VIROQUA - Good things come to those who wait, and after a long season filled with high expectations and state aspirations, both the Monroe boys and girls track and field teams capitalized on their opportunity to advance to the sport's highest stage.
Advancing to state with a first-place point total of 86 points, the Monroe boys squad saw multiple performers earn individual berths. The Cheesemakers advanced three members in the 1,600 meters, nearly sweeping all top three spots. Ethan Moehn took the top spot with a time of 4 minutes, 18.70 seconds, while teammates Jake Hirsbrunner and Noah Tostrud finished not far behind. Hirsbrunner took second with a time of 4:19.66, while Tostrud finished fourth with a time of 4:20.67.
"What was really incredible about that event, was Noah (Tostrud) running the time that he did," Monroe boys coach Curt Miller said. "He had run some events earlier, and to finish with that good of time as compared to his seeding is amazing."
After claiming the 1,600-meter title, Moehn completed the sweep in the long distance with a 9:35.25 first-place time in the 3,200 meters. Moehn took second in the 800 meters after following closely behind teammate Hirsbrunner, who won the event in 1:55.44.
"Jake knew that he was going to run pretty hard (in the 800 meters)," Curt Miller said. "Ethan is best at knowing his times, and with his other events that he had to run, he knew that if he kept on pace with Jake, he would do just fine."
Meanwhile, Hirsbrunner continued to display his all-around talent, as the senior finished second in the high jump behind West Salem's Brett Thompson with a jump of 6 feet, 2 inches. Also garnering state berths for the Monroe boys were the 800 and 3,200-meter relay teams. The second-place 3,200-meter team of Tostrud, Cody Faust, Derek Christiansen and Trevor Blum ended with a time of 8:07.78, while the 800-meter team of Forrest Klug-Hanson, Dakota Phillips, Blake Bast, and Blain Harpstrite finished fourth with a time of 1:31.36.
In sending three individual qualifiers along with two relay teams to state in a total of eight events, the Cheesemakers are poised at making a push for what they set out to accomplish early in the season.
"At the beginning of the season, we wanted to see where we could end up and see how well we might do," Curt Miller said. "(And) credit our athletes, they didn't mention a thing about regionals or sectionals. They had their sights set on state and on scoring as many points as possible. Whether that's finishing somewhere in the top five or whatnot, it just shows that they have high goals that they want to fulfill."
For the girls competition, Monroe finished eighth overall with 35 points, while McFarland finished first with 75. After all heats were ran and all the events were scored, the Cheesemakers finished with three individual state qualifiers to go along with one relay team. Putting together a strong finish to her final campaign, senior Tre Voegli was crowned the sectional champ in the pole vault, finishing with a height of 10-6. In the triple jump, sophomore Abby Oudinot took second behind Black River's Miranda Jessie with a new personal-best of 34-4 3/4.
"She had a great jump," girls coach Doug Miller said. "This was her best jump of the season, and she picked the perfect time to do it."
In her first season of varsity competition, freshman Jordan Hirsbrunner qualified for state after her finish in the 300-meter hurdles. Hirsbrunner ran a fourth-place time of 46.78 seconds, which was more than a second faster than her previous best of the season.
Also earning a trip to state was the girls 400-meter relay team of Oudinot, Lauren Werth, Mafer Larraga and Josie Eberle. The quad finished fourth in the event with a time of 51.53.
"We performed very well," Doug Miller said of his girls team's performance. "We were kind of concerned after finishing up regionals on Wednesday, thinking we might be a bit tired, (but) I thought we did some awfully nice stuff that these athletes should be proud of."
Brodhead-Juda's Carly Mohns finished second in the long jump (16-4), while on the boys side junior Logan Maurer had a second place throw of 53 1/2 in the shot put for Brodhead-Juda. Maurer also took third in the discus, with a throw of 160-6.
Also qualifying for state after picking up first-place finishers for Sugar River were Division 1 recruit Garrison Woods, who won the triple jump (44-5), Kelvin Johnson in the 300-meter hurdles (40.36), and freshman Krista Diaz, who won the 100-meter hurdles in the girls event (16.31). Landon Zimmerman finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 147-2.
Advancing to state with a first-place point total of 86 points, the Monroe boys squad saw multiple performers earn individual berths. The Cheesemakers advanced three members in the 1,600 meters, nearly sweeping all top three spots. Ethan Moehn took the top spot with a time of 4 minutes, 18.70 seconds, while teammates Jake Hirsbrunner and Noah Tostrud finished not far behind. Hirsbrunner took second with a time of 4:19.66, while Tostrud finished fourth with a time of 4:20.67.
"What was really incredible about that event, was Noah (Tostrud) running the time that he did," Monroe boys coach Curt Miller said. "He had run some events earlier, and to finish with that good of time as compared to his seeding is amazing."
After claiming the 1,600-meter title, Moehn completed the sweep in the long distance with a 9:35.25 first-place time in the 3,200 meters. Moehn took second in the 800 meters after following closely behind teammate Hirsbrunner, who won the event in 1:55.44.
"Jake knew that he was going to run pretty hard (in the 800 meters)," Curt Miller said. "Ethan is best at knowing his times, and with his other events that he had to run, he knew that if he kept on pace with Jake, he would do just fine."
Meanwhile, Hirsbrunner continued to display his all-around talent, as the senior finished second in the high jump behind West Salem's Brett Thompson with a jump of 6 feet, 2 inches. Also garnering state berths for the Monroe boys were the 800 and 3,200-meter relay teams. The second-place 3,200-meter team of Tostrud, Cody Faust, Derek Christiansen and Trevor Blum ended with a time of 8:07.78, while the 800-meter team of Forrest Klug-Hanson, Dakota Phillips, Blake Bast, and Blain Harpstrite finished fourth with a time of 1:31.36.
In sending three individual qualifiers along with two relay teams to state in a total of eight events, the Cheesemakers are poised at making a push for what they set out to accomplish early in the season.
"At the beginning of the season, we wanted to see where we could end up and see how well we might do," Curt Miller said. "(And) credit our athletes, they didn't mention a thing about regionals or sectionals. They had their sights set on state and on scoring as many points as possible. Whether that's finishing somewhere in the top five or whatnot, it just shows that they have high goals that they want to fulfill."
For the girls competition, Monroe finished eighth overall with 35 points, while McFarland finished first with 75. After all heats were ran and all the events were scored, the Cheesemakers finished with three individual state qualifiers to go along with one relay team. Putting together a strong finish to her final campaign, senior Tre Voegli was crowned the sectional champ in the pole vault, finishing with a height of 10-6. In the triple jump, sophomore Abby Oudinot took second behind Black River's Miranda Jessie with a new personal-best of 34-4 3/4.
"She had a great jump," girls coach Doug Miller said. "This was her best jump of the season, and she picked the perfect time to do it."
In her first season of varsity competition, freshman Jordan Hirsbrunner qualified for state after her finish in the 300-meter hurdles. Hirsbrunner ran a fourth-place time of 46.78 seconds, which was more than a second faster than her previous best of the season.
Also earning a trip to state was the girls 400-meter relay team of Oudinot, Lauren Werth, Mafer Larraga and Josie Eberle. The quad finished fourth in the event with a time of 51.53.
"We performed very well," Doug Miller said of his girls team's performance. "We were kind of concerned after finishing up regionals on Wednesday, thinking we might be a bit tired, (but) I thought we did some awfully nice stuff that these athletes should be proud of."
Brodhead-Juda's Carly Mohns finished second in the long jump (16-4), while on the boys side junior Logan Maurer had a second place throw of 53 1/2 in the shot put for Brodhead-Juda. Maurer also took third in the discus, with a throw of 160-6.
Also qualifying for state after picking up first-place finishers for Sugar River were Division 1 recruit Garrison Woods, who won the triple jump (44-5), Kelvin Johnson in the 300-meter hurdles (40.36), and freshman Krista Diaz, who won the 100-meter hurdles in the girls event (16.31). Landon Zimmerman finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 147-2.
