Eagles’ track teams were thinking big

Editor’s Note: The WIAA recently canceled spring sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Star-News, we’d like to give recognition to the athletes and coaches who had their seasons stopped prematurely. So over the next few weeks, we’ll run a series of stories on the teams that didn’t get a chance to perform in 2020.   Andy Sherman will never know what the 2020 season might have held. And that’s the killer for Sauk Prairie’s boys and girls track and field coach. Sherman believed he had several skilled, talented athletes ready to do some damage in both the Northern Badger Conference and the postseason. But when the WIAA canceled spring sports on April 21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eagles’ track teams — and athletes across the state — were left wondering ‘What if?’ “It is hard to know what type of team we could have been,” Sherman said. “I do know we have a lot of seniors who were looking to finish their last season attempting to achieve as much as they possibly could.  “We also have some sophomores and juniors who were ready to have a breakout season. They have worked since gaining some success last year and have grown, which would have provided them some great opportunities.” A year ago, Sauk Prairie’s boys and girls both finished fifth at the Badger North Conference meet. And Sherman believed his groups were ready for bigger and better in 2020. On the boys’ side, the Eagles had a pair of returning conference champions. Senior Garrett Hertzfeldt won the conference title in the shot put and junior Phillip Geiselman did the same in the pole vault. “I really believe that Phillip would have repeated as champion,” Sherman said. “He has improved a great deal and has been working all year. Garrett also had a very good shot at repeating. The competition in the throws is always strong, but he definitely would have been right there.” Sauk Prairie’s 3,200-meter relay team also won the conference championship last year and returned seniors Cam Desroches and Hudson Haas, and sophomore Dalton Zirbel from that quartet.  “The three of them along with Casey Vande Hey, Sam Beattie and newcomers Jack Boerger and Jay Dregney would have provided a very strong distance team,” Sherman said. “Our team speed has improved and I would have liked to see how we would have stacked up with the rest of the conference.” Senior Parker Breunig was another key returnee. And Sherman was extremely excited about his freshman class. “We have some freshmen who would have made an immediate impact on our team and conference,” Sherman said. “We were set to keep improving.” On the girls’ side, junior Ruby Sandeman was second in the long jump and third in the triple jump at the conference meet a year ago. Sandeman later was a sectional qualifier in both events. Senior Alexsa Lemelin placed third in the discus and fourth in the shot put at the 2019 conference meet. She was expecting a big year, as well. “Ruby had her sights on a couple of school records and qualifying for the state meet,” Sherman said of Sandeman. “Alexsa is a returning all-conference thrower in both the shot and the discus. She was set to have a great season.” Sophomore Kassia Marquardt and junior Cassie Radl were ready to lead the Eagles in the distance events. Senior Hannah Kruckman (high jump) and senior Grace Breunig (sprints) were also poised for big years. “Both teams had some returning athletes who were ready to have a breakout season and we had some newcomers who were ready to start contributing to the team right away,” Sherman said. While all of the Eagles fully understood the logic and rationale behind canceling spring sports, it was still a tough pill to swallow. “We knew it was coming,” Sherman said. “We have been preparing the team for that news for a while now. I will be ok. I will miss working with the kids every day, but I feel bad for everyone.”         BOYS TRACK         ROSTER Seniors: Erik Bauman, Parker Breunig, Cam Desroches, Hudson Haas, Garrett Hertzfeldt, Sam Juckett, Jacob Kapp, Trent Schneeberger, Skylar Torres, Casey Vande Hey. Juniors: Kyle Bascom, Sam Beattie, Cody Brickl, Caiden Buffardi, Michael Endres, Phillip Geiselman, Ethan Gibbs, Zach Gonzalez, Muhammad Ibrahim, Izaak Johnson, Adam Stecker, Cameron Tucker. Sophomores: Dylan Atkinson, Mason Barsnes, Sam Drescher, Carson Enge, Elijah Green, Ethan Sprotte, Luke Taylor, Ritchie Wolff, Damien Wright-Rodriquez, Dalton Zirbel. Freshmen: Jack Boerger, Carson Brickl, Jack Dillon, Jay Dregney, Sean Goodwin, Derek Hilden, Benjamin Kures, Tommy Pethan, David Silva Rios, Jack Simonis, Mason Strathman.    GIRLS TRACK       ROSTER Seniors: Grace Breunig, Grace Fauerbach, Livia Jurt, Hannah Kruckman, Alexsa Lemelin, Aimee Maasch, Cassi Miller. Juniors: Thea Baier, Emily Herbrand, Kiersten Kobussen, Heidi Kuhnau, Briar Lohr, Carina Meixelsperger, Cassie Radl, Ruby Sandeman, Mabel Schneller, Grace Siblia-Ott, Kaylie Vasquez, Kylie Wilson. Sophomores: Signe Begalske, Emma Bockhop, Trinity Doerre, Piper Finley, Meadow Liedtke, Quinlyn Mack, Kassia Marquardt, Ava Putnam, Lucy Sistek, Camilla Sotero-Garcia, Mara Steuber, Lilliana Uriostegui, Emily Vande Hey. Freshmen: Kelsey Brodnicki, Alana Buffardi, Natalie Curtis, Ashlyn Gibbs, Maggie Hartwig, Joy Hetzel, Emilia Pape, Tristen Stinson, Kaya Wilson.