LA CROSSE — Aquinas High School senior Declan Gregg and Onalaska senior Manny Putz looked completely comfortable just about every step of the way in the 3,200-meter run around the UW-La Crosse track on Saturday.
Both WIAA cross country champions in the fall — Gregg in Division 3 and Putz in Division 1 — were in grooves with their paces and well ahead of the rest of the field during the Coulee Conference meet.
But as they reached the final turn, Putz had to enact a kick that was supposed to start with about 150 meters. Instead, he waited to pass Gregg in front of the biggest portion of the crowd, which was bundled up in coats, jackets and blankets due to a chilly temperature and strong wind.
The two were well into the final 100 meters when Putz, a University of Wisconsin commit, made his move and passed Gregg after Gregg led the entire way. Putz crossed the finish line at a meet-record 9 minute, 13.74 seconds to beat Gregg (9:14.41), whose time also beat the previous record.
The win gave Putz his third of the day after winning the 800 and 1,600 earlier in the day on his busiest day of the season.
“Obviously, I haven’t done all three (events) since last year,” said Putz, who has run sparingly in competitive races this spring. ” It was perfect. I ran behind until the last 200 or 100 meters. It tested my speed a little bit, which is good for me.”
Putz followed that strategy in all of his races. He also shadowed Holmen sophomore Matthew Hoff until a late pass o win the 800 (2:02.43) and Gregg another time in the 1,600 before shooting by him to win the 1,600 in 4:20.03.
He was running at pace in his final regular-season meet as a Hilltopper and executed beautifully.
But all of those points couldn’t stop Holmen from winning the boys championship with 163 points. Onalaska was second with 140.
Holmen’s girls posted 204 points to slip past the second-place Hilltoppers (199) and make a sweep for the Vikings.
The boys received two wins apiece from junior Ryland Eickhoff and sophomore Jakai Ayed.
Eickhoff won the 100 (11.03) and 200 (22.51) and ran with John Faherty, Jaren Nygren and Eli Kane to place second in the 800 relay (1:32.59). Ayed won the 110 hurdles (14.78), 300 hurdles (30.89) and placed third in the long jump (21-1.5).
Junior Jack Barth was second in the 400 (50.88) and ran with Jacob Simmons, Andrew De La Rosa and Jonahthon Rosenow to place second in the 1,600 relay (3:30.75).
Braedin Grandt was second in the 300 hurdles (42.44), and Tay Parcher (high jump, 5-10) and Kyle Dryer (discus, 156-6) were both third.
Faherty, Nygreg, Kane and Peyton Peterson were second int he 400 relay (43.93), and Dylan Whiteaker, Casey Horman, Mason Moss and De La Rosa were second in the 3,200 relay (8:34.26).
The Aquinas team of Isaac Finch, Trey Bahr, Brady Lee and Eli Horstman won the 800 relay (1:31.18), Logan’s team of Gabe Driscoll, James Freund, Gavin Kreiling and Andrew Leaver won the 1,600 relay (3:30.51), and Central’s team of Finn Emlet, Griffin Rudie, Silas Bratsch and Sean Erickson won the 3,200 relay (8:29.39).
Logan’s Briggs Schaffer won the pole vault (12-6), Onalaska’s Gabe Mauss the long jump (22-6) and Onalaska’s Brendan Chenault the triple jump (44-8).
GIRLS
The Vikings were dominant behind juniors Lydia Lazarescu and Sabrina Lechnir, among others.
Lazarescu was a triple winner with victories in the 100 (12.06), 200 (25.18) and 400 (58.62). Lechnir won the 1,600 (5:21.67) and 3,200 (11:40.38) and placed third in the 800 (2:27.21).
Juniors Alivia Wickstrom (300 hurdles, 47.62) and Brenna Schmidt (shot put, 38-2) also won for Holmen. Wickstrom was also second in the 100 hurdles (16.4) and ran with Delilah Heacox, Ruby Kinsman and Naomi Wedan) on the second-place 1,600 relay (4:14.11), while Schmidt added third place in the discus (114-1).
Hadley Johnson, Chloe Jones, Linley Regan and Abry Bloyer teamed up to win the 800 relay (1:47.8), and Baily Sommerville, Isabel Archer, Maria Magozzi and Isabelle Korthuls won he 3,200 relay (10:30.46).
Kinsman was second in both the 1,600 (5:24.79) and 3,200 (12:06.31), and Kendall Kozlowski was second in the pole vault (9-6), while Wedan (1,600, 5:30.44) and Alexa Szak (high jump, 5-2) posted third-place finishes. The 400 relay team of Aubrey Hauser, Jones, Kaytlynn Lambries and Johnson was also third (52.1).
Onalaska juniors Makena McGarry and Isabella Malecek were also double winners in individual events, and Malecek added a relay.
McGarry won the long jump with a meet-record 19-3 and added a victory in the triple jump (37-1.5)to second-place finishes to Lazarescu in the 100 (12.5) and 200 (26.26). Malecek won the 800 (2:23.28) and high jump (5-2). She also ran with Isabela Gutierrez, Eva Dryer and Lauren Denker and won the 1,600 relay (3:07.46).
Onalaska senior Ella Stevens won the 100 hurdles (15.52) and was second in the 300 hurdles (47.65), and junior teammate Olivia Peterson won the pole vault (10-0). Aquinas sophomore Eliot McKnight won the discus (115-6), and the Blugolds received a win from its 400 relay team of Anna Binsfeld,Alaina Elias, Emily Lepak and Teagan Boge (51.59).
Central was led by a second-place finish by Aliyah Schieldt in the discus (114-8) and its second-place 400 relay team of Sierra Fried, Celia Christopherson, Lily Christopherson and McKenna Michaels (51.61). Charlotte Yard was also third in the 3,200 (12:23.9) and Michaels third in the long jump (16-4.25).
Logan was led by junior Lilly Dettwiler, who placed second in the long jump (16-10.25) and third in the 200 (26.5) and triple jump (33-9). Teammate Oliva Sake was runner-up in the shot put (33-8.5), and the Rangers’ 800 relay team of Maddy Cornett, Payton Siekert, Marlee Stevermer and Dazlyn Williams finished third (1:51.3).
