By Reagan Hoverman

Against the tough, high level competition, the Prescott track and field team not only had success, but they continued to set PRs and get closer to setting some of the most longstanding track and field records in school history.

At that Baldwin Woodville Invitational on Tuesday, April 26, Prescott competed against nine other teams, several of them from the Middle Border including Amery, Baldwin Woodville, Ellsworth and Saint Croix Central.

While the Warriors of Amery took home first place in the girls’ team leaderboard with 210 points, Prescott earned a second place finish with 148 points, more than 40 points ahead of third

placed Baldwin Woodville. The Prescott boys finished in third place as a team with 117.5 points, trailing only Ellsworth’s 135 and Grantsburg’s 170.5. Prescott coach Emily Calabrese spoke about the overall results.

“Our girls competed very well in Baldwin against some good competition,” Calabrese said. “They scored in 17 out of 18 events, which was a huge reason for them scoring so highly as a team. We didn’t enter this meet with intentions of scoring as highly as we could as a team, so we were happy with how well our girls came out of this meet.”

The Prescott girls produced great overall results which in

cluded three of the top four scores in the girls’ pole vault which were scored by senior Maddie Matzek and juniors Ella Johnson and Addison Huppert.

Senior Mallory Boles earned a fourth

place finish in the girls’ shot put event and sophomore Kianna Severson and freshman Alissa Zerneke earned third and fourth place finishes respectively in the girls’ triple jump event.

“The girls’ pole vaulters continue to impress with top

five fin

ishes this season,” Calabrese said. “Another strong area has been our young triple jumpers. Camryn Rickers, Alissa Zerneke and Kianna Severson are competing very well as young jumpers. Mallory Boles has also been a consistent point scorer for our throwers, already setting big PRs in both shot put and discus this year.”

As for the boys’ side of things, sophomore Josh Peterson con

tinues to impress the Prescott coaching staff and set PRs in what feels like every event he competes in. At the Baldwin Woodville Invitational, he finished in second place in the 100

meter dash, trailing only Ellsworth senior Max Grand.

Peterson’s time earned him a top

50 time in the state for the season, whereas Grand’s first

place time was a top

25 time in the state. While short

distance running has been excellent for Prescott, the distance running has been nearly just as good. Soph omore Breckin Schommer has been the leader of that outstanding distance group. At the invitational, he earned a fourth place finish in the 1,600

meter run. Calabrese spoke about some of the high

lights on the boys’ side.

“Josh Peterson continues to impress every time he sets foot

on the track,” Calabrese said. “As a sophomore, he is excelling against a lot of older and more matured athletes. Breckin Schom mer, another sophomore, has been a solid competitor anywhere from 400 3,200 meters and helps the team a lot wherever needed.”

Another name that almost always seems to be at the top of every event he’s in would be Prescott senior Aiden Russell. At the invitational, Russell earned another first

place finish Perhaps the most exciting part of track and field is chasing records that are years or even decades old. The Prescott boys’

4×100 relay is chasing the school record which was set in 1985. At the Baldwin Woodville Invitational, that relay group took first place with a time of 44.62 seconds and will continue pushing for the school record at future meets. PRs and school records are something that have either been broken already this season or likely will be soon.

“Our team has been setting big PRs all around this year – sprints, mids, distance, jumps, throws,” Calabrese said. “Every one is hitting big marks, both new and returning athletes. It’s been fun to see them reach such big accomplishments early in the sea

son when returning athletes aren’t necessarily expected to be PRing until later in the season.”

Ellsworth, Spring Valley results

While Prescott had a lot of success, Ellsworth and Spring Val

ley made noise in various events as well. On the girls’ side of things, Ellsworth finished in fourth place as a team with 72 total points and Spring Valley finished in eighth place with a total of

20 team points.

Notable results for the Spring Valley girls include senior Claire Anderson’s fourth

place finish in the 1,600 meter run, senior Kaitlin Graham’s seventh place finish in the triple jump, and freshman Abby Biggs’ third

place finish in the girls’ discus throw.

As for the boys’ side of the competition for Spring Valley, the Cardinals finished in eighth place with a team score of 29 points. Senior Merrick Johnson set a PR in the 110 meter hurdle event with his seventh place finish in the event. Senior Ryan Burr’s third

place finish in the 400 meter dash also set a new PR.

The Ellsworth Panthers boys’ track team also had a strong showing at the Baldwin Woodville Invitational as they finished in second place with a total team score of 135 points. Notable re

sults for the boys’ track and field team include Max Grand and Ashten Quade’s first and third place

finishes respectively in the

100

meter dash. Grand posted a top

25 time in the state and Quade posted a top

50 time in the state.

Ellsworth once again took home the gold medal in the 4×200

meter relay and a silver medal in the 4×100 meter relay, trailing only Prescott’s excellent 4×100 meter squad. Ellsworth senior Kohl Flock posted a fourth place finish in the 400

meter dash. His time of 44:06 seconds was a PR.

Noted all

star long

distance runner, Ellsworth junior Alex Pazdernik earned finished first in the 800 meter run. He also posted a second place finish in the 1,600 meter run and didn’t compete in the 3,200 meter run at the Baldwin Woodville meet.

As for the Ellsworth girls’ side, sophomore Kayla Kressin con

tinues to produce great times in mid distance events. In Baldwin, Kressin earned a first

place finish in the 400 meter dash, edging out Prescott’s Ella Johnson by less than a second to secure first. Kressin also took second place in the 80

meter run and set a PR in the process.

Ellsworth sophomore Nya Wilford produced a top

five finish in the girls’ shot put event with a throw of 28’10”. Ellsworth freshman Maleah Peterson secured a fifth

place finish in the girls’ discus throw with a throw of 80’5” which was also a PR for her.

Prescott, Spring Valley and Ellsworth all gained valuable ex

perience at the Baldwin Woodville Invitational that will help the rosters improve as they move into the stretch run of the season in the closing weeks of May.

Prescott senior Aiden Russell competes in and wins the high jump event at the Ellsworth Invitational earlier this year. Russell again earned a first

place finish in the high jump at