LA CROSSE — What started as a way to prepare for the upcoming basketball season could have changed the career course for Monroe sophomore Cade Meyer.

Meyer said boys basketball coach Brian Bassett wants to push the ball up and down the court more this upcoming season, so Meyer joined freshman JT Seagreaves on the track and field team to run the 200. The coaching staff figured they may have found a diamond in the rough while they were at it.

They did.

On May 31, during the first day of the WIAA Division 2 state track and field championships, Meyer won the state title in the high jump, breaking his own school record in the process.

“It’s definitely amazing. I didn’t expect to be here this season,” Meyer said after winning the title. “My coaches knew I could get it, just maybe not so quick.”

At Monroe’s only home meet back in April, Meyer broke the school’s record in the high jump at 6 feet, 8.25 inches. He and Seagreaves went inch for inch throughout much of the season, but the 6-7 Meyer found his groove in the final few weeks.

“It was a little rough for a few weeks there. Then conference, regionals and sectionals I was going up two inches each time again,” Meyer said.

His first jump at state was at 5-10, then 6 feet. With the crowds piling in during the late morning of the meet, Meyer found himself in the thick of title contention. 

“I missed twice at 6-6,” said Meyer, which is where four others made it to. 

“Cade demonstrated the type of fierce competitor he is,” Monroe coach Scott Mosher said. “On his first 6-feet, 6-inch jump, his approach was off and he had a very poor jump. He recovered mentally from that and his next jump was a good attempt but the bar fell off after he already landed on the mat. It looked clean but after reviewing pictures it looks like his calf grazed it. On his third and final attempt he easily made it. This can be quite nerve racking to have to take a third attempt, but he kept his calm.”

Meyer was the only one to complete 6-7, sealing the title.

“(Monroe jump coach Stephanie Wyss) calmed me down a bit and told me I had it,” Meyer said.

But he didn’t quit there. Meyer then cleared 6-9 to break his own school record, and then after a discussion with Wyss, he went for 7 feet.

“There was no pressure on my shoulders. I knew if I could get to 7, I was in a great spot to break the record” of 7-1, Meyer said.

Meyer is the first high jump state champion for Monroe, according to Mosher.

“Not only did he win D2 but he had the highest jump of all divisions,” Mosher said. 

Meyer couldn’t clear 7 feet, though he came close on his second try, giving himself a new goal for next spring.

Before that, however, comes basketball. With a slew of seniors out of the way, youngsters Meyer and Seagreaves may need to step into leadership roles. Meyer said he plans on spending the summer playing for Wisconsin Playground Warriors and building body strength.

And while he still dreams of potentially playing hoops in college, Meyer said he has a legit reason now to give pause to a new sport. Coaches from UW-Platteville and Stevens Point, as well as the University of Minnesota talked to him about his performance on the track.

“I heard things like, ‘If you come to my college, you could be an All-American,’” Meyer said.

“It was incredibly fun and exciting to watch Cade win this event and also to make a name for himself in track and field,” Mosher said.

While Seagreaves couldn’t get past 5-10 in the high jump, Mosher said he was proud of his freshman for the way he composed himself all weekend.

“JT Seagreaves had an off day but handled it very well and showed what a great teammate he is. JT has been dealing with some tightness in his leg that looked to impact his jumping, but he stuck around the entire time to cheer and support his teammate, which was cool to see,” Mosher said.

Montgomery podiums one last time

Monroe senior Jordan Montgomery reached the podium two times in his final trip to the state games.

“Jordan had a great finale to his already decorated track and field career,” Mosher said.

The speedster finished tied with Northland Pines senior Lochlan Siegmeier for third in the 100-meter dash (11.00), with Wautoma senior Max Bennett winning the race (10.86). Montgomery then took fifth in the 200 (22.29), just 29/100ths of a second behind state champion Evan Schuster of Racine St. Catherine’s.

All of that was done after aggravating a hamstring injury during the 100-meter trials on Day 1.

“A selfish athlete would have pulled himself out of the 4x100 relay to give time to recover, but that never crossed Jordan’s mind as an option. He fought through the pain and got the relay to the finals, then went right to the training room to get wrapped and ready for the 200 trials,” Mosher said. “Then he had to go through the same process on Day 2, competing in the same three events, going in and out of the trainers between races. Despite this, he ran lifetime bests in the 100 and 200 and earned a state medal in both.”

Mosher said that Montgomery has been the quintessential track athlete in his time with the Monroe program, and his legacy is one to be proud of.

“Jordan is the epitome of what we want Monroe track athletes to be,” Mosher said. “He not only had the talent, (but) he had an unbelievable work ethic and dedication to the team. We are going to miss having Jordan on the team. Fortunately, there is a group of young sprinters replacing him who got to see first-hand what it takes to be one of the best.”

“Our 4x100 relay just missed out on a medal, which would have been really great, but they ran a season best and competed hard,” Mosher said. 

“To get that close was pretty amazing with two freshmen and a first-year Junior on the team of four. They should all be proud of how hard they worked to perfect their hand-offs and do their best for the team.”

Monroe senior Kyle Legler was 16th in the 3,200 (10:29.68) and sophomore Trevor Rodebaugh was eighth in the 110-meter high hurdles (15.30), just 1/10th of a second from standing on the podium in sixth place. Rodebaugh finished 14th in the 300-meter hurdle prelims (41.75) and did not advance to the finals.

“Trevor Rodebaugh missed out on finals in the 300-hurdles but made finals and placed eighth in the 110-hurdles, which scored a team point,” Mosher said. “We felt going in to the meet that this result was very realistic so everyone was happy with how he competed. Not too many underclassmen make it to state in hurdle events, so for Trevor to do it in both events, plus make finals in the 110s and score a point at state is pretty remarkable. His future looks quite bright in both events.”

The Cheesemakers 400-meter relay team of freshmen Camden Foesch and Lucas Flom, plus junior Nick Bansley and Montgomery were 10th in prelims (43.90), earning a spot in the finals by just 1/100th of a second. The Monroe quartet moved up the leaderboard in the finals with a seventh-place time of 43.88 seconds. Rice Lake (42.64) won the title.

Monroe also qualified the 3,200-meter relay team for the state meet. 

“The week leading up to regionals we debated running a 4x800 relay because our regionals and sectionals were very loaded with competition in that, and all distance events,” Mosher said. “We knew that the relay team would have to compete much better than they did all season just to make it to state. So, qualifying and making the fast heat was a huge accomplishment.”

The squad of Legler, juniors Jake Brower and Dylan Fahrney and freshman Lucas Sathoff finished 16th (8:34.43) at the state meet.

“We did have a little let down by not competing as well at the state meet, but even if they had all run their best it would have been a long shot to make the podium,” Mosher said. “The team talked afterwards and everyone left in good spirits, despite not running a season best time.  We peaked at sectionals and made the ultimate goal, which was make it to state.”

Monroe finished eighth as a team out of nearly 90 schools represented at the meet. 

“Our goal was to be in the top-10 and we accomplished that,” Mosher said. “It is very tough to score points at the state meet because a few exceptional athletes usually compete in multiple events and earn the majority of them. We are very pleased with the results and are excited about the consistency in the program over the last couple of years and the direction we are heading.”

Both the boys and girls Cheesemaker programs saw success at the meet, and the coaches were pleased with all the Monroe athletes that attended.

“As a whole it was a very positive state meet for the Cheesemakers. We sent athletes in seven individual events and two relays, which is a lot of representation,” Mosher said. “Along with the athletes on the girls side, we received a lot of comments about how large of a team we had. The coaches discussed how sometimes a large group can be more difficult to manage, but these athletes were focused on competing and we didn’t have to worry about them at all, great group of student athletes.”

Mosher said the entire weekend was positive not just for the individuals that went, but for the program and school.

“Most of the goals we made for the state meet were met or exceeded, which is rare and we left La Crosse with a good feeling,” Mosher said.

Brodhead-Juda’s Jeff Williams finished 11th in the 100 prelims (11.57) and didn’t advance to the finals. Cardinals teammate Josiah Engen was tied for 14th in the high jump at 6-0.