Youth leads Port boys’ track and field team

By MITCH MAERSCH

Ozaukee Press staff

Underclassmen helped the Port Washington High School boys’ track and field team to a fifth-place finish at the Raider Invite at Sheboygan North on Saturday.

The Pirates scored 51 points, edging Sheboygan North’s 49. West Bend West won with 87.5 points of 16 teams that scored. Oostburg had 73, West Bend East had 59 and Xavier had 55.

Junior Ben Fritsch was fourth in the 200-meter dash in 25.5 seconds and fifth in the 55 dash in 6.97 seconds.

“Ben is looking strong and should be a key contributor for us this year,” coach Mark Pasten said.

Junior Judah Meeks was fourth in the 400 in 58.08 seconds despite not being in shape yet. Pasten said he is recovering from breaking his hand while snowboarding and “will make an impact for us this season.”

Sophomore Josh Arnold looked good while taking fourth in the high jump by clearing 5 feet, 6 inches, Pasten said.

Senior Kaiden Schumacher was fourth and sophomore Pete Lotz was fifth in the pole vault without practicing yet this season, “so these placements are pretty impressive,” Pasten said.

Schumacher will also run the 1,600 relay, and Lotz will be a top distance runner.

Tre’Jon Igess was fourth in the triple jump in 38-1.75 and shows “a ton of potential in this event,” Pasten said.

The 3,200 relay of Meeks, junior Gabe Hingiss, sophomore Alexix Luna and freshman Jameson Parulski was fourth in 9:42.3.

“Gabe is a very valuable member of our team as he has the versatility to run competitively from 200 meters up to the 1,600 meters,” Pasten said.

“Alexis worked hard over the winter and is looking to make the jump from the junior varsity level to a varsity contributor. Jameson is getting a late start to the season, but with his talent he should be able to help us by the outdoor season.”

Rasmussen excels for Pirate girls

Port’s girls finished seventh with 40 points at the Raider Invite last Friday, just ahead of Cedarburg’s 39 in the 15-team meet. Xavier won with 88, followed by Kiel’s 79, Slinger’s 64.5, Sheboygan Falls’ 50, Oostburg’s 49.5 and Sheboygan South’s 48.

Pirate Madelyn Rasmussen won the triple jump with 32-10 and was sixth in the long jump in 14-2.75.

Abbey Lotz was second in the 800 in 2:40.41 and in the 1,600 in 5:42.

The 800 relay of Ada Mueller-Stenz, Rachel Krueger, Peyton Keller and Audyn Setzer was fourth in 2:37.89.

Carolyn Lippe was fifth in the 55 dash in 8.1.

The 640 relay of Rasmussen, Krueger, Olivia Differt and Lippe was seventh in 1:39.16.

The Pirates were to compete Wednesday, March 22, at New Berlin West and Saturday, March 25, at Ripon.

Ozaukee girls, boys score 27 points

The Ozaukee boys finished in 11th place with 27 points while competing against some much bigger schools at the Raider Invite.

Star distance runner Owen Klaus won the 800 in 2:09.87 and was third in the 1,600 in 4:43.89.

“Owen got off to a fast start to this season with two strong performances in his first indoor meet of his career,” coach Andrew Pfeuffer said.

Brice Schueller was fifth in the 3,200 in 11:40.82.

The 3,200 relay of Riley Borchardt, Chase Miller, Dylan Budzisz and Schueller was fifth in 9:54.2.

Miller was seventh in the 800 in 2:22.21.

“I thought our boys did really well against some tough competition. They didn’t back down, they were ready to compete and set some decent benchmarks for them to work off of the rest of the season,” Pfeuffer said.

The girls scored 27 points and finished 12th.

Paige Kurlinski won the shot put with a throw of 37-1.5, and Morgan Kirmse was third with 33-4.

Clara McKee was fourth in the 1,600 in 6:07.5 and seventh in the 800 in 2:44.63.

Sarah Tinder was fifth in the 1,600 in 6:14.85.

“They really stuck their noses right in there and did exactly what we thought they could do and more,” Pfeuffer said. “We have a very small roster this year compared to years previous, but they did a fantastic job competing hard and not backing down from a challenge.”

The Warrior boys compete in the Earl Herbert Invite at Manitowoc Lincoln on Thursday, March 23. The girls compete in the Pam Kjono Invite at Manitowoc Lincoln on Friday, March 24.