LA CROSSE - There's nobody slow at state.
That lesson was learned Friday by two Monroe girls track relay teams that just missed qualifying for the finals of the WIAA Division 2 state meet at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Veterans Memorial Sports Complex.
The Cheesemakers' 400-meter relay team of Maria Eberle, Stephanie Wyss, Ty Gibson and Jaclyn Ditter was aiming for a time of 51 seconds. As it turned out, that time would have qualified them for today's finals.
"We wanted to have good handoffs and get out fast," Ditter said.
"We just wanted to get into the finals," Gibson said.
But the Monroe quartet that won the Boscobel sectional finished in 51.85 seconds. That left the Cheesemakers in 10th place in the preliminary race, and just seven-hundredths of a second short of reaching the finals.
Monroe's 1,600 relay team of Ditter, Tessa Frutiger, Madeline Arnold and Wyss suffered almost the same fate - a 10th-place finish that was less than a second away from qualifying. The team's personal record time of 4 minutes, 7.2 seconds just wasn't enough.
"I was shocked," Frutiger said of the competition. "There were a couple teams that ran 4:19 and 4:20. Where were they? There was nobody slow in that race."
Ditter agreed.
"This is sick," she said. "There was no one slow in there at all. At least we ran better."
Monroe senior Carmen Lawver finished 16th in the shot put with a throw of 35 feet, 1/2 inch.
Brodhead-Juda's 800 relay team of Amanda Johnson, Shannon Klein, Larissa Klemm and Cassie Wymer was 14th in the prelims with a time of 1:49.51 and didn't reach the finals.
Monroe senior Meaghan Tomasiewicz will pole vault in the finals today, and Tess Seichter will run in the 3,200. Tomasiewicz, who has cleared 11-0 this year, enters the meet as the No. 2 seed behind Richland Center's Danielle Vetesnik. The Cheesemakers also are gunning for a medal in the 3,200 relay.
That lesson was learned Friday by two Monroe girls track relay teams that just missed qualifying for the finals of the WIAA Division 2 state meet at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Veterans Memorial Sports Complex.
The Cheesemakers' 400-meter relay team of Maria Eberle, Stephanie Wyss, Ty Gibson and Jaclyn Ditter was aiming for a time of 51 seconds. As it turned out, that time would have qualified them for today's finals.
"We wanted to have good handoffs and get out fast," Ditter said.
"We just wanted to get into the finals," Gibson said.
But the Monroe quartet that won the Boscobel sectional finished in 51.85 seconds. That left the Cheesemakers in 10th place in the preliminary race, and just seven-hundredths of a second short of reaching the finals.
Monroe's 1,600 relay team of Ditter, Tessa Frutiger, Madeline Arnold and Wyss suffered almost the same fate - a 10th-place finish that was less than a second away from qualifying. The team's personal record time of 4 minutes, 7.2 seconds just wasn't enough.
"I was shocked," Frutiger said of the competition. "There were a couple teams that ran 4:19 and 4:20. Where were they? There was nobody slow in that race."
Ditter agreed.
"This is sick," she said. "There was no one slow in there at all. At least we ran better."
Monroe senior Carmen Lawver finished 16th in the shot put with a throw of 35 feet, 1/2 inch.
Brodhead-Juda's 800 relay team of Amanda Johnson, Shannon Klein, Larissa Klemm and Cassie Wymer was 14th in the prelims with a time of 1:49.51 and didn't reach the finals.
Monroe senior Meaghan Tomasiewicz will pole vault in the finals today, and Tess Seichter will run in the 3,200. Tomasiewicz, who has cleared 11-0 this year, enters the meet as the No. 2 seed behind Richland Center's Danielle Vetesnik. The Cheesemakers also are gunning for a medal in the 3,200 relay.
