By Adam Knoll
Sports Correspondent
The weather on Saturday could be described as perfect for a track meet and the Whippets took advantage of it at a 12-team event in Clinton.
The boys squad was one of only two teams to score in each event, beating out East Troy by a single point to earn the team title.
“It was great to see con-tributions from every event lead to team success,” head coach John Houwers said after the meet.
The pole vault, a fan favorite, was contested first, and the Whippets started out well, combining for 34 feet courtesy of their first three vaulters – Mike Mattingly, Aston Caputo and Keagen Stonewerth – and a good start to the day with a first place finish for Whitewater.
The Whippets long jump team of Stonewerth, Xho-natan Shahollari and Alonso Banda also earned a victory with each attempting to outperform the previous competitor.
The freshman/sophomore relay team of Matt Mattingly, Robert Liberto, Zach Gross and Mike Mattingly earned the top finish while Roland Luckett had a personal best in the 110 hurdles, coming in under 17 seconds for the first time.
In the 300 hurdles, Logan Rasmussen ran the sixth fastest time of the day in his first attempt competing in the event.
Five other Whitewater relay teams finished in second place, including both hurdle races.
The girls managed to pull out a fourth place finish at the event, beginning with a victory at the pole vault.
Maritza Xochipa, Keely Fiedler and Kailey Reynolds beat out the field by a full 3 feet, winning with a total of 24 feet combined.
“Coach Tom Werth has done a fantastic job with the vaulters, and it showed with a victory for the girls pole vault team as well,” Houwers said.
The Whippets also ran a solid 6400-meter relay, earning them gold. In the event, each of the four athletes runs for one mile and the times are added up. The winning squad consisted of Sarah Ziolkowski, Andrea Sandoval, Allison Barrett and Abby King.
Reynolds helped another squad – the 1600-meter team of her, Kelly O’Hara, Monica Juoni and Ziolkowski, finish second.
In the 400-meter relay, O’Hara, Miranda, Reynolds and Ali Ketterhagen also earned a silver medal.
