Wausa tracksters fare well against bigger schools
WAUSA — It may have had “Wausa” in the name, but in reality the Tom Martin/Wausa Invitational took place at Pierce High School last week.
That didn’t make much of a difference for the Vikings as the boys finished fourth with 37 points and the girls took sixth with 54 points as the track season continues to be a boon for the Wausa program.
“What stood out positively for both teams was the fact that we were competing against several good class C in our area that have a lot of great athletes and our kids went out and performed very well against the biggest competition of the season,” Wausa head coach Greg Conn said. “With four weeks left in the season, I really feel strong all over the board with where we are headed. We have had a few things that need to be tweaked, but all we need to do is keep hitting our workouts and we will be where we want to be coming down to the district meet.”
Leading the way for the boys were Tyler Baue (first, 300 hurdles, 43.88; fourth, 110 hurdles, 16.74), Addison Smith (second, 3,200 run, 10:33.7; sixth, 1,600 run, 5:00.1) an the 4x100 relay (sixth, 47.88, Josh Wattier, Steel Claussen, Baue and Jaxon Claussen). All but Smith’s 1,600 run were personal bests.
The girls had plenty of strong showings as well. Alexa Cunningham (third, 200 run, 28.62; fourth, long jump, 14-08; sixth, high jump, 4-04), Darla Nelson (second, 3,200 run, 13:02.63; fourth, 1,600 run, 6:03.17), Abrielle Nelson (fourth, 400 run, 64.17; third, 300 hurdles, 50.17; fifth, 100 hurdles, 17.71), Morgan Kleinschmit (fifth, shot put, 36-05.5), Christina Martinson (fifth, 800 run, 2:37.87) and Brooke Kumm (second, high jump, 4-08).
The Lady Vikings finished third in the 4x400 relay with a season-best time of 4:31.44 behind Martinson, Leah Bloomquist, Nelson and Kumm while the 4x800 relay of Emily Woockman, Blair Wakeley, Teyah Anderson, and Carry Martinson finished sixth (12:04.27).
Baue has been impressed with what the boys have been able to do all season with only a handful of athletes, ranging from nine to 10 competitors.
“It’s crazy that we have nine boys and we are placing in top four at these meets so it’s really cool to see that,” Baue said. “I couldn’t tell you how we are doing it. Our coaches do such a good job of pushing us at practices and helping us get the right form and technique. A lot of it is the culture of the team, which is striving for the best and nothing less than that.”
In some ways, having lesser athletes tends to force the Vikings boys to step up every time out due to not having the numbers to pick up the slack on an individual’s off day.
“That’s a huge part of it,” Baue said. “Our boys get along super well and we are close on and off the track. We just want to beat other teams and have fun while doing that.”
He is also very happy with his hurdles performances this year.
“I am getting close to a school record and I am excited about that,” he said. “Another goal is to beat my dad’s (John) personal record with a 41.9 and right now I am at a 43.8 in the 300 hurdles.”
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