White Hawks Girls Track and Field Team Advances to True Team State Meet for 2nd Time in School History

The Mound Westonka Girls Track and Field team won the 6AA True Team Section meet held at Orono on Wednesday May 9. The girls finished in first with 332 points, 9.5 points ahead of runner-up Wilmar. By winning the Section 6AA Meet the girls advance to the State True Team Meet held on May 20 in Stillwater.

The True Team concept is unique to Minnesota.  Teams enter two athletes per event and every athlete scores points for their team, making the team's second athlete just as important as their first. This concept makes it impossible to win with just one or two standout athletes, but rather focuses on the strongest team.

This is only the 2nd time in school history that Westonka has advanced to the True Team State meet, the first being in 2007.

The Westonka girls sprint team had a great day, with Avery Olson and Sami Christensen finishing 2nd and 3rd in the 100 meter dash. Micah Boyce and Alicia Hatlestad finished 2nd and 5th in the 200 meter dash. Reese Kasper won the 400 meter dash with Abby Hollenstein finishing 6th.  In the hurdles Natalie Miner and Morgan Johnson finished 3rd and 4th in the 300 hurdles, while Johson and Ashtyn Cupp had strong showings in the 100 hurdles.  Audrey Kirscht finished 3rd in the 800 with Bette Mae Grogan also running a solid race. Sophia Engesser, Laura Sunnarborg and Anna Regenold competed well in the distance races, earning lots of points in the 1600 and 3200.

The relay teams had great days as well, with the 4x200 team of Kasper, Olson, Hatlestad and Boyce finishing first. The 4x400 team of Kasper, Hollenstein, Kirscht and Ali Butler also won their race, running a 4:11.21, the fastest time in that relay since the early 2000’s.  Boyce, Hatlestad, Christensen and Olson finished 2nd in the 4x100. Sunnarborg, Grogan, Cassie Nemecek and Stella Miner were 4th in the 4x800 relay.

Christensen and Kasper also were strong in the jumps, finishing 3rd and 4th in the long jump. Christensen and Butler scored well in the triple jump and Natalie Miner and Lexie Rehman garnered lots of points in the high jump with Rehman finishing in 2nd place. Throwers DJ Christensen, Delaney Parker and Grace Schrempp held their own in the shot put and discus, with Christensen throwing a solid 33 '3.5 " to earn 2nd in the shot put. Allison Kreiser and Ali Butler scored a total of 14 points in the pole vault to help send the White Hawks to the State meet.

The Boys team had a fantastic day as well, finishing in 4th place. Payton Kasper broke his school record in the  pole vault with a vault of 15’6” to earn 1st place. Kasper also earned 1st place in the 110 hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles and 2nd place in the long jump.

Sam Dioszeghy won the shot put with a throw of 51’0” and finished second in the discus. Jack Markstrom won the 800 and teamed up with his brother Lucas Markstrom, Theo Boe and Brenden Sexton to win the 4x400 meter relay.  Sexton also placed well in the 110 and 300 hurdle races.  

In the relays the 4x200 team of the Markstroms, Jack Hall and Brett Bartkowicz finished second, while the 4x800 team of Mason Lilledahl, Gavin Kevitt, Gavin Thelen and Noah Huesman was 5th.

Logan Kevitt and Isaac Hays raced well in the tough 1600 meters and 3200 meters double. Theo Boe and Luke Markstrom also placed well in the 400 meter dash and the high jump. Will Wallace and Jack Hall earned several points in the jumps.  In the sprints several athletes had their season or lifetime best times.

The White Hawks have the Wright County East Conference Meet on Tuesday May 16.