Gentile, Sprangers, Van Rossum and Waddell shine at WIAA state track
Kimberly’s Sprangers, Neenah’s Gentile, Little Chute’s Van Rossum and Appleton North’s Waddell lead area athletes on the first day of WIAA state track.
- Kimberly’s Hunter Sprangers won the Division 1 boys shot put title with a throw of 61 feet, 3.5 inches.
- Neenah’s Celia Gentile won the Division 1 girls triple jump with a jump of 40 feet, 2.5 inches.
- Little Chute’s Calvin Van Rossum earned silver in the Division 2 boys high jump.
- Appleton North’s Brooke Waddell took silver in the Division 1 girls pole vault, setting a school record.
LA CROSSE − A little self-reflection and alone time went a long way for Hunter Sprangers on June 6 at the WIAA Division 1 state track and field championships at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
The Kimberly senior took home the state title in the shot put with a toss of 61 feet, 3.5 inches, but not before he had some quiet moments to himself before the meet to focus and prepare.
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Sprangers was one of two state champions for the Post-Crescent area on the first day, with Neenah’s Celia Gentile taking home gold in the Division 1 girls triple jump.
“I ain’t doing nothing without the man upstairs,” Sprangers said of his reflection time. “I mean, it’s just the mentality coming in. I need to get away from everybody and I have to figure it out just on my own — mental reps.”
Sprangers, who has been one of the top throwers in the state all season, hit his eventual title-winning toss on his third attempt.
He had supreme confidence he would win the event, even though the group of throwers was a formidable bunch. That included De Pere senior Connor Fontaine, who finished just behind Sprangers for second (60-10).
“I knew before I threw that I was taking home gold. I was so focused, I was so dialed in,” Sprangers said. “The mental reps were on point. I knew I was ready and I came to put on a show.
“I mean, it was close. It was a game of inches. I was pretty confident. I had a pretty good throw and if anybody was going to beat me, it was going to be a PR.”
Sprangers wanted to go for his own Kimberly school record, but fell a few feet short of the mark.
“But hey, we took home gold and we can’t be mad about that,” he said.
Neenah’s Gentile captures gold in triple jump
It was an interesting hour or so as Neenah’s Celia Gentile was seemingly all over the main track area.
The uber-talented Rockets sophomore was leading the D1 girls triple jump event when the call went out for the 400 relay teams to assemble for the prelims. Gentile raced over to her spot as anchor and then helped the relay team qualify for the final.
As soon as the race was over, Gentile celebrated with her teammates briefly before heading over to the triple jump pit to compete in the finals. She ended up recording her best jump of the afternoon — a leap of 40-2.5 — to win the title.
“I mean, I just left it all out there,” Gentile said. “It was the last meet of the year for the triple. Knowing that I could leave it all out and jumping 40 on my last jump was great.”
Gentile, who also qualified for the 100-meter dash finals earlier in the day, said her personal-best jump was 40-4. She added being the leader throughout the triple jump event wasn’t necessarily ideal.
“I’d rather be chasing,” she said. “But knowing that I can have the last jump and leave it all out — I like having the last jump — but knowing that someone can pass you is very stressful.”
North’s Waddell, Little Chute’s Van Rossum earn silver
Little Chute junior Calvin Van Rossum took home the silver medal in the Division 2 boys high jump and also set a goal for next season.
“I really want to tap into that 6-8, 6-9 height,” he said. “And I feel like next year I really have a good chance of making a run.”
Van Rossum placed second in the event with a leap of 6-6. Edgerton’s Breck Anderson won the title with a jump of 6-9.
“I was going for 6-7,” Van Rossum said. “I had some really good looks and I could have given extra effort to give the first-place guy a run for his money.”
Van Rossum’s goal heading into the meet was to finish in the top three.
“I felt like I met my expectations,” he said. “First place was just out of reach.”
Waddell set the school record for the pole vault, finishing with a leap of 12-6 to tie her with Arrowhead’s Elise Schroeder and Sun Prairie East’s Alexa Wornson.
Waddell took second with Schroeder eclipsing the 12-6 mark in fewer attempts to take the gold.
“I felt really good,” Waddell said. “My coaches were telling me the whole year that there were a lot of signs and that I was going to PR at state, and it happened. I felt really good during warmups. I got on my biggest pole and just did it.”
Waddell, who’s heading to UW-La Crosse to compete in track in college, said the fact that it was her final high school meet was on her mind.
“I just wanted to give it all I had and knew that it was my last high school track meet and wanted to put my school record as high, that way my name could stay up at my school for longer,” she said.
The top three finishers attempted 12-9, which would have tied the D1 record.
“Two of my attempts were really close,” Waddell said. “And it kind of sucked, but I’m close. I knew I could do it. I have four years left.”
Neenah’s Olkowski leads third-place finishers
Neenah senior Mazie Olkowski admits she’s a little “salty” about not having a faster time in the D1 3,200 girls run.
But she did end up finishing third, which wasn’t so bad. Especially after she placed fifth in the same event last season as a junior.
“Coming into the meet my PR had me ranked second in the state so I was really kind of hoping for that win,” Olkowski said. “But I’ll take it. It’s been kind of a long day, so I’ll take the third place.”
Olkowski finished with a time of 10:45.68 for her third-place finish. Muskego’s Ella Anschutz placed first in 10:33.91.
“The time is just off my PR, so I’m a little salty about that,” Olkowski said. “But I’ll take it. Happy to be third. Better than last year.”
Waupaca’s Owen Lencki was third in the D2 boys 1,600 with a time of 4:17.07. Jack Hefty of Whitewater won the event (4:13.78) with Notre Dame’s Joseph Hunt second (4:15.74).
WIAA state track fourth-place finishers
Little Chute’s girls 3,200 relay team of Ashley Wilson, Campbell DeBoth, Sami Miller and Lauren Wegand placed fourth in Division 2 with a time of 9:26.89.
Also taking fourth in the 3,200 was St. Mary Catholic in D3 with the team of Audrey Wanless, Maria Marti, Lauren Ripley and Claire Higgins (9:51.69).
Manawa’s Olivia Santos was fourth in the D3 discus (129-3), as was Wrightstown’s Cailey Peterson in the D2 pole vault (11-9).
Winneconne’s Grant Wenzelow was fourth in the D2 800 (1:54.48) with Hortonville’s Hailey Falbo fourth in the D1 3,200 run (10:50.35).
Neenah’s Emma Severson, a freshman, was fourth in the D1 discus (135-9).
WIAA state track podium finishers
Fifth-place finishers included Winneconne’s Hudson Samolinski in the D2 shot put (54-9.25) and Weyauwega-Fremont’s Broc Billington in the D3 high jump (6-4).
Sixth-place finishers included Xavier’s Caroline Basehoar in the D2 pole vault (11-6) and Appleton North’s D1 3,200 relay team of Eva Busch, Ava Helmbrecht, Sophie Busch and Elise Brazzale (9:13.52).
