. The Cheesemakers' 400 relay time (52.89) at the Glendenning Invitational was the eighth fastest in Division 2 in the state this season. The Cheesemakers also have the 11th fastest time in the 800 relay in Division 2 this year (1:52.66) and the 12th fastest in the 1,600 relay (4:22.95). The Cheesemakers placed fourth in the state in the 800 relay, sixth in the 400 and sixth in the 1,600 relays last year. Ganshert understands it may be difficult to repeat that feat. With so many strong 400 runners, Ganshert is excited to see what time the Cheesemakers can run in the 1,600 relay by the end of the year.
"We want to keep working at it and see what we can do," Ganshert said.
Ganshert said running in relays is a lot of fun because of the teammates she gets to compete with and count on in a race.
Ganshert said the team lost two key runners from the 800 relay team in Abby Oudinot and Isabel Bazley, who both graduated last spring. Ganshert still is confident that with more time and work on handoffs the Cheesemakers will have an opportunity to get back to state in the 800 relay.
Only time will tell what events Ganshert does at the regional at the end of the season. She has put herself on the fast track to have success in multiple events.
"I think it kind of comes down to the field and what the competition is like this year," Davis said of what events Ganshert will run at the end of the year. "She was a key contributor to our relays last year and she's a key contributor to our relays this year. It's too early to tell. I think at the end of the year she and I will sit down and decide what is the best opportunity for her. Cammi will be successful in whatever events she is in."
Ganshert is the top sprinter for the Monroe girls team. She ran on the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams that each medaled at the WIAA Division 2 state meet last year. She's off to a blistering start this season.
"The biggest thing that makes her such an exceptional sprinter is her competitive nature," Davis said of Ganshert. "She's a competitor in every sense of the word. God really has given Cammi the genes to sprint. Not only is she athletic, but she combines it with her attitude and works hard. It's the perfect combination. She sets high goals for herself and works hard to achieve them."
Ganshert won the 100-meter dash at the Richard Glendenning Invitational on Monday. Ganshert's lifetime best time in the 100 is 12.4 seconds. Ganshert's time of 12.64 seconds in the 100 at the Mount Horeb quadrangular is the fastest Division 2 time in the state this year, according to the Wisconsin Track and Field Honor Roll.
"It's always kind of been my race," Ganshert said of the 100. "You have to get out fast, push through the end and not stop short."
Ganshert is a three-sport athlete at Monroe. She was on the Monroe-New Glarus swim team for the first time in the fall and was an alternate for state on the 400 freestyle relay. In the winter, she plays hockey, her favorite sport, as part of a co-op based out of Beloit Memorial.
Ganshert also has a passion for music and is the lead singer and plays the keyboard in her band, Precocious.
But now she has her sights set on becoming a four-event state track and field qualifier like teammate Jordan Hirsbrunner was last year.
"I want to go to state and PR in as many events as I can," she said. "(State is) a goal in the 100."
Before she settles into the blocks for the start of the 100, she always flips her hair to the left side.
"I just flip it to my left side, so it's out of my way," she said.
When Ganshert is not at a track meet, playing in a hockey game or at a swim meet, her hobbies she said are singing, playing with her band and biking with friends.
"We are thinking about changing the name of our band," she said.
Coaches don't want her to change anything on the track. Her speed and expressiveness can give the Cheesemakers a boost in any relay she may be used in. The Cheesemakers' 400 relay time (52.89) at the Glendenning Invitational was the eighth fastest in Division 2 in the state this season. The Cheesemakers also have the 11th fastest time in the 800 relay in Division 2 this year (1:52.66) and the 12th fastest in the 1,600 relay (4:22.95). The Cheesemakers placed fourth in the state in the 800 relay, sixth in the 400 and sixth in the 1,600 relays last year. Ganshert understands it may be difficult to repeat that feat. With so many strong 400 runners, Ganshert is excited to see what time the Cheesemakers can run in the 1,600 relay by the end of the year.
"We want to keep working at it and see what we can do," Ganshert said.
Ganshert said running in relays is a lot of fun because of the teammates she gets to compete with and count on in a race.
Ganshert said the team lost two key runners from the 800 relay team in Abby Oudinot and Isabel Bazley, who both graduated last spring. Ganshert still is confident that with more time and work on handoffs the Cheesemakers will have an opportunity to get back to state in the 800 relay.
Only time will tell what events Ganshert does at the regional at the end of the season. She has put herself on the fast track to have success in multiple events.
"I think it kind of comes down to the field and what the competition is like this year," Davis said of what events Ganshert will run at the end of the year. "She was a key contributor to our relays last year and she's a key contributor to our relays this year. It's too early to tell. I think at the end of the year she and I will sit down and decide what is the best opportunity for her. Cammi will be successful in whatever events she is in."
