MONONA - Two separate places, two similar finishes in what ended up being a night to remember for the Monroe girls and boys track and field teams as they approach Tuesday's conference meet at Stoughton.
The boys squad split their sessions by sending four members to participate in the Monona Grove Invitational while also competing at the Borg Invite in Delavan. Of the four participants who traveled to Monona, four personal bests were set, two school records were shattered, one meet record was set, and to top it off, a nationally ranked time was recorded.
Senior standout Ethan Moehn finished with a school and meet record time of 1:51.05 in the 800 meters, which shattered the school's previous mark set in 1967 by Mark Winzenried. Moehn's time was well ahead of the previous meet record of 1:53.07, which was set by one of Wisconsin's most notable track athletes in Chris Solinsky. With his finish, Moehn also qualified for the fifth fastest time in the country, which earned him Track Performer of the Meet at Monona.
Trevor Blum set a personal record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.64 seconds. Teammate Noah Tostrud followed suit, finishing with a personal best in the 600 meters with a time of 1 minute, 25.57 seconds, good for fifth place at the meet. Senior Jake Hirsbrunner continued his senior campaign with a school record in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:31.07, blasting the previous record time that was set in 2000 by nearly three seconds (2:34.05). Hirsbrunner's time fell just short of the meet record by less than one second.
"It was just a night to remember," Monroe assistant coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "When you only send four guys like we did, and they all perform at such a high level and set those marks, it really is something to admire. They've all worked so hard to get where they are at, and to do it on a stage like this is nothing short of impressive."
The boys squad that participated at the Borg Invite also performed well. Finishing second in the team standings to only Westosha Central (184) with a overall score of 118.5, the Cheesemakers had a number of first-place performances to solidify their spots as one of the state's top programs. Contributing to three first-place finishes for the Cheesemakers was senior Dakota Phillips. Phillips finished with a first-place time of 23.34 in the 200-meter dash, while also helping the 400- and 1,600-meter relays to first-place finishes. The 400-meter relay team of Phillips, Blake Blast, Blain Harpstrite, and Cody Wolf ended with a top time of 45.15, while the 800-meter relay team of Phillips, Wolf, Cody Faust and Alex Koller finished with a time of 3:37.32. Grant Keith set a personal best in the pole vault, finishing with a top height of 12 feet, 9 inches.
"It was great to see Dakota step up and have a nice tune-up meet for conference," Cheesemakers men's coach Curt Miller said. "For Grant, he is a very deserving kid. He has worked hard at his event, and it's nice to see him go out there and set a new best. (But) tonight as a team we looked good. Our kids are tuned up and ready to go for conference."
Putting everything together was the girls squad, which came away with multiple top finishes in several events. The girls team finished third in team scoring, ending with an overall total of 124 points, just behind Lakeside Lutheran (164) and Westosha Central (145). Picking up first-place finishes for coach Doug Miller and the girls squad were senior Lauren Werth in the 100-meter dash, who finished with a time of 13.89 seconds. Freshman Jordan Hirsbrunner proved that track and field runs in the family, as the freshman phenom finished first in the high jump with a height of 5-2. Senior vaulter Tre Voegeli took the top spot in the pole vault with a height of 10-0, while the 400-meter relay team of Werth, Mafer Larraga, Abby Oudinot, and Josie Eberle finished first with a season-best time of 52.13.
"We are really happy with how we did," Doug Miller said. "A lot of the kids ran well, and I was extremely pleased with our finishers. Our (100- and 200-meter) relay teams really ran well, and I think we solidified who will run on those events. (But) tonight I thought we really put it together and are ready for next Tuesday."
The boys squad split their sessions by sending four members to participate in the Monona Grove Invitational while also competing at the Borg Invite in Delavan. Of the four participants who traveled to Monona, four personal bests were set, two school records were shattered, one meet record was set, and to top it off, a nationally ranked time was recorded.
Senior standout Ethan Moehn finished with a school and meet record time of 1:51.05 in the 800 meters, which shattered the school's previous mark set in 1967 by Mark Winzenried. Moehn's time was well ahead of the previous meet record of 1:53.07, which was set by one of Wisconsin's most notable track athletes in Chris Solinsky. With his finish, Moehn also qualified for the fifth fastest time in the country, which earned him Track Performer of the Meet at Monona.
Trevor Blum set a personal record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.64 seconds. Teammate Noah Tostrud followed suit, finishing with a personal best in the 600 meters with a time of 1 minute, 25.57 seconds, good for fifth place at the meet. Senior Jake Hirsbrunner continued his senior campaign with a school record in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:31.07, blasting the previous record time that was set in 2000 by nearly three seconds (2:34.05). Hirsbrunner's time fell just short of the meet record by less than one second.
"It was just a night to remember," Monroe assistant coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "When you only send four guys like we did, and they all perform at such a high level and set those marks, it really is something to admire. They've all worked so hard to get where they are at, and to do it on a stage like this is nothing short of impressive."
The boys squad that participated at the Borg Invite also performed well. Finishing second in the team standings to only Westosha Central (184) with a overall score of 118.5, the Cheesemakers had a number of first-place performances to solidify their spots as one of the state's top programs. Contributing to three first-place finishes for the Cheesemakers was senior Dakota Phillips. Phillips finished with a first-place time of 23.34 in the 200-meter dash, while also helping the 400- and 1,600-meter relays to first-place finishes. The 400-meter relay team of Phillips, Blake Blast, Blain Harpstrite, and Cody Wolf ended with a top time of 45.15, while the 800-meter relay team of Phillips, Wolf, Cody Faust and Alex Koller finished with a time of 3:37.32. Grant Keith set a personal best in the pole vault, finishing with a top height of 12 feet, 9 inches.
"It was great to see Dakota step up and have a nice tune-up meet for conference," Cheesemakers men's coach Curt Miller said. "For Grant, he is a very deserving kid. He has worked hard at his event, and it's nice to see him go out there and set a new best. (But) tonight as a team we looked good. Our kids are tuned up and ready to go for conference."
Putting everything together was the girls squad, which came away with multiple top finishes in several events. The girls team finished third in team scoring, ending with an overall total of 124 points, just behind Lakeside Lutheran (164) and Westosha Central (145). Picking up first-place finishes for coach Doug Miller and the girls squad were senior Lauren Werth in the 100-meter dash, who finished with a time of 13.89 seconds. Freshman Jordan Hirsbrunner proved that track and field runs in the family, as the freshman phenom finished first in the high jump with a height of 5-2. Senior vaulter Tre Voegeli took the top spot in the pole vault with a height of 10-0, while the 400-meter relay team of Werth, Mafer Larraga, Abby Oudinot, and Josie Eberle finished first with a season-best time of 52.13.
"We are really happy with how we did," Doug Miller said. "A lot of the kids ran well, and I was extremely pleased with our finishers. Our (100- and 200-meter) relay teams really ran well, and I think we solidified who will run on those events. (But) tonight I thought we really put it together and are ready for next Tuesday."
