Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/139929
JULY 2013 Page 8A • Freeman Brookfield & Elm Grove WIAA STATE TRACK AND FIELD MEET Brookfield East gets its three-peat Title race comes down to last event Brookfield girls do well By Daniel Mike Freeman Staff LA CROSSE – The situation didn't look good. The Brookfield East High School boys track and field team had one race remaining in the WIAA Division 1 state track and field meet, and Green Bay Preble was on the verge of a state title. Preble led the Spartans by seven points, and East could only focus on its own 4x400meter relay and hope for the best. "Going into the 4x4 down seven, you know there's a sense of urgency," East coach Mike Steiner said. "Other teams had to beat (Preble), too, and our guys responded." Junior Will Sutton and seniors Trenton Daniels, Josh Breider and Brad Johnson not only responded, they posted the second-fastest 4x400 time in state history to win in 3:17.26. As teams crossed the finish line behind East, they counted through placements and saw Preble finished seventh in the relay That gave East a 51. 50 advantage and earned the Spartans their third straight state title. "That was a special race," Steiner said. "The kids put out a performance that will go out as one of the best ever." Johnson had to hold of Waukesha South senior DQ Smith, who anchored South's relay to second in 3:17.86, the third-fastest time in state history . "I tried to look on scoreboard, and I didn't really see three or four teams," Johnson said of his reaction after the race. "I figured I was going to celebrate anyway . "It was a total team effort, and everybody helped us out." Title hopes looked bleak after Johnson finished sixth in the 800, a race he won as a junior. But the performance Nicholas Dettmann/Conley News Service Brookfield East's Glen Harold competes in the Division 1 pole vault. lit a fire under Johnson, one of three seniors – along with Daniels and Alec James – who were part of the three state titles. "I knew I had to rebound from the 800 and help my team out," Johnson said. "It was just one of those days. "I was really disappointed and thinking I couldn't let the team down again. Every point matters, and we knew we had to win the 4x4 and make something special happen." Johnson anchored East's 4x800 relay to a victory on the first day of the meet, and East added a victory in the 4x200 relay on the second day Senior Landon McDon. ald, Breider, Sutton and James won the race in 1:27.87. "It's not much of a surprise," James said. "We put in the work every day, and we don't expect to lose. We each have that killer mentality, and we never go into a race preparing to lose." East junior Glen Harold was the state record holder in the pole vault for a short time after clearing 15 feet, 9 inches. He was passed by Preble senior Jake Wallenfang, who won in 16-0. "I had it for two minutes, so that was cool," Harold said. "Then Jake did his thing. I like competing with people who can go up with me. "My coaches said I had to get second at least (for the team race), and once I got 159, I thought it might happen." East received a big boost in the 110 high hurdles, as senior Mitch Douglas ran third in 14.71 and junior Zech Copeland fifth in 15.14. "I've been training with (Douglas) all year, so even at state I've got to go out with him," Copeland said. "He's actually my roommate in the hotel, so we spent the whole weekend together getting ready for this." Douglas entered the finals seeded first, but Madison Memorial junior Daurice Fountain won in 14.55. "We were the first even for us today, and we had to get it started," Douglas said. "We wanted to start the snowball today and get that momentum going." The Spartans rode that momentum to a third straight title that the team knew was possible but was going to take some work. "We just made history," Daniels said. "It's so tough to do, and I'm so glad we didn't LA CROSSE – Brookfield East High School sophomore Khadiya Hollingsworth won the high jump at the WIAA Division 1 state track and field meet. Hollingsworth entered as the top seed, and she cleared 5 feet, 7 inches, matching her personal-best height, to win her first state title. "I was super excited, and I made a lot of friends," Hollingsworth said. The Brookfield Central girls posted a second-place time of 48.86 in the 4x100 relay . "I'm so proud of me and my girls," said sophomore Chisom Obasih, who anchored the relay "We've been . working really hard, and I can't describe how good second place feels." Freshman Cassie Jehly led off the relay, with senior Alissa Elwing and junior Jennifer Fox running the middle legs." Central junior Elizabeth Flatley ran a personal-best 10:40.34 in the 3,200 to finish second after a sixth-place finish in the 1,600 a day earlier. "The mile was somewhat of an off race for me," Flatley said. "To come back and deal with the emotions, I'm happy with it. "The biggest thing for me was not thinking about anything. The best thing in my mind is to clear it of everything." Brookfield Academy was moved from Division 3 to Division 2 this season, and the girls 4x100 relay's first meet at the higher division resulted in a state-recordsetting victory . Senior Mary Liz Kim, sophomore Ugo Aguwa, freshman Luisa Graf and junior Mackenzie Bonk won in 49.25, .03 better than the previous record. "It feels really awesome because we worked really hard all season," Kim said. "This is my senior year, and (Graf) is here from Germany This is her last race in . America." The team admitted a victory was a surprise – especially doing so in record-setting fashion. "It really hasn't set in yet," Bonk said. "We're really excited, because it's a big difference from D3 to D2," Aguwa said. – Daniel Mike, Freeman Staff let it go. "We all knew we had a mission to accomplish. All of us out there did our best to get it, and we accomplished what we needed to do." Steiner counted on Preble being in the team title mix, and Oconomowoc was considered a favorite coming into the meet. Madison Memorial made a push with four victories, but East has been through the drama before and knew what to do. Brookfield Central senior Carl Hirsch won two state titles – the 1,600 in 4:13.02 and 3,200 in 9:09.72 – giving him back-to-back titles in both races. Hirsch's quest for a third state title ended when his legs gave out at the end of the 800. He stumbled and fell just before the finish line, and he fell to third place in 1:53.57. 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