Last year at the WIAA state track meet, things didn't go quite as planned for the Prescott boys' relay teams.

"It seemed like it was one thing after another last year at state," said Prescott Co-Head Coach Emily Calabrese.

A stumble out of the blocks in one race, a missed hand-off in another, and a plummeting pole vault led to a disappointing ride home for the Cardinals.

"It was those same boys that wanted to come back for redemption this year," said Calabrese. "They were seniors this year."

Prescott came into the section meet a week prior ranked second in the state in the boys' 4x200-meter relay in Division 2. They could have, almost, ran backwards and qualified for this year's state meet.

Except, they dropped the baton.

Just like that, the clink and clank hitting the asphalt was the deafening sound of defeat.

"That was a lot for their young minds to deal with," said Calabrese. "They were all trying to take the blame and I told them, 'No, no, it's not on anybody. It's part of the sport and part of what goes on. It just happened. We just have to move on from it and there was nothing we can do to change it."

Calabrese had the state champion Cardinal girls' relay team from 2021 send the guys words of encouragement, as it was the majority of the 4x100-meter relay team members that would still be competing at state.

"The 4x100 is even more finicky when it comes to hand-offs," said Calabrese.

The guys on Prescott’s 4x100 relay team, Andrew Lesso, Andrew Russell, Wyatt Budworth, and Ethan West, made a pact they would shave their heads if they made it out of the preliminary round on Friday. The mission was accomplished with the Cardinals buzzing around the track Friday night. Next, it was time to bust out the clippers for the buzz cut.  

"Well, it was three of us anyway," said Lesso. "We gave ourselves goofy haircuts and I think it played a big part in getting the state record."

The Cardinal boys 4x100 relay team went on a tear without hair.

"A little more aerodynamics," said Calabrese laughing. 

"I honestly didn't think Andrew Russell was going to do it because his hair was pretty nice," said Lesso.

Russell did have a glorious flock of curly golden locks. The key word in the last sentence was "did."

"I thought they were going with the mullet," said anchor Ethan West, "but they went all the way. I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"I'm a pretty hair boy," said Lesso. "I like my hair."

But, apparently, not as much as a state championship. Lesso seemed to be the most excited for the hair dare.

The Cardinal boys 4x100 relay team, minus Ethan West, migrated to moulting season and maybe, just maybe, shed enough weight combined with optimum aerodynamics to help them break the state record and take home the 4x100-meter relay title.

Upon their arrival back in Prescott on Sunday morning, the Prescott Fire Department gave the track team a celebratory ride around town in their fire truck.

"I asked the driver what would happen if I pulled the red cord," said Lesso, "and he said it would release the air tanks, so I didn't do that."

"We drove past the track (in Prescott) on our fire truck route," said Calabrese, "and I look over and there's Kyle Beckler on our track working hard. The young guys are hungry for next year already.”

A five-minute clipper cut for a 42-second race may be the start of a long-standing permanent tradition for Prescott track for years to come.

‘Mama Maleah’

Maleah Petersen was a dancing queen in the 2025 WIAA State Track and Field Championship this past weekend. During a 24-minute interview with Ellsworth's state champion discus thrower, Petersen's younger sister, 7-year-old Michaela, came running to her after jumping on their trampoline.

"Uh, oh, she has a bloody nose," said Maleah. "She gets them all the time."

Maleah has plenty of practice tending to bumps and bruises. She has 10 siblings. Her two older siblings have been out of the house for quite a while. Maleah helps out at the house as a second mom, so to speak. She was the proverbial "team mom" on the Panther volleyball and track teams.

"She's definitely a caregiver," said Ellsworth Head Track Coach Marcia Jahnke. "But really in the last few days we talked about the rise in women athletes and how powerful they've become."

Petersen has been slinging her connectivity around like she does a discus.

"One of the things Maleah has continued to celebrate constantly was how she felt about the other throwers she threw with, not just her own team, but other schools as well,” Jahnke said.

"We were all cheering each other on at state," said Petersen. "And the other coaches started doing it after we did it. It was a really cool environment to be in."

Before the state meet, throwing Coach Luke Blodgett showed Petersen her discus stats from her freshman year.

"I was throwing 90 feet," said the state champion that just threw almost 134 feet on Friday. "I've come pretty far but it's hard to see that when it's day to day. You just keep getting stronger and keep throwing it out there."

Petersen says the past couple years have been tough with her parents' divorce, letting worries creep into her mind, including her throwing. At a pre-state meet practice at Onalaska High School on Thursday, something changed. Maybe it was the short-term freedom and less responsibility. Maybe it was the anonymity of being in a big city. Whatever it was, something clicked at that very last practice of her high school career.

"My body knows what it's doing," said Petersen. "I just had to get my mind out of the way. It was time to do nothing else but just throw. That's when I found consistency."

"Every time I threw at the state meet, I took three deep breaths, had a smile on my face, and just did my best. That was the difference," said Petersen.

Maleah Petersen's best was the best in the state of Wisconsin on Friday.