Team takes firsts, sets meet record
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The 2015 spring season continues to be a learning experience for the young Big Foot boys and girls track teams.
And there’s little doubt the Chiefs are making progress.
Big Foot came back from the annual Jim Church Invitational Friday afternoon with three first-place finishes and a meet record to show for its efforts.
“It was a difficult day with the weather but I thought we got good performances out of everyone,” Big Foot coach Greg Lueck said. “We are not as talented as we have been in the past, but we compete well.
“We are very young, so every meet so far there has been a big learning curve. Our challenge now is to get the young athletes to be prepared mentally as well as physically.”
Brooke Wellhausen highlighted the day, as she set the record in the 400 with a first-place time of 59.8.
Wellhausen also won the triple jump (32-4 3/4) and was second in the 200 (27.2).
All in all, certainly not a bad day.
“It was cold and raining, so it wasn’t a really good day for running,” Lueck said. “So to break the record was a great accomplishment on a day like that. She is really determined to have a great year.”
Three of Big Foot’s relays also finished second.
Placing second were the 400-meter relay team of Mari Hubanks, Alexandria Demco, Samara Enz and Dana Sorensen (54.7); the 800-team of Demco, Sorensen, Hubanks and Grace Gillingham (1:56.7); and the 1,600-team of Demco, Kalen Gillingham, Grace Gillingham and Wellhausen (4:23).
Gillingham was seventh in the 100 (13.9) and the triple jump (29-6 1/2) for the Chiefs’ two other top finishes.
McFarland won the team title with 117 points, followed by Brodhead-Juda with 98, Elkhorn with 92, Clinton and Beloit Turner with78, Big Foot with 56, Evansville with 54, Parkview with 43, Pecatonica-Argyle with 14, Albany with 13 and Monticello with one.
Enz leads Big Foot boys
Freshman Jackson Enz won the 110-hurdles in 16.7 to lead the Big Foot boys.
That race followed a similar path that Enz has all season, Lueck said.
“Jackson has taken on every challenge he has had this year in the hurdles,” Lueck said. “In both races Friday, he was behind heading into the last hurdle, and he passed up his competitors and won.
“He competes every race and does what he has to do.”
The other top finishes from the boys came from David Martin in the 300-hurdles (46.7) and the 1,600-meter relay team of Martin, Austin Brongiel, Bernie Lerchegger and Grant Yttri (4:02.3), both sixth overall.
Also placing in the top eight were the 400-team of Brongiel, Sam Ritchey, Olinh Craig and Jose Mercado, seventh (53.0); the 800-team of Enz, Charlie Peterson, Tyler Wicks and Mercado, seventh (1:45); and Martin, eighth in the 110-hurdles (19.9).
McFarland also won the boys’ title with 163 points, followed by Brodhead-Juda with 131, Elkhorn with 104, Clinton with 94, Evansville with 6, Beloit Turner with 51, Albany with 37, Big Foot with 33, Parkview with 11 and Monticello with four. Pecatonica did not score a point.
Bot Big Foot teams traveled to Palmyra-Eagle Tuesday for a Rock Valley Conference dual meet and will compete next Tuesday, May 5, in the South Divisional Meet at Brodhead, beginning at 4 p.m.
Lueck wants to see both young teams just continue to progress from here on out.
“(Our) goals are to finish in the top three of the Rock Valley South Conference next Tuesday and to keep on getting better heading into the regional and sectionals,” he said.
