By Reagan Hoverman

The Ellsworth boys’ 4×100 meter relay group of junior Bo Hines and seniors Max Grand, Jack Janke and Ashten Quade won the Panthers’ second con

secutive such relay event at the WIAA Division 2 State Track and Field Championships in La Crosse on Saturday, June 4.

The success of Hines, Janke, Grand and Quade, along with Shane Lange, who was on the state championship relay team last year, have forever changed the Ellsworth Pan thers’ track and field program for the better with their consis

tent success on the biggest stage in the sport.

The 4×100 meter relay was close the entire race. Through out the season, both Aquinas and Catholic Memorial had been posting similar 4×100 and

4×200

meter relay times to those of the Panthers. During the state meet, both of those private school powerhouse ath

letic programs pushed Ellsworth to the brink.

However, the Panthers per

sisted, executed nearly flaw

less relay handoffs, and secured their second consecu tive state championship with a time of 43.21, less than half a second ahead of second placed Aquinas. Immediately after the race, Hines, Grand, Janke and Quade all reflected on the ex

perience of winning a state title

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in front of a crowd of thousands.

“It felt really good,” Grand said after the race. “We put a lot of work into it, especially in the offseason, and Jack (Janke) is new this season, we came in thinking we were going to take it.”

As soon as Grand was done with his initial comments, Janke spoke about what it feels like to finally become a state champion, something he was close to achieving during the football season when he played quarterback for Ellsworth’s football team which lost in the state championship game to Catholic Memorial.

“It feels great to be a state champion for the first time,” Janke said. “I will say, I wasn’t on the team last year. Shoutout to Shane Lange, they won back to back last year in the 4×100 and 4×200. Either way, it feels great to be a state champion in the 4×100.”

Quade jumped into the conversation and jokingly said that they just wanted to make sure Janke was able to get a state cham pionship before graduating. Grand spoke about what has kept Ellsworth on top for so many years in the short distance events in track and field.

“I think it’s just our hard work,” Grand said. “We’ve had a re ally successful wrestling program in the past. Football, last season we were in the state championship. It’s just kind of expected that we have some quick guys that can move in 100, 150 or 200 me ters consistently.”

For Hines, this has been a group of athletes that he felt was always going to be special, especially because it was something they heard growing up. The community of Ellsworth had waited years for this group of juniors and seniors to play high school sports at an elite level – and the student athletes certainly fol lowed through on expectations.

“All through middle school, my class and these guys’ class, we knew we had a ton of athletes,” Hines said. “Even in middle school, we knew we would have a crazy football team and a crazy track team in high school. It was cool to see that it all paid off. Our hard work put us in this position.”

Quade quickly jumped in to say that it wasn’t just hard work that the student athletes put in during the offseason or in the gym alone, it was more than that.

“Our dedication to each other also,” Quade said. “We love each other all the time. We love all of our teammates who aren’t here today. Anyone who wears this Ellsworth jersey.”

While the aforementioned Lange took some time to get ad

justed to the handoffs in the 4×100 and 4×200 meter events, which is normal and expected in a first year track athlete, Janke didn’t have that adjustment period. Hines spoke about Janke’s seamless transition into track and field.

“Last year when we were doing our handoffs, we dropped just about every single one of them,” Hines said. “This year, Jack (Janke) picked up on that and it was crazy. Our first handoff was perfect. That didn’t happen last year. It was our commitment to each other. We’re close every day in school, in sports, outside of sports.”

While the celebration for the 4×100 meter relay was emotional and climactic, the second place finish in the 4×200 meter relay by only fractions of a second was devastating for the same group of boys. They had hopes of winning state titles in both events, not just the 4×100.

The boys stood on the podium in second place, clearly despon

dent from the results of the race. Ellsworth ran the 4×200 meter relay first, meaning they had to sit with that pain of a second place result while they waited for the 4×100. Janke spoke about how that second place finish felt.

“We were pissed off,” Janke said. “We were devastated about that. We had to forget about it and put it behind us for the next half hour while we waited.”

Whether the group was able to put it behind them or not, they certainly performed at an elite level during that final race of their high school careers to win the state championship. Ellsworth head coach Drew Pechacek spoke about the relay groups and how they performed over both days of the event.

“In the relays, we told the kids that we can’t win the meet in those events on day one and to just get around the track and we’d be fine,” Pechacek said. “It was great weather and we were able to set school records in both the relays.”

After being stepped out in the 4×200 meter relay on Saturday in the finals, Pechacek said that the boys were determined not to let it happen again less than an hour later in the 4×100 meter relay finals.

“In talking with them after (the 4×200), they were extremely disappointed with the result but extremely focused on not letting it happen in the next race,” Pechacek said. “When the 4×100 came around it was extremely close, but we were able to pull off the victory.”

After the season came to an end, Pechacek was able to reflect on what was one of the most successful track and field seasons in Ellsworth history. He spoke about the relays, how they changed the Panthers’ program and the overall impact of their success.

“To be able to have a state champion and a second place finish when going against the best in the state is an incredible accom plishment,” Pechacek said. “These guys have left a lasting impact on the Ellsworth track program. If you look at our history, we only have three boys state champions and they have all come in the past two years.”

While the relays received well deserved attention, Janke also competed in the 100 meter dash on Friday in the preliminaries. He narrowly missed the cut to make it to the finals on Saturday. Ellsworth junior Alex Pazdernik also competed in the boys’ 800

meter run on Friday and also barely missed making the finals.

“Alex (Pazdernik) was going to have a tough race with 10 run ners being right around two minutes,” Pechacek said. “We knew it would be a tight pack. That is something he hasn’t had to deal with a lot this year. He still ran a great race and was able to finish in 10th place which was a great experience for him and gives him something to build on for next year.”

Now that it’s over, Pechacek was able to reflect on the season in its entirety as well as how the success has changed the view of the Ellsworth track program in the community.

“I am extremely happy with how the season turned out,” Pechacek said. “We were able to get another state champion for the program, finish second in the conference meet, and get mul tiple sectional qualifiers and new school records. It’s good that there is now a buzz about track in Ellsworth and we are getting more kids interested in the sport.”

Pechacek stated that the seniors who competed in the state tournament this year are leaving the program very decorated and in a much better place than when they found it. Janke, Quade, Hines and Grand spoke one final time after winning the state championship.

“I’m just happy to be a part of this team,” Janke said. “This is the last time running and it feels great, we went out with a bang,” Hines said.

“We had to finish strong,” Quade said.

Ellsworth senior Max Grand, the anchor for the 4x100meter relay, dips his head as he crosses the finish line to secure a firstplace finish and a state championship for the Ellsworth boys’ track and field team in the 4×100 at the state meet in La Crosse on Saturday, June 4. The championship was the Panthers’ second consecutive WIAA Division 2 State Title in the 4×100 and the first featuring firstyear track athlete Jack Janke. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

The Prescott girls’ 4x800meter relay group of (from left): Sophomores Ava Budworth and Sophie Ripley, junior Ella Johnson and senior Maddie Matzek pose together on Friday, June 3, at the 2022 State Track and Field Championships in La Crosse. Photo courtesy of Faun Stanton

Prescott senior Aiden Russell clears the bar in the high jump event on Saturday, June 4, at the State Track and Field Championships in La Crosse. Russell earned a fourth place finish, which secured him a medal and a place on the podium. Photo by Reagan Hoverman