Ellsworth boys finish second, girls eighth. Prescott girls, boys finish third

By Reagan Hoverman

Both the Ellsworth and Prescott track and field teams spent the 2022 regular season trying to chase down – literally and figuratively – the Osceola Chieftains. That race came to a close on Tuesday, May 17, when the Chieftain girls and boys won the Middle Border Conference championship at Baldwin Woodville.

The Ellsworth Panthers boys’ track and field team came the closest to unseating the heavy favorite to win the title. The Panthers’ second place finish came via 133 team points, edging out the Prescott Cardinals boys’ squad score of

131. Osceola ran away with the championship by posting 201 points as a team.

For years Ellsworth hasn’t been a team that has been at or near the top of the final confer ence results. Head coach Drew Pechacek spoke about finish

ing second behind Osceola and what he made of the overall re

sults of his Panthers.

“Since I started coaching track in Ellsworth, I can’t re

member ever finishing in the top half of the results in the Middle Border Conference meet,” Pechacek said. “So, a second

place finish was great. We knew that to beat Osceola, we would have to steal points from them. Their depth in all events was on display (at Bald

win

Woodville).”

Pechacek spoke of the depth and talent of many teams in the Middle Border Confer ence. As is the case with many other sports, the MBC is one of the best on this side of the state – that remains true for the 2022 track and field season.

“Having competed with (Osceola) multiple times this year, we knew that our top could compete with their top, but we lack the depth they have,” Pechacek said. “The same can be said with Prescott. They have great depth and of the three

sport athlete. “To hear how excited he was at the end of the race was great. As a first

year track athlete, he has definitely exceeded our expec tations and will continue to get better.”

Janke also competed in the

4×100

meter relay, along with junior Bo Hines, sophomore Jake McCabe and freshman Levi Nelson. Together, they earned a second place finish in the event. Ellsworth also earned a second place finish in the 4×200 meter relay, even without having the star

stud

ded lineup running.

See MBC TRACK, Page B-5 MBC TRACK

From Page B-1

Other top results for the Panther boys include senior Ashten Quade’s first

place finish in the 200 meter dash and third

place finish in the 400

meter dash. Junior Alex Pazdernik also per

formed well in the mid and long distance events at Baldwin

Woodville on Tuesday night.

“Alex Pazdernik placing second in all three long

distance events was one of our many highlights,” Pechacek said. “Jack Hadler placing in both hurdle events is something that we haven’t had since I’ve been here.”

Sophomore Sam Newman won the triple jump and got second in the high jump. In addition to that, sophomore Jake McCabe put up one of his best performances in the 100

meter dash which helped the team score additional points.

“Jake McCabe stepped up and ran a sub

12

second hundred and placed sixth,” Pechacek said. “We were able to score points in all but two events, which is a tribute to the work the guys have put in to get better.”

As for the girls’ side of the competition, it wasn’t quite as fruit

ful as it was for the boys. The girls finished in eighth place out of eight total teams. Despite the team’s finish, several girls posted impressive results that helped the lady Panthers get on the board.

Sophomore Kayla Kressin continues to be a young star in sev

eral sports. At the MBC meet at Baldwin Woodville, Kressin earned a second place finish in the 400

meter dash. The Panthers also earned points in the 4×100 meter relay with a fifth

place fin

ish. The group consisted of seniors Hayley Bach and Payton Langer, junior Ashlyn Townsend and freshman Ava Birkel.

Prescott track and field highlights, results

It was a third

place finish for both the boys’ and girls’ Prescott track and field teams at the Middle Border Conference meet on Tuesday, May 17, at Baldwin Woodville High School.

One of the concerns heading into the MBC meet for Prescott was injuries. Head coaches Emily and Carl Calabrese spoke be

fore the conference meet about what it was going to take to suc

ceed and how injuries could impact potential success.

“I think both the boys and girls teams have a chance to score highly as a team, and we should have a few individual and/or relay champions along the way,” Emily Calabrese said before the meet. “We are battling some injuries right now which is keeping a couple of our top competitors out of the mix for the conference meet.”

According to Emily Calabrese, the long term health and suc

cess of the athletes and the team were prioritized over a potential short

term result of potentially improving a score at the MBC meet. Calabrese spoke about that decision.

“Although it’s unfortunate, we are keeping in mind the end goal for the season and are not going to risk re

injuring or making existing injuries worse before regionals,” Calabrese said of the injuries to the roster.

Losing some of those top competitors for the meet certainly impacted Prescott’s ability to score as a program. Despite that, the Cardinals rallied and nearly stole second place on the boys’ side from Ellsworth – losing by only two points to the Panthers.

Notable results for the boys include seniors Aiden Russell and Grant Stanton finishing third and fourth respectively in the 100

meter dash finals. Russell also earned a third

place finish in the

200

meter dash event. Senior Dylan Bierbrauer took second in the 400

meter dash.

Sophomore Breckin Schommer and senior Ryan Zerneke per

formed well in the mid distance 800

meter run, as they finished third and fourth respectively. Junior Tyler Loucks again per

formed well in the long distance events, taking fourth in the

1,600

meter run and third in the 3,200 meter run.

The 4×400 meter relay group of Bierbrauer, Schommer, senior Logan Stewart and freshman Will Packard took first place, fin

ishing less than half a second ahead of second placed Osceola.

The aforementioned Russell also took first place in the high jump, which he has done in nearly every meet this season. The boys’ team score of 131 solidified the Cardinals in third place in the conference.

As for the girls’ side of the events, senior Maddie Matzek had strong showings in the 800 and 1,600 meter runs with fourth and third

place finishes respectively. Prescott’s 4×100 relay group of juniors Addison Huppert, Katrina Budworth and sophomores Kennedy Braun and Kianna Severson took home first place by edging out the Amery Warriors.

The Prescott girls also earned second place finishes in the

4×400

meter and 4×800 meter relay events. Junior Ella Johnson also took third in the pole vault. Overall, the Prescott girls scored

89 team points, trailing only Amery and Osceola.

Up next for both Ellsworth and Prescott was the WIAA Divi

sion 3 Regional meet at Baldwin Woodville High School on Monday, May 23. That meet was slated to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Ellsworth seniors Max Grand (left) and Jack Janke (right) compete in a photo finish in the 100meter dash at the Middle Border Conference track meet at Baldwin Woodville High School. Janke edged out Grand for first, while Prescott’s Aiden Russell secured a third place finish.Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Ellsworth sophomore Sam Newman competes in the high jump at the Middle Border Conference track and field meet at BaldwinWoodville High School on Tuesday, May 17. Newman earned third place in the high jump at the conference meet.Photo by Reagan Hoverman