LA CROSSE - Some state track meet observers may have wondered how much Monroe senior Dylan Starck had left to finish the 800-meters after running the 1,600 Saturday.
Starck proved he had enough left as he kicked his way down the homestretch to a fourth place finish in the 800, with a time of 1 minute, 57.90 seconds at the WIAA Division 2 State Track and Field Championships at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Veterans Memorial Stadium.
"I knew the 800 would be the last race of my career," Starck said. "I was going to force myself to kick no matter what."
Starck also took fourth in the 1,600 (4:23.57).
Southern Wisconsin had two state medalists in the 800 and 1,600. Sugar River senior Dennis Haak took fifth in the 800 and sophomore teammate Ryan McCoy was sixth in the 1,600 (4:23.75).
"I think it just shows how many good runners there is in southern Wisconsin and Green County with Dylan, me, Dennis Haak and both of our 3,200 relay teams," McCoy said.
Monroe finished seventh as a team in Division 2, with 24 points. La Crosse Aquinas won the Division 2 state title (45 points) and Notre Dame was the state runner-up (35).
"We knew coming in we would have a shot at a team state title if all the chips fell right for us," said Starck, who will attend Marquette, but hasn't decided if he will run in college.
Haak, who will run cross country and track at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point next year, wasn't satisfied with his race in the 800, but he was honored to medal.
"Being here is an experience in itself," Haak said. "It would have been nice to get a better place. What can you do? It's a tough race."
Both McCoy and Starck got boxed in early on in the 1,600 and had to work their way out.
"I think both Dylan and I got boxed in," McCoy said. "We couldn't control the pace of the race. A lot of guys wanted to go out patient and waited to kick. That's not what I like to do. I was happy with the finish."
The state meet ended with some controversy. The Cheesemakers' 1,600 relay team of Alex Barenklau, Ethan Moehn, Skyler Stingley and Matt Bush appeared to finish third with a time of 3:23.27. Monroe was disqualified after an official ruled a Cheesemaker runner made contact in a relay exchange zone with a runner from another team.
Monroe coach Curt Miller appealed the ruling to no avail. Monroe coaches reviewed video that a parent took of the race.
"Unfortunately, they can't use video," Miller said. "If they could they would see they made an incorrect call. It didn't cost us a trophy."
What it did cost the Cheesemakers was a third place medal and a chance of earning the needed points to vault to fourth place at state as a team.
"They just ran absolutely unbelievable," Miller said of the 1,600 relay team, which was 0.1 of a second away from a school record.
It was a crushing blow for the Cheesemakers as members of the 1,600 relay cried after finding out they were disqualified.
"I still consider them the third best team in the state," Miller said.
Monroe senior Michael Barrett cleared 6 feet, 2 inches in the high jump to take eighth place. Barrett, who has cleared 6-6 this season, just missed medaling. Ben Polum of Waupun made 6-4 for sixth place. Fellow senior Nick Walker took 11th in the shot put (48-0.25).
"The state track meet is an up and down time," Miller said. "It's not realistic to expect that everyone will perform the best they have all year."
Starck proved he had enough left as he kicked his way down the homestretch to a fourth place finish in the 800, with a time of 1 minute, 57.90 seconds at the WIAA Division 2 State Track and Field Championships at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Veterans Memorial Stadium.
"I knew the 800 would be the last race of my career," Starck said. "I was going to force myself to kick no matter what."
Starck also took fourth in the 1,600 (4:23.57).
Southern Wisconsin had two state medalists in the 800 and 1,600. Sugar River senior Dennis Haak took fifth in the 800 and sophomore teammate Ryan McCoy was sixth in the 1,600 (4:23.75).
"I think it just shows how many good runners there is in southern Wisconsin and Green County with Dylan, me, Dennis Haak and both of our 3,200 relay teams," McCoy said.
Monroe finished seventh as a team in Division 2, with 24 points. La Crosse Aquinas won the Division 2 state title (45 points) and Notre Dame was the state runner-up (35).
"We knew coming in we would have a shot at a team state title if all the chips fell right for us," said Starck, who will attend Marquette, but hasn't decided if he will run in college.
Haak, who will run cross country and track at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point next year, wasn't satisfied with his race in the 800, but he was honored to medal.
"Being here is an experience in itself," Haak said. "It would have been nice to get a better place. What can you do? It's a tough race."
Both McCoy and Starck got boxed in early on in the 1,600 and had to work their way out.
"I think both Dylan and I got boxed in," McCoy said. "We couldn't control the pace of the race. A lot of guys wanted to go out patient and waited to kick. That's not what I like to do. I was happy with the finish."
The state meet ended with some controversy. The Cheesemakers' 1,600 relay team of Alex Barenklau, Ethan Moehn, Skyler Stingley and Matt Bush appeared to finish third with a time of 3:23.27. Monroe was disqualified after an official ruled a Cheesemaker runner made contact in a relay exchange zone with a runner from another team.
Monroe coach Curt Miller appealed the ruling to no avail. Monroe coaches reviewed video that a parent took of the race.
"Unfortunately, they can't use video," Miller said. "If they could they would see they made an incorrect call. It didn't cost us a trophy."
What it did cost the Cheesemakers was a third place medal and a chance of earning the needed points to vault to fourth place at state as a team.
"They just ran absolutely unbelievable," Miller said of the 1,600 relay team, which was 0.1 of a second away from a school record.
It was a crushing blow for the Cheesemakers as members of the 1,600 relay cried after finding out they were disqualified.
"I still consider them the third best team in the state," Miller said.
Monroe senior Michael Barrett cleared 6 feet, 2 inches in the high jump to take eighth place. Barrett, who has cleared 6-6 this season, just missed medaling. Ben Polum of Waupun made 6-4 for sixth place. Fellow senior Nick Walker took 11th in the shot put (48-0.25).
"The state track meet is an up and down time," Miller said. "It's not realistic to expect that everyone will perform the best they have all year."
