Golf team also wins regional
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Badger High School boys track team hosted and won the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association regional on May 23 with 233 points. Kenosha Bradford came in second with 216.
The top four event finishers advanced to the sectional May 26 in Stoughton. That group for Badger included D’Andre Newell (first, 11.30) and Keegan Lafferty (second, 11.52) in the 100 meters, Matt Compton in the high jump (first, 6-04.00), Mario Gomez in the 800 meters (third, 1:57.98), Ezequiel Espinosa in the 400 meters (fourth, 53.24), Colin Jackson in the 110-meter hurdles (fourth, 15.97) and James Bowen (third, 40-08.00) and Tias Larson (fourth, 40-07.50) in the triple jump.
The Badgers also advanced four relay teams to the sectional, all with second-place finishes. That group included the 4×100 team of Lafferty, Larson, Alex Evans, and Christian Martinez (44.46), the 4×200 team of Larson, Martinez, Will Keller, and Tyler VandeVelde (1:33.03), the 4×400 team of Gomez, Kiley Lofy, Jordan Hodges, and Cody Harren (3:31.53), and the 4×800 team of Lofy, Gomez, Miguel Barrera and Gustavo Gordillo (8:25.43).
The top three event finishers advanced to state out of the Stoughton sectional on May 26. As a team, Badger placed eighth with 45 points. Madison La Follette won the sectional with 70.
Newell (second in the 100-meter dash, 11.39), Compton (third in the high jump, 6-02.00), and the 4×200 relay team of Keller, VandeVelde, Larson and Martinez (third, 1:32.08) all advanced to state on June 3 and 4 at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
“We attribute our success to creating and maintaining a team atmosphere and having our athletes take pride in the team concept, not just individual achievement,” Coach A.J. Curtis said.
Curtis said the team is very well-rounded this year, but the strongest parts of the team have been the jumping events. He said they scored a great deal of points at the conference championship meet with three of the top four high jumpers in the conference, the top two triple jumpers, and two of the top five long jumpers.
“We had a number of our athletes that really had great seasons,” Curtis said. He identified Kiley Lofy, Tias Larson, James Bowen, Mario Gomez and Matt Compton as big contributors, among others.
“A lot of our guys really improved and had a great impact on the year’s success,” Curtis added.
Along the way, Gomez set a new school record in the 800 meters (1:57.97) and the 4×200 relay team of Martinez, VandeVelde, Keller, and Evans did the same (1:32.08).
The Badger girls took fifth at the regional with 158 points. Kenosha Bradford finished first with 240.
Elizabeth Bullock advanced to the sectional in the shot put (first, 37-01.00) and the discus (third, 117-04). Sydney Collins advanced in the high jump (first, 5-05.00) and Allyssa Monroe advanced in the pole vault (second, 9-06.00). The 4×800 relay team of Julia Adams, Maureen Clifford, Luciana Di Vito, and Amara Trent (second, 10:03.33) and the 4×200 relay team of Madisyn Cromey, Callee Gilfoy, Stephanie Duewel, and Chloe Kleeman (fourth, 1:58.24) advanced as well.
The girls finished 10th at the sectional with 33 points. Beloit Memorial took first with 77. Collins qualified for state in the high jump (first, 5-04.00). Bullock qualified in the discus (second, 119-08) and the shot put (third, 36-09.00).
Golf wins regional title
The Badger golf team hosted and won the WIAA regional at Geneva National on May 24 with a score of 328. Milton (341), Beloit Memorial (342), and Janesville Parker (343) rounded out the four teams that advanced to the Watertown sectional Tuesday.
Badgers shot the two lowest scores led by Connor Duggan’s 76. Luke Bourneuf came in second with a 79. Blake Wisdom tied for seventh with an 84 and Jackson Rademaker shot 89.
Tennis wins
The Badger tennis team hosted and won the WIAA sub-sectional on May 23 and 24 with 20 points. Elkhorn finished second with 18. Badger went on to win seven more points at the sectional hosted by Madison Memorial on May 25 and 26 to finish fourth overall.
Freshman Mason Sniatynski was the lone Badger to qualify for state from Wednesday to Saturday. Despite losing his first match at the sectional, Sniatynski qualified based on his 19-4 record. Sniatynski will face Imran Mian (11-11) of Ashwaubenon on Thursday.
