County track teams compete through bad weather

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Dave Newman photo

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Weather has been as much a competitor as the athletes themselves this prep track and field season.

The New Richmond Relays took place on Monday, rescheduled from the week before due to rain. Both Ellsworth and Prescott high school track teams took part.

But the Baldwin-Woodville Invitational, scheduled for last Tuesday and then rescheduled for Thursday when it was postponed due to rainy and wet conditions, was cancelled.

The Ellsworth girls tied with New Richmond for third place in the Relays and the Prescott girls were seventh out of nine teams. The Prescott boys were fifth and Ellsworth sixth out of 10 teams competing.

Menomonie won the girls meet and Hudson the boys although EHS had the best score of the Middle Border teams competing.

Prescott swept the 1600-meter relays races. The girls squad of Mindy Mutschler, Emily Bayer, Autumn Stees and Amy Carroll won in 4:22.00 and the boys team of Cole Geiger, Matt and Mike Pechacek and Joe Smith took first with a time of 3:38.4.

Ellsworth’s Abbey Ristow had the best throw in the discus at 106 feet, seven inches. She the Panthers to first place in the discus relay. Along with teammates Mariah Shonkweiler, who placed fifth with a throw of 94-11 and Kristin Kopp who placed 16th.

Ristow and Shonkweiler led the Panthers to second in the shot put relay. Shonkweiler took second herself with a throw of 35 feet, eight inches while Ristow placed fourth and Amy Rinke was 21st.

EHS’ girls were third in both the triple jump and long jump relays as Carlie Melstrom and Lydia Kuhl led the way with fourth place jumps in their respectively. Ellsworth’s boys were third in the high jump relay as Nate Pazdernik and Alex Campbell tied for fourth individually.

Ellsworth’s girls finished third in the mile relay and the 3x140-meter low hurdle shuttle. Prescott’s girls and boys 3200-meter relay teams were both second. The Cardinal boys’ 800-meter relay team placed third and their 400-meter throwers relay team finished second as well. Both the Cardinals 1600-metger spring medley relays were second also.

Both teams will compete in Tuesday’s Middle Border Conference meet at Ellsworth with the WIAA Division 2 Amery Regional to follow next Monday. Teams competing there will be Amery, Baldwin-Woodville, Ellsworth, Osceola, Prescott, Saint Croix Central, Saint Croix Falls, Somerset and Unity.

Tags: cross country, track and field, sports, ellsworth