Xavier’s Fouts, FVL’s Nilson win gold medals at opening day of WIAA State Track & Field Championships
AppletonSportsPage.com
LA CROSSE – Xavier senior Lillie Fouts and Fox Valley Lutheran senior Emma Nilson picked up gold medals at the opening day of the 2024 WIAA State Track & Field Championships on Friday at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Fouts won the Division 2 girls 1,600 meters in 4:49.05, while Nilson placed first in the D-2 girls shot put with a toss of 41 feet, 3½ inches to earn state champion medals.
Both will have a chance at a second one on Saturday as Fouts competes in the 3,200 meters and Nilson will take part in the discus.
The Xavier girls had all three of its relay teams competing in preliminaries on Friday qualify for Saturday’s finals.
The Hawks’ 400 team of Hailey Hafner, Bernice Geurts, Bryce Hietpas and Yami Ornelas placed fifth (49.91), as Fox Valley Lutheran’s squad of Sophia Wunderlich, Annalise Patchett, Amethyst Holmes and Mya Burleton took second in the same race in 49.64 seconds to also move on to Saturday’s final.
Xavier’s 800 relay team of Grace Renz, Caroline Basehoar, Faith Hafner and Lauren Erickson took third in 1:44.64, and the 1,600 team of Grace Hackl, Joy Krull, Renz and Erickson placed seventh in 4:02.82 to also qualify for finals.
Also moving on to finals on Saturday are Xavier’s Ben Olvey, who qualified first in the Division 2 boys 110 hurdles (15.02) and Fox Valley Lutheran’s Jacoby Dobbertsein, who finished 10th in prelims in the 300 hurdles in 40.69.
Competing in finals competitions were Appleton North’s Maisey Bojarski in the Division 1 long jump (14th, 17-6 ½) and North’s 3,200 boys relay team of Peter Olson, Teddy Koelling, Caleb Hardy and Riley Szymik (17th 8:10.60).
Failing to qualify for finals in Division 1 were: Appleton North’s Ashley Parrish in the girls 200 (20th, 26.27), North’s 400 girls relay team of Bojarski, Ashley Parris, Tarynne Pettinger and Emily Thompson (14th, 49.35) and Appleton East’s Kyreese White in the boys 100 (25th, 11.77).
In Division 2, Fox Valley Lutheran’s Claire Fischer (11th, 1:00.33) and Xavier’s Grace Hackl (12th, 1:00.60) in the girls 400, and Fox Valley Lutheran’s boys 800 relay team of Jack Egan, Blessings Kapande, Caleb DuFresne and Kaleb Williams (16th, 1:34.91) also failed to qualify for finals.
Competition continues at 10 a.m. Saturday.