Eureka Track & Field Wrapped Season With Up Strong Showing at 2A State Championships
The Eureka Tornadoes left their mark at the 2A State Track & Field Championships this past weekend with standout performances, personal bests, school records, and podium finishes.
Junior Peyton Hare led the way with a phenomenal performance in the 2A 400-meter dash, finishing as State Runner-Up and breaking the school record in the process, with a time of 49.31. Hare also placed 4th in the 200M with a time of 22.46, while teammate TJ Mills followed closely behind in 5th, with a time of 22.66.
Fellow junior Mills also placed 4th in the 2A 100M dash, with a time of 11.14. He, along with Hare and seniors Laken Valentine and Kalim Mouer, were named State Runner-Up in the 4x100 Relay, with a time of 43.59. They tied the school record and narrowly missing first place by just 0.01 seconds to Bennington.
On the girls’ side, Eureka’s Lady Tornadoes 4x100 relay team put together an impressive performance of their own. Seniors Kimber Ptacek and Olivia Valentine, junior Brooklyn Ogden and sophomore Maela Neill earned 5th place at state, with a time of 51.44.
Pictured below from left to right are: front row, Hare, Mouer, L. Valentine and Mills; Rose Buck, Ogden, Ptacek, Britta Mongeau, O. Valentine and Neill.
Junior Buck delivered two big performances in distance events, taking 7th in the 800M and finishing as the State Runner-Up in the 1600M, where she also set a new personal record. Teammate Mongeau, also a junior, placed 15th in the 800M and took 5th in the 1600M, also recording a personal record (PR) in that race. Buck ran the 1600M with a time of 5:13.13 and finished the 800M with a time of 2:21.84. Mongeau completed the 1600M with a time of 5:26.41 and completed the 800M with a time of 2:37.08.
Jace Hardenbrook competed in the discus throw, and although he didn't qualify for finals, he capped his season on a high note with all 3 throws beating his PR and his final throw, 125-9, was his best career throw.
Eureka was also represented by O. Valentine and Ogden in the girls 2A 100M dash. Ogden ran the race in 13.10 and O. Valentine clocked a 13.15. The Lady Tornadoes also competed in the 4x400 Relay. The team, comprised of Buck, Mongeau, O.
Valentine and junior Lydia Mason, didn't advance from prelims, but did finish the race with a team personal best, 4:15.96, and set a new school record.
Last year, Mills claimed the state championship title in the 200M, with a time of 22.78 and 3rd in the 100M, with a time of 10.94. During his freshman year, he competed at the state contest in the 4x100M Relay
where the relay team placed fifth at 3A State. He placed third in the 100M.
During her freshman year, Buck placed fourth in the 1600M and third in the 3200M at 3A State.
O. Valentine qualified in the 4x100M Relay. She was a member of the 3A State Runner-Up team her freshman year and third place team her sophomore year. Mouer also earned a medal in the 4x100M Relay his sophomore year, when the team placed fifth.
The Madison Bulldogs were represented in the 1A State Track and Field Meet by Colton Isch, High Jump; Jalynn Weakley, Javelin; Octavian Dean, 110 and 300 Hurdles; Mason McDonald, 200 prelims; Cruz Leiser, Pole Vault; and the girls 4x800 Relay team comprised of Caylin Luthi, Lily Hudson, Rylie Watts and Jalynn Weakley.
Hundreds of photos were taken by The Herald crew this weekend. A selection of those photos will be included in next week's edition.
