DUBUQUE — The Monroe Cheesemakers began its track and field season with the UD High School Classic on Thursday, March 16 and Friday March 17.
Pole vault was a particular strength for both boys and girls, as Aleigh Zettle and Lane Meier snagged the top spot with heights of 9-0.00 and 10-0.00, respectively.
“She’s ready to take the next step in the vault and when that happens, the sky is the limit,” girls head coach Eric Jubeck said.
Overall, the girls finished 20 of 24 teams with nine points in 13 scored events.
Jadyn Elgin scored two points with her seventh-place finish in the 3000-meter run. She finished in a time of 12:08.74.
“This race is 15 laps, requiring as much mental focus as physical toughness and Jaydn ran a smart race,” Jubeck said. “It was great to see her place in this event, and she set the tone for what we can expect out of our distance crew this year.”
Taylor Jacobson, after running a 9.86 in the 55-meter hurdle prelims, improved in the finals for a fifth-place finish. Her time of 9.67 seconds garnered four points for Monroe.
“Qualifying for a final in this meet is a tough task,” Jubeck said. “She not only qualified but improved her seed time from the prelims. She proved she is ready to bring it for her senior year.”
In the high jump, Monroe alumna and former UW Badger Jordan Hirsbrunner still holds the meet record at 5-05.00. Abbey Matley recorded a height of 4-08.00 for a seventh-place finish, tallying two points for her team.
Brenna Aebly recorded the final point for the Cheesemakers in the shot put. She placed eighth with a throw of 32-08.00, despite being one of the team’s top hurdlers.
“She accepted the challenge to prioritize this event, knowing the team needs points in the throws,” Jubeck said. “We know what she can do in the hurdles and relays, but broadening her events is a selfless move that will help the team as the season progresses.”
Lauren Coppes took second in the triple jump with a leap of 34-03.00. Unfortunately, her event was not scored.
On the boys side, Monroe scored 10 points in 13 events, finishing 13 of 19 teams.
Freshman Tre Dammen tallied three points with his sixth-place finish in the 3200-meter run. He finished with a time of 10:35.55. The distance team scored another point in the 4x800 relay, as the squad of Jared Batz, Anthony Wels, Wyatt Stevenson and Caden Oudinot finished eighth with a time of 9:06.60.
Isaac Bunker scored the remaining six points with this third-place finish in the shot put. He recorded a distance of 46-07.00.
Seth Schmidt and Charlie Wiegel finished third and fourth, respectively, in the triple jump, but the event wasn’t scored.
Two Monroe boys records were broken this weekend. Ethan Moehn, who ran for the Arkansas Razorbacks, held the meet record in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:21.17. Ammon Smith of Iowa City broke this record with a time of 4:19.63. Jake Hirsbrunner, a UW-Madison alumnus, set the meet high jump record with a height of 6-08.25. Matt Schaeckenbach, also of Iowa City, beat this record by two inches.
