Prescott, Ellsworth and Spring Valley were three of 12 teams featured at the April 21 St. Croix Central track and field meet.

For Prescott it was a meet to remember, with both the boys and the girls finishing in second place.

“We have a lot of depth right now, so we have a lot of kids that compete very well,” Coach Carl Calabrese said. “We’ve had a lot that have come through in clutch moments and put down really good marks during those times where we weren’t expecting it, but they show up.”

On the boys’ side, Andrew Russell and Eyan Miller combined for five event wins. Russell took the crown in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes, while Miller won the shot put and high jump.

“Man, that kid [Russell] works so hard all the time, and he’s a kid where you don’t see all of the extra work that he puts in, he likes to do a lot of it at home on his own,” Calabrese said. “The results are showing.”

Russell’s 10.75-second time in the 100 set the school record and is the top time in the state this year at any division. Russell also holds Division 2’s best time in the 200.

Calabrese said the day after the meet, Miller left school with stomach pain, which resulted in an appendix removal. He said all went well and they are expecting Miller to return to the field and continue to dominate down the road.

“Eyan’s our field event specialist. He can compete in any field event and score in any of them. He hasn’t thrown disc yet this year or pole vaulted, but his ability to blend his strengths to everything is pretty incredible,” Calabrese said.

Other top results for Prescott on the boys’ side were Wyatt Budworth taking third in the 400 and Hili Thomason, Andrew Lesso, Ryder Doyle, Kyle Beckler taking third in the 4x100.

For the girls it was Makaria Haas’ discus win and Kyra Dix’s 3,200-meter school record that set the tone. Haas has stood out in both the discus and the shot put this season. Haas took third at St. Croix Central in the shot put.

“She’s been performing great in both all year. Again, a hard worker, super focused and really an incredible leader for us,” Calabrese said. “She has really brought a lot of the younger kids up with her and got them excited about the potential to do this well in shot and disc.”

Dix nearly broke a personal best time in a third-place finish in the 1,600, took second in the 4x800 relay with Emma Schmitz, Amber Van Loon, Lily Vesperman and broke her own school record in a second place 3,200-meter finish.

“Kyra Dix had an absolutely incredible meet,” Calabrese said. “That’s pretty incredible to be able to put down the distance triple like that and do as amazing in all three of those as she did.”

Natalie Huppert had a phenomenal meet, taking second in the 200 and third in the 400.

Calabrese said over time, the area track teams start to become friendly with each other, which only motivates the student-athletes more to go out there and be the best they can be.

“It gives us a lot of confidence. As a team, we like seeing a lot of these schools,” Calabrese said. “Track is a little different where you’re competing against the person next to you, but so much of it is competing with your own times and your own marks.”

Adolfo Mendez and Chace Kressin were the stars of the show for Ellsworth, Mendez won the 3,200, followed closely by third place finisher Ben Baker. Mendez also earned a third-place finish of his own in the 1,600. Kressin won the discus with a 148-04 and is looking to be a contender at the State level. He also finished fifth place in the shot put. Keegan Stahlke finished second in the 400-meter race and Jacob Michels finished third in the 800-meter race to round out top three finishes for the boys.
On the girls’ side, Mackenzie Hince (3,200), Libby Groh (high jump), and Lexi Marks, Lucy Feuerhelm, Ada Erlandson and Lily Hanson (4x100) each finished third. Hince was also fourth in the 1,600 and Isabelle Peterson took fourth in the pole vault and fifth in the 200.

Highlights of the meet for Spring Valley were a fourth-place high jump finish from Parker Cipriano and a sixth-place triple jump finish from Tyler Traynor.