MADISON - Monroe's all-American wasted no time making his first statement of the 2008 campaign.
Brett DeNure took first place in the 400-meter dash with time of 52.70 seconds at Saturday's Madison West Relays and his fellow Cheesemakers got some vital battle testing in scoring 13 team points over three events at UW-Madison.
"Brett is such a fierce competitor," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "The race didn't come down to who was better conditioned; it came down to who was mentally tougher."
And that makes predicting the outcome fairly easy for Monroe's skipper.
"Brett doesn't like to lose," Hirsbrunner added.
It was DeNure's first compeition as he's battled a hamstring ailment that doesn't want to go away.
DeNure was also a member of the 4x400 relay team that placed seventh at 3:42.00, just two hundredths of a second off a medal-worthy sixth.
Monroe junior Lucas Leu, coming off a wrestling season that could have been stellar if not held up by a nagging knee injury, took eighth in the shot put with a heave of 45 feet, more than 2 feet longer than his previous best.
"It was great to see Lucas improve so much right off the bat," Hirsbrunner said.
Jon Swartz picked up where he left off in his breakout cross country season by taking ninth in the 3200 run at 10 minutes, 50.80 seconds, 20 seconds faster than his previous best time. In the field portion, junior Cullen Sampson matched his cross country teammate Swartz with a 5 foot, 8 inch leap in the high jump that earned ninth.
Monroe's new-look 3200 relay team took 11th as Kyle Klein, Matt Priebe, Justin Scott and Joe Pecora combined to register a 9:04.30.
The Cheesemakers added several places in the teens.
Brodhead-Juda's Elias Klar began a season that includes hopes for a state bid in the high jump in profound fashion. The Juda senior won the event at 13-6.
Hirsbrunner was pleased overall given his team's limited training opportunities to date.
He'll take a few select athletes to this Saturday's TFA meet at UW-Whitewater where he anticipates another fierce field of competition.
"This is considered the indoor state meet," Hirsbrunner said.
Brett DeNure took first place in the 400-meter dash with time of 52.70 seconds at Saturday's Madison West Relays and his fellow Cheesemakers got some vital battle testing in scoring 13 team points over three events at UW-Madison.
"Brett is such a fierce competitor," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "The race didn't come down to who was better conditioned; it came down to who was mentally tougher."
And that makes predicting the outcome fairly easy for Monroe's skipper.
"Brett doesn't like to lose," Hirsbrunner added.
It was DeNure's first compeition as he's battled a hamstring ailment that doesn't want to go away.
DeNure was also a member of the 4x400 relay team that placed seventh at 3:42.00, just two hundredths of a second off a medal-worthy sixth.
Monroe junior Lucas Leu, coming off a wrestling season that could have been stellar if not held up by a nagging knee injury, took eighth in the shot put with a heave of 45 feet, more than 2 feet longer than his previous best.
"It was great to see Lucas improve so much right off the bat," Hirsbrunner said.
Jon Swartz picked up where he left off in his breakout cross country season by taking ninth in the 3200 run at 10 minutes, 50.80 seconds, 20 seconds faster than his previous best time. In the field portion, junior Cullen Sampson matched his cross country teammate Swartz with a 5 foot, 8 inch leap in the high jump that earned ninth.
Monroe's new-look 3200 relay team took 11th as Kyle Klein, Matt Priebe, Justin Scott and Joe Pecora combined to register a 9:04.30.
The Cheesemakers added several places in the teens.
Brodhead-Juda's Elias Klar began a season that includes hopes for a state bid in the high jump in profound fashion. The Juda senior won the event at 13-6.
Hirsbrunner was pleased overall given his team's limited training opportunities to date.
He'll take a few select athletes to this Saturday's TFA meet at UW-Whitewater where he anticipates another fierce field of competition.
"This is considered the indoor state meet," Hirsbrunner said.
