Port boys bank on veteran track talent

Relays and field events highlighted the Port Washington boys’ track and field team’s season debut at Sheboygan North’s Raider Invitational last Saturday.

The Pirates finished 10th with 23 points. Slinger won the 18-team meet with 127.25 points.

Senior Michael Murphy had Port’s highest individual place, taking fourth in the pole vault by clearing 11 feet, 6 inches.

The Pirates’ 3,200-meter relay of Zach Wehner, Isaac Bensen, Calhan Norman and Zach Miller took fourth in 9 minutes, 21.52 seconds.

Senior Josh Holtebeck cleared 10-6 to place sixth in the pole vault.

The 960-relay team of Will Stopczynski, Nate Kasdorf, Nathan Russell and Holtebeck took sixth (2:10.63), as did the 640-relay of Patrick Zamora, Russell, Kasdorf and Murphy (1:25.13).

Stopczynski also took seventh in the long jump with a leap of 18-5, matching his best leap last year.

“That’s a real good place to start, and he’s only a sophomore,” Port coach Mark Pasten said.

Holtebeck was seventh in the triple jump (36-10.5).

Pasten said he had a limited number of athletes available due to a solo/ensemble music festival and a religious retreat.

“Going in, we knew we weren’t going to score as many points as we could,” he said.

Murphy and Holtebeck’s pole vault results were especially impressive, Pasten added.

“They went over a bar once so far this year because we don’t have an indoor facility to practice that event,” he said.

“Considering that, they had a really good start to the year.”

Pasten said the 3,200 relay had some new runners due to the absences. Norman ran a personal-best time.

“That was a good day. We had some guys in there who were able to take advantage of their opportunities,” Pasten said.

This year, the Pirates get back a couple of athletes who missed last season due to injuries. Jake Lippe, a junior, will help in sprints and jumping, and Zamora, a senior, will return to sprints after a strong sophomore season.

The Piates’ overall numbers are a little lower than Pasten would like. The team has 46 members, and he would like to be in the 50’s for depth.

“The key is we have some quality, which is the most important part of our success,” he said.

Pasten said Brett Grisar, a top contributor on the cross-country team that took third at state last fall, will help in distance events, and Miller, another cross-country runner and state swimming qualifier, will participate in the 400 dash and 800 run. Wehner will also run those two events.

Pasten said Murphy and senior Sam Fritsch will add points on pole vault, an advantage because not every school participates in that event.

Russell will help on sprint relays, and Holtebeck will be used in a variety of events.

“He can just about do anything. He’s very valuable,” Pasten said.

Among the younger contributors will be Mitchell Niemeyer, who as a freshman ran sprints on varsity, and Dylan Niehoff, who participated in the triple and high jumps and sprints at the junior-varsity level.

Pasten said the North Shore Conference will be a challenge this year with the addition of Hartford, Slinger and two West Bend teams.

“It’s going to be tougher. We went from an eight-team conference to a 10-team conference,” he said.

“All the teams that came into the conference are quality. We’re going to have to step it up for sure.”

In addition, meets will require more heats because 10 teams can’t all run on eight-lane tracks at the same time.

Port’s next meet is the conference indoor at Cedarburg at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 22. The Pirates then travel to Milwaukee Lutheran on Saturday, March 24.