HOLMEN — Lydia Lazarescu and Abry Bloyer are friends who know they can count on one another.
Because the Holmen High School juniors are competitive and serious about their track and field careers, that’s important.
Lazarescu is a sprinter known to anyone who follows the sport locally. The WIAA Division 1 state championships she won in the 100- and 200-meter dashes almost a year ago propelled her into a statewide spotlight.
Bloyer burst onto the scene with Lazarescu as freshmen. Both were on the state-qualifying 400 relay and received instant tastes of what it’s like to run on the track with a packed house at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex in June.
The friendship comes in when considering the sacrifice it takes to be elite, and Lazarescu and Bloyer help each other make that sacrifice whether in season or out.
“For Lydia and I, that (offseason) sacrifice is early lifting and following that with running workouts,” Bloyer said.” I’m not gonna lie. I don’t always look forward to those days.
“It’s a challenge, and having someone to go through that with is important. I show up for her, and she shows up for me.”
Holmen coach Chad Wedan said the duo is part of a group of girls in the weight room at 6 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
“They are here without fail, and they work together very well because they have a similar work ethic,” Wedan said. “They want to be really good.”
The duo will undoubtedly be ready to run at Tuesday’s Division 1 Sauk Prairie Regional, which is the first step toward qualifying for the state meet at UW-La Crosse on June 6-7.
The top four regional finishers in Division 1 qualify for sectionals on Friday, and the top three at that level qualify for state. The Division 1 sectional will be hosted by Verona.
Lazarescu enters the postseason with the state’s top 100 time at 11.88. She ranks second to Hartland Arrowhead’s Avery Bott with her time of 24.33 in the 200. Bloyer’s top 100 time is 12.53.
They were first and third, respectively, in the 100 and first and fourth, respectively, in the 200 at the MVC meet this month. Lazarescu also won the 400, and Bloyer ran with the championship 800 relay team.
The Vikings also have the state’s eighth-best 400 relay time — all divisions included — of 49.34.
Their careers have paralleled in terms of events. Both have always been sprinters who also long jump.
And while they lean on each other for the motivational support to excel, they also rely on one another for the physical push they need when another level is needed.
“It’s always nice to run against someone who wants to be as good as you and who really wants to be there,” Lazarescu said of Bloyer. “Some people show up and run, but Abry shows up and wants to run, wants to practice.”
Lazarescu burst onto the scene her first year by breaking the conference meet record both on the prelims and finals of the 100. The previous record stood for 11 years before Lazarescu took it down in her first opportunity.
Wedan said that has provided both luxury and a challenge as her coach. Expectations were through the roof almost immediately and have done nothing but rise with each passing competition.
“With Lydia, it’s a lot of fine-tuning details,” he said. “She came in with a ton of speed and setting records. It’s about finding one thing at a time to emphasize.
“Let’s work on pushing longer out of your box start, or let’s work on relaxing in that middle phase of your 200. You get to work on some of those details that you may not ever get to work on with another sprinter because they don’t get to this level. That’s fun.”
Bloyer is the beneficiary of some of that due to both her skill level and dedication.
“Their path is somewhat mirrored because they both came in fast and were a couple of our top sprinters even when they were freshmen,” Wedan said. “And it’s just been getting better and better and better.”
