By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The Big Foot girls track and field team came home from last year’s WIAA Division 2 State Meet in La Crosse with a pair of top-10 finishes.
And now they have a chance to improve on those efforts.
Big Foot’s 1,600-meter relay team of junior Gloria Esarco, sophomore Alexandria Demco, sophomore Grace Gillingham and junior Brooke Wellhausen and Wellhausen in the 400 were among four events that posted top-four sectional efforts last week to earn a return-trip to state.
On the boys’ side, sophomore Jackson Enz punched his state ticket with a first-place finish in the 300-hurdles and a second-place effort in the 110-hurdles.
The 1,600-meter team won the sectional title in 4:03.03, while Wellhausen was third in the 400 in 59.26.
Big Foot also had a first-place finish in the 3,200-relay of Esarco, Demco, Gillingham and Wellhausen (9:49.08) and a third-place finish from Esarco in the 800 (2:21.87) to fill out its state qualifiers.
The 1,600-team, which was fourth at the state meet last year in 4:04.94, will compete in the second heat of the timed finals at La Crosse. The top seed belongs to Wittenberg-Birnamwood of 3:59.95.
Wellhausen, seventh last year in the 400 59.08, is set to run in the first heat of the preliminaries in La Crosse. The top-seeded athlete is Cambridge senior Sydney Currie, who qualified in 58.4.
Esarco is back in the 800 after she finished 11th last year in 2:23.58. She will run in the second heat of the timed finals. The top seed is Wisconsin Lutheran junior Audrey Janik (2:14.53).
Big Foot’s 3,200-team will run in the second heat of the finals. The top seed is held by Brodhead-Juda in 9:40.61.
Enz also is making a return-trip to La Crosse this weekend in the 300-hurdles. As a freshman, he finished 10th in 42.32.
This year, his sectional winning time of 39.3 puts him in the first heat of the preliminaries as the second overall seed. Enz is ranked behind only Arcadia senior Jim Hoesley, who will run in the second heat.
In the 110-hurdles, Enz posted a sectional time of 15.26. He will compete in the second heat of the preliminaries. The top seed is Hayward junior Devon Kuykendall in 14.93.
Other sectional results
Also competing for the Big Foot boys at the East Troy Sectional were sophomore David Martin, seventh in the 300-hurdles (41.91) and eighth in the 110-hurdles (15.98); junior Mike Petkoff 10th in the high jump (5-8); and the 1,600-meter relay team of Enz, sophomore Dimitri Demco, Martin and junior Connor Kirk, 11th (3:37.41).
The Big Foot girls’ 800-relay team of senior Dana Sorensen, freshman Abbi Asta, sophomore Alexandria Demco and sophomore Grace Gillingham was seventh (1:48.69).
Big Foot’s girls were eighth in the team standings with 22.5 points. Wisconsin Lutheran was first with 89, followed by Lakeside Lutheran with 79, East Troy with 60.5, Kettle Moraine Lutheran with 56 and Catholic Memorial with 50.
On the boys’ side, Big Foot was 13th with 21 points. Wisconsin Lutheran completed the sweep with 119.5 points, followed by East Troy with 67, Catholic Memorial with 59, Kettle Moraine Lutheran with 43 and Grafton with 42.
