LA CROSSE — Holmen High School senior Abry Bloyer openly admits to being what some people call a ‘Nervous Nellie.’
Qualifying in three Division 1 events for the WIAA state track and field meet was an impressive accomplishment for the sprinter, but she said that also brought with it some pressure.
She qualified with the second-best sectional time in the state by completing the 100-meter dash in 11.87 seconds and added qualifying runs in the 200 and as part of her team’s 400 relay.
“I was focused all week on calming my nerves,” Bloyer said. “I spent a lot of time journaling and visualizing what I wanted my races to look like, especially the 100.”
It worked. And so did whatever senior teammate Lydia Lazarescu did in preparation.
Both qualified for Saturday’s finals in both the 100 and 200, and they both pitched in to help the Vikings advance to the finals of the 400 relay with exceptional performances Friday at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
Lazarescu, who won the 100 and 200 as a sophomore, is seeded first for the 200 final after a prelim time of 24.45 seconds and third in the 100 after winning her heat with a time of 11.94.
Bloyer is seeded sixth in the 100 at 12.25 and seventh in the 200 at 25.42.
Lazarescu, Bloyer, Ava Newman and Hadley Johnson won their 400 relay heat and are seeded second for the finals with a time of 47.05. The only team that ran faster on Friday was Hartland Arrowhead (46.56).
“For my 200, I definitely was expecting to be (seeded) first right now,” Lazarescu said. “I was very worried about (Mukwonago’s) Laela (Presendofer). She was right next to me, but she really pushed me and made me run harder.”
Arrowhead’s Avery Bott (24.63) and Presendofer (24.8) are seeded second and third, respectively, for that 200 final.
Lazarescu is third to Brookfield Central’s Kyenret Rinkam (11.88) and Arrowhead’s Payton Eicher (11.93) in the 100.
The biggest excitement was saved for the relay performance, which won its heat by 0.85 seconds with Lazarescu pulling away from the pack as the anchor.
“We had a really good relay today,” Lazarescu said. “Most of our handoffs were good.
“We can touch up in some areas, but nothing huge at all. We’ll practice working on our steps and everything and be ready.”
Bloyer said she was most concerned about her qualifying chances in the 200. She ended up third in her heat and now prepares to run her first final in that event.
“I just went into the mentality of, ‘I just have to run my race.'” she said. “Not focusing on what other people were doing, i think, helped me, too.”
To find results from all couleesports.com qualifiers who competed on Friday, find out results stories from the morning and afternoon sessions. A weather delay began at 7:30 p.m. and not all events were completed.
