LA CROSSE — Last season at the WIAA Division 2 state track meet, Sugar River’s Jack Erickson took second in the 300-meter hurdles, trailing first-place finisher Ayden Hart of Winneconne by nearly a second. For the 2024 state track meet May 31-June 1, Erickson had a different game plan — win.

Erickson executed, winning the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 38.41 seconds. The mark was over a second faster than his seed time and 0.6 seconds away from the state record set by Robby Hatch of Lodi in 2018.

“It’s really exciting,” Erickson said. “Me and my coach had a good game plan, and we practiced it all week. I came out here and did it. I was really trying in that last stretch. I wasn’t expecting (the time), though.”

Prior to the 300-meter hurdle race, Erickson landed on the podium in the 100-meter dash (10.94, 6th). Joshua Onwunili of Campbellsport — who appealed to the WIAA for postseason eligibility — won the race with a time of 10.70.

“I didn’t get the time I wanted, so I’m going to be extra motivated for the 200 (meter dash) and 300 (meter hurdles),” Erickson said after the 100-meter dash. Although happy with a podium finish, the race motivated him to move forward.

Raider teammates Jonah Wortman and Carter Scholey landed on the podium in their respective events. Wortman shaved off nearly five seconds from his seed time in the 800-meter, finishing in 4:02.79 for fifth.

Scholey finished fourth in a highly contested 3,200-meter run (9:27.77). He was an automatic qualifier from the Portage sectional with the third-fastest seed time. Five of the remaining six top times also came from the Portage sectional, including special qualifiers Tre Dammen of Monroe and Jonathan Skemp of Aquinas. Dammen, who was seeded seventh, took off nearly six whole seconds from his seed time to finish sixth (9:31.77). 

Cheesemaker teammate James Seagreaves, after qualifying for the state meet in high jump last season, made the podium in the high jump Saturday. 

“It’s definitely exciting. Mosher was talking about the possibility of that,” Seagreaves said. “We went into it knowing there were a lot of 6-02 jumpers. The weather wasn’t great, but I knew I could do it. When you’re jumping from a spot that’s wet, you can’t get a good grip. You have to stay confident and don’t let it get into your head.”

Fourteen of the 16 Division 2 boys high jump qualifiers had a seed of 6-02, including Seagreaves and Brodhead-Juda’s Gavin Pinnow. Seven jumpers cleared that height, but Seagreaves had fewer misses, which garnered fourth. 

Brodhead-Juda girls, who had the second most entries in girls Division 2, finished ninth of 56 teams with 27.50 points. Members Stella Arn, Kalena Riemer and Addison Yates had podium finishes.

“It’s so fun to bring so many people and watch everyone do so well,” Arn said. “Addi killed it yesterday. Kalena did amazing. Onni threw well. Our relay did well. Everyone is performing so well, and for everyone to come together at the end of the night is super fun.”

Arn’s highest finish was third in the 100-meter dash (12.39). She also made the podium in the 200-meter dash with a fifth-place finish (25.37), setting a new school record. Lucci Aizpurua of Amery won both races. She is a two-time champion in the 100-meter dash, having set the state record last season with a time of 11.85.

“It’s such a surreal experience, especially considering last year I had a stress fracture,” Arn said of making the podium. “It’s awesome having someone (Aizpurua) out there in front to guide and push us. She’s super calm and collected, especially in the tent. She’s so chill. Watching her be so chill and so good was super fun.”

Cardinal teammate Yates — who is a multi-year state qualifier in high jump, long jump and hurdles — also had two podium finishes. She tied for third in the high jump with the best height of her state career (5-05). Yates took fifth in the long jump (17-06.75), performing better than her seed. MacKenzie Wissbroecker of Antigo became a two-time champion in the long jump and set the new state record with a leap of 19-05. 

Riemer set a new school record in the 800-meter run (2:15.66), which was enough for third.