LA CROSSE – Gavin Fritsch picked a perfect time to record a personal-best throw in the discus.
The Little Chute junior tallied a toss of 162 feet, 1 inch on his second attempt and held on to claim the boys championship at the WIAA Division 2 state track and field championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday.
"It felt great and I couldn’t have thrown it at a better time," he said. "I haven’t been able to hit the PR since the second meet of the year. It was great timing.
"I felt really excited. It was a rush and a lot of fun."
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Fritsch, whojoined the Mustangs' 3,200 boys relay as champions, said he bettered his previous PR by about two feet. Once the throw was official, it was a matter of holding off the competition.
"I wasn’t sure if it was going to win it but it definitely felt like a good throw," he said. "The other guys were doing well too. I was feeling confident but ready to do more if I had to."
Fritsch also placed fifth in the shot put (50-6) and said he's been doing throws since he was a sixth grader.
"My coaches were really enthusiastic about it and it carried into my home life with my brothers," he said. "Everyone around me had a great passion for it and I kind of developed it too."
Fritsch added he's ready to defend his title next season.
"It’s just really exciting. I don’t know if there’s any better way to put it," he said. "I definitely feel like I can do more and I’m just very, very excited right now."
Little Chute quartet wins
Little Chute's 3,200 boys relay team of Caleb Mostek, Riley Huss, Casey Deboth and Drew Robinson placed first with a time of 8 minutes, 11.03 seconds, just edging out Catholic Memorial (8:11.66).
The win was a big one for Robinson, a senior.
"Means a lot," he said. "The whole season didn’t know where we’d be going with COVID last year and we didn’t know where we were all at. But I have these four guys stepping up and getting it done. Wanted to go out there and have a good time and it ended up with the win. I’m really happy with that.
"It’s really asurreal feeling. I didn’t ever expect to get to this point, but that’s what I was hoping for. It’s hard to put into words but happy to end high school on a good note and carry this into our future."
Skies were overcast for most of Friday with very slight humidity, but that was "optimum" weather conditions according to fellow senior Casey Deboth.
"It’s not too hot," he said. "And some might want it hotter, but for distance this is perfect."
Little Chute sophom*ore Riley Huss said he's excited to see what he and junior Caleb Mostek can do as returning state champs in 2022.
"We’re losing two seniors and I just want to see who’s going to step up for us and come back hopefully and put up some competition," he said.
Said Mostek: "It really just gets me excited for next year.And it means that I really have an opportunity to do good again next year."
Wolfrath sets state record
There were two state records set Friday and Ellyse Wolfrath was one of the athletes making history.
The Fox Valley Lutheran senior followed a blistering prelims time in the 100 hurdles (:14.42)with an even better time in the final. Her time of :14.29 broke the mark set in 2019 by Lodi's Mackenzie Heyroth.
Wolfrath became the second FVL athlete to hold a state mark. The Foxes' Ben Gucinski set the D2 boys high jump mark (7-1) in 2016.
“That was just super exciting," Wolfrath said. "Hopefully just shows the great coaching at our school, how much work and effort we put into it.”
Wolfrath said the officials allowed her to keep the spent shell from the starter gun, a small memory of a state record-breaking race.
"I’m going to keep (the shell)," she said. "I'llput it somewhere so I can always remember today."
McCormick nets gold
Kylie McCormick had herself a busy day.
Not only did the Xavier senior compete in the state track meet, winning the long jump with a leap of 18-11.5, she also had a national dance competition to head to later in the day in Wisconsin Dells.
“I’m actually competing with my team in nationals tonight so I’m driving back to the Dells and hopefully I’ll win there too," McCormick said.
McCormick recorded her championship leap on her third attempt. She then held off Columbus' Molly Kahl (18-1.25) to finish as the champ.
McCormick's leap bested her previous school record of 18-11.25.
"It was just amazing," she said. "This has been my goal since freshman year and I was able to come, despite my dance competition today.
"It means a lot to me. The long jump has always been my thing since sixth grade so to finish like this is just surreal."
Fouts second in 3,200
The future looks bright for Xavier freshman Lilie Fouts.
Fouts placed second in the 3,200 with a time of 11:13.79 to not only record a personal-best time in the event but also set a school mark.
Her previous top time was 11:26.07. Fouts was also fifth in the 1,600 (5:04.48).
"I exceeded my expectations," she said of her second-place finish. "I got my PR by about 10 seconds and I broke a school record and placed second.
"I was just focused on all the work I put into it and laying it all out on the track. I definitely had doubts going into the fifth or sixth lap and put it right out of my mind and knew that I wanted to start closing the gaps with the first-place runners. I got ahead by the seventh lap and just laid it all out."
Brillion's Krepline wins 1,600
Hunter Krepline was a confident athlete heading into Friday's state competition.
The Brillion senior has been one of the top distance runners in the state the past few years and capped his high school career with a victory in the event to secure the 1,600 title.
His time of 4:14.65 allowed him to slip past Valders standout Shane Griepentrog (4:15.39).
“It means a lot and I've had a lot of support this whole time," he said. "When I was a freshman in high school, if you would have told me I’d be winninga state championship, I might have laughed at you. It's surreal."
Krepline said he was confident thanks to the plenty of hours put in the offseason.
"I've been training real hard this year with the goal of winning the state championship," he said. "So coming into the race I knew I had a shot, so I just put myself out there so when I was there it was pretty much over."
This and that
Second-place finishers included Fox Valley Lutheran's 400 relay girls team of Wolfrath, Maddie Jacobsen, Courtney Kufahl and Annalise Patchett (:50.13) and Freedom's 1,600 boys relay team of Owen Tisdale, Blake Kortz, Gavin Greiner and Jackson Higgins (3:25.53).
Finishing third were Little Chute's Alyssa Hutcherson in the 100 (:12.3); Wrightstown's Grace Blauert in the pole vault (10-9) and New London's Kyle Wisniewski in the triple jump (43-5.25).
