Elmwood/Plum City’s High School track and field team is gearing up for what it hopes is its most successful Dunn-St. Croix Conference championship meet in years.

The Wolves competed in two conference meets last week at Colfax and Boyceville, which they used as an opportunity to refine skills and make minor adjustments before the conference championship, which is slated for Tuesday, May 16, in Durand.

For Elmwood/Plum City head coach Amanda Webb, having a pair of opportunities to run against league competition before the conference championship is a huge advantage. She spoke about that opportunity and how the roster looks heading into the biggest meet of the year thus far.

“It was good to have a couple of meets to get our kids out on the track,” Webb said. “My returning kids are right where they need to be with what we’re expecting. There are some really good teams in our conference, so it’s going to be a pretty competitive track meet.”

Perhaps no athletes competing for any Dunn-St. Croix Conference school had more success at the Colfax and Boyceville meets than Elmwood/Plum City seniors Trevor Asher and Izzy Forster.

Asher and Forster rebroke their own school records in the triple and long jump events respectively. Asher triple jumped 42 feet, 10.5 inches, and Forster long jumped 16 feet, 9 inches. Both earned first-place results in their respective competitions.

Just two days later, Asher had another record-breaking night at Boyceville. The senior standout triple jumped 43 feet, 10 inches, eclipsing his previous record by nearly a foot. Coach Webb spoke about Asher and Forster’s unprecedented run of success this season.

“They’re both doing great,” Webb said. “Izzy has been so great in the long and triple jumps. Trevor crushed his personal best and the school record by a foot (at Boyceville). He’s really finding his groove in the triple jump and I’m excited to see him continue it the next few weeks.”

The Elmwood/Plum City track and field program more than doubled between the 2022 campaign and this spring’s season opener. Last year, the Wolves had just 18 athletes out for the sport, compared to the 41 they have competing this year.

The additional athletes have not only given Webb a more competitive team overall, but she now has legitimate decisions to make regarding relay construction and which athletes fit best in certain events. She spoke about the great part about the Wolves’ growing roster.

“It’s great to have some options and to fill in and not be so limited,” Webb said. “We know sometimes that injuries happen and sometimes things come up. I’ve enjoyed having a lot of kids and I think they have too. The friendships and camaraderie are always better with a large group instead of just a few kids.”

Elmwood/Plum City sophomore Tim Bechel and senior Trace Anderson are two of the newest additions to the program. Bechel and Anderson – both of whom are competing in their debut track and field season – have demonstrated steady improvement this season.

Anderson’s consistent growth helped him earn a pair of fourth-place finishes in the shot put and discus events at Boyceville on Thursday, May 11. Anderson threw 39 feet, 2 inches in the shot put and 108 feet, 5 inches in the discus.

“Trace Anderson is a senior and it’s his first year out for track,” Webb said. “He is finding his stride in the shot and disc. He is just continuing to set PRs and learn. It’s been really exciting to see what he has done.”

While Anderson has brought a sudden jolt of competitiveness to EPC’s field events, the aforementioned Bechel has done the same in some of the short-distance events. Bechel finished eighth in the boys’ 200-meter dash, second in the high jump and helped EPC’s 4x200-meter relay squad finish third at Boyceville on Thursday night.

The speedy sophomore has spent his first year in the program experimenting with different events. Through trial and error, he’s started to decipher which events he loves and can compete well in. Webb spoke about Bechel’s first year with the program.

“Tim Bechel is finding his groove and figuring out what he likes and is good at,” Webb said. “He’s crazy fast and is just trying everything to see where he fits. He is filling in on the relays and has run well with some of our upperclassmen.”

Even with the fresh talent supplementing the returning veterans on both the boys’ and girls’ sides of the team, Elmwood/Plum City will still likely be just outside of contention for a conference championship on Tuesday afternoon.

Given the strength of both of Elk Mound’s rosters, in addition to a stacked Glenwood City team on the boys’ side, it’s going to be an uphill battle to finish among the top programs. Webb spoke about the upcoming conference championship meet at Durand.

“Elk Mound and Glenwood City are going to be tough to beat,” Webb said. “I think we fall a little short in the team aspect because we can’t quite fill all of the events we want. We have a lot of young kids that are still learning. They’ve grown a lot, and that has been a positive for us too.”

The Dunn-St. Croix Conference championship meet will be on Tuesday, May 16, with events slated to begin at 4 p.m.