LA CROSSE - A strong kick for a distance runner in track can be as breathtaking as a closer in baseball with a flaming fastball.
Monroe junior Brett DeNure beared down on the 3,200-meter relay competition Saturday at the WIAA Division 2 state track and field meet to catapult the Cheesemakers to a third-place finish.
The Cheesemakers' 3,200 relay team of seniors Kyle Klein, Matt Priebe, Cullen Sampson and DeNure ran a season-best time 8 minutes, 3.61 seconds.
"It feels great to get up there," Klein said of the podium. "We came a long way. It feels good to come up here and finally get a medal."
Sampson jump-started the Cheesemakers, running them from seventh to fifth over his 400 meters.
"I just wanted to keep on them and get Brett in a good position," Sampson said.
With a medal on the line, DeNure helped the Cheesemakers surge from fifth to third.
"I feel like I have a pretty good kick," DeNure said. "I felt like I was there. I should have been a lot closer to the first-place guy."
Last year, the Cheesemakers set a Division 2 state record, running a blistering 7:42.91.
"We were the No. 2 seed," DeNure said. "Top three was pretty much our goal."
Priebe said the Cheesemakers are a solid relay team that finished strong.
In the Division 3 state meet, Black Hawk junior Tyler Whalen took fifth in the 400 in 52.26 seconds, which was 61-hundredths of a second ahead of third.
Whalen, who broke the school record in the 400 preliminaries, was part of a Warriors contingent that sent every runner to the state championship races on the second day. The Black Hawk girls' 400 relay team placed sixth.
Black Hawk coach Cory Milz credits voters in South Wayne for passing a three-year recurring referendum last spring to preserve the track program.
"If our referendum hadn't passed, these kids wouldn't have this opportunity," Milz said. "Now they can take this with them and remember it for the rest of their lives."
Darlington junior Jeff Reichling took fifth place in the shot put (52 feet). Reichling took fifth in the Division 3 discus with a throw of 144-8 on Friday.
"My goal this year was to walk away with a couple of medals," Reichling said. "I did that and I would say it's a success."
The Redbirds' 3,200 relay team of Jordan Heinberg, Isiah Goebel, Aaron Stauffacher and Alex Jacobson took seventh in 8:25.87.
The Redbirds' 3,200 relay team finished eighth. Sophomore Trynton Schwartz, freshmen Alex Erickson, Tucker Wiegel and senior Kyler Wiegel ran a :45.85, which was 22 hundredths of a second away from medaling.
Monroe junior Brett DeNure beared down on the 3,200-meter relay competition Saturday at the WIAA Division 2 state track and field meet to catapult the Cheesemakers to a third-place finish.
The Cheesemakers' 3,200 relay team of seniors Kyle Klein, Matt Priebe, Cullen Sampson and DeNure ran a season-best time 8 minutes, 3.61 seconds.
"It feels great to get up there," Klein said of the podium. "We came a long way. It feels good to come up here and finally get a medal."
Sampson jump-started the Cheesemakers, running them from seventh to fifth over his 400 meters.
"I just wanted to keep on them and get Brett in a good position," Sampson said.
With a medal on the line, DeNure helped the Cheesemakers surge from fifth to third.
"I feel like I have a pretty good kick," DeNure said. "I felt like I was there. I should have been a lot closer to the first-place guy."
Last year, the Cheesemakers set a Division 2 state record, running a blistering 7:42.91.
"We were the No. 2 seed," DeNure said. "Top three was pretty much our goal."
Priebe said the Cheesemakers are a solid relay team that finished strong.
In the Division 3 state meet, Black Hawk junior Tyler Whalen took fifth in the 400 in 52.26 seconds, which was 61-hundredths of a second ahead of third.
Whalen, who broke the school record in the 400 preliminaries, was part of a Warriors contingent that sent every runner to the state championship races on the second day. The Black Hawk girls' 400 relay team placed sixth.
Black Hawk coach Cory Milz credits voters in South Wayne for passing a three-year recurring referendum last spring to preserve the track program.
"If our referendum hadn't passed, these kids wouldn't have this opportunity," Milz said. "Now they can take this with them and remember it for the rest of their lives."
Darlington junior Jeff Reichling took fifth place in the shot put (52 feet). Reichling took fifth in the Division 3 discus with a throw of 144-8 on Friday.
"My goal this year was to walk away with a couple of medals," Reichling said. "I did that and I would say it's a success."
The Redbirds' 3,200 relay team of Jordan Heinberg, Isiah Goebel, Aaron Stauffacher and Alex Jacobson took seventh in 8:25.87.
The Redbirds' 3,200 relay team finished eighth. Sophomore Trynton Schwartz, freshmen Alex Erickson, Tucker Wiegel and senior Kyler Wiegel ran a :45.85, which was 22 hundredths of a second away from medaling.
