 JARED SANDLIN (left) took the handoff from Jared Burris at the start of the anchor leg on the Port Washington boys’ winning 3,200-meter relay team at the conference indoor meet.
Photo by Sam Arendt
Opening race victory helps Pirates to 4th place overall; Grafton’s Zahn wins shot
A victory in the first race didn’t propel the Port Washington boys’ track and field team to the top at the North Shore Conference indoor meet March 31, but it certainly gave the Pirates a quick boost.
“It was a great way to start out,” Port coach Mark Pasten said of his team’s victory in the 3,200-meter relay event at Homestead High School.
“The guys ran well in that race and throughout the meet.”
An all-senior lineup of Joe McIlree, Augie Yates, Jared Burris and Jared Sandlin combined for a winning time of 8 minutes, 46.64 seconds in the 3,200 relay.
Port finished the day with 52.5 points, good for fourth in the eight-team standings.
Homestead dominated the meet with a first-place score of 145.5 points, well ahead of runner-up Germantown’s 119.
Milwaukee Lutheran was third with 53.5 points, followed by Port, Grafton (48), Whitefish Bay (45.5), Cedarburg (41.5) and Nicolet (16.5).
The Pirates’ other scoring finishes included a second by Sandlin in the 800 run (2:04.81), third by Justin Fote in the 1,600 run (4:44.08), fourths by Jake Verfuerth in the 1,600 run (4:46.94) and McIlree in the 400 dash (56.47), fifth by Adam Schoenfeld in the long jump (20 feet, 5 inches) and sixths by Derek Haley in the pole vault (11-0), Yates in the 3,200 run (10:32.3) and the 1,600 relay team of Dan Karrels, Fote, Boomer Scheel and Nathan Kitzerow (3:58.07).
Pasten praised his middle and long-distance runners, noting Sandlin led the 800 race until the final 20 meters and Fote and Verfuerth were first and second, respectively, in the 1600 race until the last lap.
“Overall, it was a good team effort. I was pretty happy,” he said.
Grafton was led by Jason Zahn’s impressive win in the shot put. The junior had a first-place throw of 52-1-1/4, more than two feet farther than runner-up Kyle Schober of Homestead (49-8-3/4).
The Black Hawks also got a strong effort from sophomore Willie McElligott, who shared second place in the 200 dash with Germantown’s Jake Richmond. Both finished in
24.59.
While pleased with some of his team’s finishes, Grafton coach Kevin Kriegel was disappointed with fifth place in the overall standings.
“We were hoping for third place,” he said. “That was realistic. With a few stronger efforts in some events, we would have been there.”
The Hawks’ other top-six finishes included thirds by Justin Tomashek in the 400 dash (56.09) and the 640 relay team of McElligott, Zach DeBuhr, Cody Bobholz and Marcus
Hill (1:19.4), fourths by McElligott in the 55 dash (6.89) and the 3,200 relay team (9:13.05) and fifths by Hill in the 200 dash (24.81) and the 1,600 relay team of Bobholz, Ryan Grange, Hill and Tomashek (3:55.22).
Greisch’s winning dash paces Port girls
Payton Greisch’s victory in the 400 dash set the pace for Port in the girls’ portion of the conference indoor meet.
The senior’s 1:04.8 effort left her well ahead of runner-up Alex Holtz of Homestead (1:05.74).
The Pirates also got a second-place effort from senior Marly Trier in the shot put (33-9-1/2) and took fifth in the overall standings with 53.5 points.
Whitefish Bay won the team title with 103 points, followed by Homestead (99), Milwaukee Lutheran (71.5), Cedarburg (61), Germantown (53.5), Port, Nicolet (41.5) and
Grafton (39).
“We had some really good performances, especially from our seniors, who had a great meet,” Port coach Joe Adamak said.
“But we didn’t score any points in any running events shorter than the 400 dash. We didn’t have enough depth to finish any higher than we did.”
The Pirates’ next-best finishes were thirds by Bianca Benkley in the 1,600 run (5:34.42), Diana Seer in the 3,200 run (12:42.89) and the 3,200 relay team of Bonnie Allen,
Anna Bartlein, Kristina Rossi and Seer (10:52.69); fourths by Abby Kotecki in the 3,200 run (13:11.53) and the 1,600 relay team of Benkley, Sydney Greisch, Anna Pierringer and Payton Greisch (4:38.64); and fifths by Pierringer in the high jump (a tie at 4-8) and Rossi in the 800 run (2:38.53).
Grafton was slowed by the absence of several team members, most notably hurdler Cathy Brunette, due to spring break.
The Hawks were led by sophomore Sara Grange, who won the 200 dash (27.7) and was second in the 55 dash (7.6) and fourth in the high jump (4-8).
Grafton received a third in the 640 relay (1:32.29) and fifths from Emily Schreiner in the 55 dash (7.86) and its 3,200 relay team (11:02.84).
This weekend, Port and Grafton are scheduled to participate in the Shorewood Invitational. The meet begins Friday with track events at 4 p.m. and continues Saturday with
field competition at 10 a.m.
Also on Saturday, several Port boys will participate in the Wisconsin Track & Field Association State Indoor Championships in Whitewater.
On April 12, both Port teams will travel to Cedarburg for the Bulldog Invitational at 4 p.m.
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