TRACK AND FIELD: Ruf goes out in style at Paquette Invite

By Kevin Morales

POYNETTE — Running for the final time on his home track, Wes Ruf went out in style.

Placing second in the mile and fourth in the two mile, Ruf was a key part of Poynette's boys track and field team placing second overall Thursday as it hosted the Pauquette Invite.

Westfield-Montello's boys team placed fifth overall, while Rio took seventh.

Rio's girls team finished third overall, while Westfield-Montello and Poynette were sixth and seventh, respectively.

River Valley won the team title for the boys and girls.

Ruf's were among many solid performances across the board for the Indians, but Poynette coach Doug Crowley said Ruf's carried extra meaning considering the sentimental value.

"(Ruf) really came through," Crowley said. "As our lone senior, it was nice to see him really have a nice meet kind of the last time he's running here competitively."

Poynette's younger runners helped carry the load, too.

Junior Kyle McLean won the 100-meter dash in 12.1 seconds before the Indians' 400-meter relay team of freshmen Adam Ray, Lance Johnson, Levi Campion and sophomore Adam Krumberger placed first in 47.54 seconds.

Ray also took second in the high jump.

"Just kind of an all-around good effort," Poynette coach Doug Crowley said.

Such was the case as well for Rio's girls team, which placed first in four field events and second in four running events.

"The girls held their own and performed well," Rio coach Deb Hutzler said.

Senior Kerry McDermott continued to excel in the discus throw as she won with a throw of 114-feet, 10 inches.

Freshman Chelsey Reierson placed first in both the long jump and the triple jump. Reierson won the triple jump by 2 1/2-foot margin and won the long jump with a personal-best distance of 15-feet, 6 1/2 inches.

"She had a nice day in the pits," said Hutzler of Reierson.

Sophomore Keturah Vangen won in the high jump by clearing 4-feet, 5 inches.

Vangen took second and had a personal best in the 300 intermediate hurdles, trailing only Dodgeland's Megan Rennhack. Rennhack holds the fastest time in the event in the state this year, according to the Wisconsin state girls honor roll.

The Vikings also placed second in the 400, 800 and 1,600 meter relays.

While the Vikings performed well on the girls side, Hutzler was expecting more out of her boys team.

Senior captain Jeremy Reierson — whose performances are peppered throughout the Division 3 state boys honor roll — placed second in the high jump and third in the triple jump, but didn't reach the heights and distances he had earlier this season. He also took second in the 110-meter high hurdles.

"The field was pretty tough today. It just wasn't a good day in the pits for him," said Hutzler, adding Reierson's performances on "off days" are still impressive compared to the field.

Reierson wasn't the only Viking to struggle on the day as no other Rio entry finished third or higher besides Reierson.

"We just had some performances not up to par today," Hutzler said. "It was just one of those days. You're going to have an off day. What can you do but chuckle with that?"

Westfield-Montello's boys team placed fifth and were led by its throwers.

A.J. Chesbro took first in the shot put with a throw of 43-feet, 10 inches. Chesbro was then edged by teammate Andy Brandt in the discus, whose throw of 122-feet, 9 inches was three inches better than the second-place Chesbro.

Steffen McCullough's mark of 10-feet was good enough for second in the pole vault, while Westfield-Montello's 1,600 meter relay team placed third.

Dane McCullough took third in the 800 meter run, clipping brother Steffen by 2 seconds with a time of 2:08.

Westfield-Montello coach Brian William's throwers have been among the team's top-point earners all season, but he said his runners have been just as important to the team.

"They've (throwers) been doing fairly well for us this year but we've got some good runners, so I think it's fairly even," Williams said.

On the girls side, Bobbi Burgess picked up the lone first-place finish for Westfield-Montello, winning the pole vault with a height of 7 feet. She also placed third in the triple jump.

Nicole Riordan took third in the high jump by clearing a personal-best height of 4-feet, 4 inches.

"We've got some injuries right now. Some of our top runners are injured, so we didn't place as well as we probably should've," Williams said. With Katie Raymond and Marissa Kerschner likely out for the season, Westfield-Montello's coaches estimate nearly two-thirds of their points go with them.

"Overall the kids are working hard and they're a little bit more experienced every meet," Williams said.

Poynette's girls were led by Katie Severson, who took second in the mile and two mile. Kate York placed third in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump.

Pauquette Invite

at Poynette High School

BOYS TEAM SCORES: River Valley 136, Poynette 109, Wisconsin Heights 76, Dodgeland 70, Westfield-Montello 69, Markesan 62, Rio 34.

BOYS RESULTS: 3,200 relay — 1, Dodgeland 8:54.1; 2, Poynette 9:00.6; 3, River Valley 9:24.2. 110 high hurdles — 1, Peck (RV) 15.85; 2, Reierson (R) 16.35; 3, Heidner (D) 18.01. 100 meters — 1, McLean (P) 12.10; 2, Ohlrogge (WH) 12.12; 3, Phillips (RV) 12.16. 800 relay — 1, Dodgeland 1:38.3; 2, Wisconsin Heights 1:38.5; 3, River Valley 1:40.6. 1,600 meters — 1, Parrel (WH) 4:46; 2, Ruf (P) 4:49; 3, Kelly (RV) 4:53. 400 meters — 1, Ohlrogge (WH) 53.12; 2, Joswick (D) 53.46; 3, Seymer (M) 54.52. 400 relay — 1, Poynette 47.54; 2, Dodgeland 47.6; 3, River Valley 47.7. 300 intermediate hurdles — 1, Peck (RV) 40.99; 2, Koch (RV) 43.41; 3, Heidner (D) 43.45. 800 meters — 1, Kelly (RV) 2:06; 2, Parrell (WH) 2:07; 3, D. McCullough (WM) 2:08. 200 meters — 1, Koch (RV) 24.2; 2, Liegel (RV) 24.3; 3, Seymer (M) 24.5. 3,200 meters — 1, Shoffer (RV) 11:06; 2, Chisnell (M) 11:07; 3, Harvey (P) 11:14. 1,600 relay — 1, Wisconsin Heights 3:35.8; 2, Dodgeland 3:37.7; 3, Westfield-Montello 3:47.8. Shot put — 1, Chesbro (WM) 23-10; 2, Wiedenmann (RV) 43-0; 3, Erickson (P) 42-2. Triple jump — 1, Klitz (M) 42-3.5; 2, Manske (RV) 41-2; 3, Reierson (R) 40-7. Discus — 1, Brandt (WM) 122-9; 2, Chesbro (WM) 122-6; 3, Erickson (P) 122-1. Pole vault — 1, Liegel (RV) 12-6; 2, S. McCullough (WM) 10; 3, Phipps (P) 9-6. Long jump — 1, Klitz (M) 19-4.5; 2, Ray (P) 18-9.5; 3, Grinde (P) 18. High jump — 1, Klitz (M) 6-2; 2, Reierson (R) 5-10; 3, Maier (WH) 5-8.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES: River Valley 128, Dodgeland 121, Rio 89, Markesan 71, Wisconsin Heights 53, Westfield-Montello 37, Poynette 36.

GIRLS RESULTS: 3,200 relay — 1, River Valley 10:24.7; 2, Dodgeland 10:26.4; 3, Rio 11:43.2. 100 high hurdles — 1, Rennhack (D) 16.4; 2, Tremelling (RV) 17.15; 3, Schmidt (D) 18.49. 100 meters — 1, Hughes (WH) 13.62; 2, Armstrong (RV) 13.85; 3, Siedschlog (D) 14.44. 1,600 meters — 1, Dornfield (D) 5:55; 2, Severson (P) 5:57; 3, Mahoney (RV) 5:59. 800 relay — 1, River Valley 1:54.8; 2, Rio 1:59.9; 3, Poynette 2:00.3. 400 meters — 1, Schultz (D) 1:03.7; 2, Radel (RV) 1:05.3; 3, Caminiti (WH) 1:05.6. 400 relay — 1, River Valley 55.11; 2, Rio 58.82; 3, Dodgeland 59.12. 300 hurdles — 1, Rennhack (D) 45.2; 2, Vangen (R) 51.8; 3, Schmitt (D) 51.99. 800 meters — 1, C. Radel (RV) 2:38; 2, Caminiti (WH) 2:39; 3, Bomkamp (WH) 2:40. 200 meters — 1, Schultz (D) 27.6; 2, Hughes (WH) 28; 3, L'Herault (RV) 29.4. 3,200 meters — 1, Mahoney (RV) 13:16; 2, Severson (P) 13:33; 3, Frederick (M) 13:41. 1,600 relay — 1, Dodgeland 4:28.2; 2, Rio 4:28.6; 3, Markesan 4:45.4. Shot put — 1, Gerner (M) 38-1.25; 2, Krenz (M) 36-1; 3, Heser (RV) 31-11. Triple jump — 1, Reierson (R) 32-10; 2, Tremelling (RV) 30-4; 3, Burgess (WM) 30-11. Discus — 1, McDermott (R) 114-10; 2, Gerner (M) 112-2; 3, Krenz (M) 101-10. Pole vault — 1, Burgess (WM) 7-0; 2, Gobel (RV) 7-0; 3, Welke (WM) 6-6. Long jump — 1, Reierson (R) 15-6.5; 2, Rennhack (D) 15-4; 3, York (P)  15-1.5. High jump — 1, Vangen (R) 4-5; 2, Hughes (WH) 4-4; 3, Riordon (WM) 4-4.