Well-rounded Port girls win first track meet

It’s hard to point out a strength on the Port Washington High School girls’ track and field team this season.

It’s also difficult to find a weakness.

“We’ve got a lot of places covered,” coach Joe Adamak said.

The Pirates also have their first victory under their belts, taking last Friday’s 16-team Raider Invite at Sheboygan North. Port scored 120.5 points, well ahead of Sheboygan South’s 76.

Port got victories in distance, a relay and a field event.

Cross country state qualifier Ellie Knepfel won the 1,600-meter race in 5 minutes, 43.89 seconds, and she won the 3,200 in 12:41.45.

Her older sister Marietta was second in both, finishing the 1,600 in 5:45.29 and the 3,200 in 12:44.51.

Ellie usually beats her sister, but the gap is getting smaller thanks to Marietta’s training.

“She worked hard over winter. She looked really good,” Adamak said.

Grace Baumann, a state qualifier in pole vault, won the event by clearing 9 feet. She six inches better in an unscored meet at Ripon on March 18, when she topped out at 9-6 and won.

“Grace had some nice shots at 10 feet on Wednesday,” Adamak said.

The 1,600 relay of Harlow Albiero, Natalie Northrop, Eme Loose and Amanda Crass won in 4:32.07.

Port’s returning state champion in the high jump, Peyton Keller, was second, clearing 5-0. Adamak said he kept her competition short since her ankle was bothering her.

Keller competed in New York the weekend prior in a national event. She easily cleared 5-4 at Ripon on March 18.

“She had some nice attempts at 5-6,” Adamak said.

Keller was third in the triple jump with 31-1.

Ada Mueller-Stenz was second in the long jump with a leap of 16-0. Loose was fourth with 14-10. Albiero was second in the 400 in 1:06.07, and Northrup was third in 1:08.04. Mueller-Stenz was fifth in the 55 dash in 7.87. Crass was fifth in the 800 in 2:44. The 640 relay of Keller, Peytan Kinzel, Mueller-Stenz and Loose was third in 1:31.1. Freshman Hadley O’Leary was fifth in shot put with a throw of 32-2.5 in her first meet. Lillian Treadwell was sixth in the high jump by clearing 4-8.

The team has 35 girls with an almost even split between varsity and junior varsity. Adamak likes the team’s chances for a successful season, although he said Kettle Moraine Lutheran might be tough to catch in the new Glacier Trails Conference. The Chargers return a state record-holding 1,600 relay and won the GTC title in cross country.

Port features large boys’ squad

Of 68 Pirate boys, nine are seniors and 27 are juniors.

“The numbers are up to pre-Covid numbers,” coach Mark Pasten said. “I think we will be competitive in the GTC. We need to develop some field event athletes.”

The Pirates won two events at the Raider Invite at Sheboygan North last Saturday.

The 640 relay of Joe Rico, Kalin Mundt, Dylan Helmeid and Kiya Sullivan won in 2:07.37, and Jameson Koebel won the 1,600 in 4:49.18.

Port scored 88 points and finished fourth of 14 teams. Sheboygan North won with 111, followed by Plymouth’s 108 and Sheboygan South’s 91.5.

The team was missing three of its top performers, Da’Vion Igess, ThiLar Goodman and Kade Kintop, who Pasten said would have scored points.

The 1,600 relay of Rico, Sullivan, Aidan Manz and Zeke Rico was second in 3:50.1. Sullivan was second in the long jump with a leap of 18-9.5.

“Kiya did baseball and track his freshman year, then just baseball his sophomore year. This year he is going to just be doing track, and I’m excited to see how much he can improve,” Pasten said.

Koebel was third in the 800 in 2:15.91.

“He had a good offseason of training and is looking to continue the success of his cross country season,” Pasten said.

LeRoy Pinkston was third in the 55 hurdles in 8.71.

Mundt was fourth in the 200 in 26.12. Eyob Sullivan was fourth in the triple jump with 35-1 and Jarek Roman was fifth with 34-11.5. Zeke Rico was fifth in the 400 in 58.28 and Beckett Shuster was fifth in the 1,600 in 5:07.34. Connor Zinuticz was sixth in pole vault at 8-0. Chase Barber was seventh at the same height. The 640 relay of Pinkston, Eyob Sullivan, Mason Schwanz and Roman was sixth in 1:27.48. John Dohrwardt was sixth in the 3,200 in 11:37.44.

Port’s two state qualifiers from last year, distance runner Alex Anewenter and triple jumper Tre’Jon Igess, both graduated.

Pasten said Goodman nearly qualified for state in the 300 hurdles last season. Koebel has a chance to qualify in the 1,600 and 3,200, and the 1,600 relay team has a shot to get to state.

The boys compete Saturday, March 28, in Ripon. Both teams compete Tuesday, March 31, at Sheboygan South.

Grafton girls get off to a good start

Grafton’s girls swapped out one Morgan for another, but the results of its 1,600 relay are similar. The squad of Emily Sewell, Abby Barthelemy, Melanie Morgan — filling the spot of sister Marissa, who graduated — and Cali Tagliapietra won the event in 4:14.96 at the Nelson-Daniels Classic at Whitewater last Friday.

Last year’s team broke the school record and finished sixth at the Division 2 state meet.

Senior Callie Faust, who holds multiple school distance-running records, was second in the 1,600 in 5:27.09 and fifth in the 800 in 2:28.02. She qualified for state in the 1,600 and 3,200 last season, and was on the 3,200 relay that finished third.

Tagliapietra was second in the 400 in 1:01.85 and sixth in the high jump, clearing 4-8.

The 800 relay of Erin Brezovar, Barthelemy, Hailey Godersky and Sewell was fourth in 1:55.21. Sewell was fourth in the 800 in 2:27.39.

The girls finished fifth at the meet, which includes many Illinois teams that started their seasons in January.

The girls’ team has 25 members, fewer than coach Jason Meinen would prefer, and it lost five state qualifiers. But plenty of state experience returns.

“Relays should remain a strength overall, along with Callie Faust in the distance events,” he said. “We may also place a greater emphasis on individual events this season as we continue to build depth.”

Boys return eight state qualifiers

For the boys, the 800 relay of Max Glab, Jack Nelson, DJ James and Seva Belousov won in 1:34.36. James replaces Vinh Ho on a squad that qualified for state last year.

Tyler Heinle was third in the long jump with 20-9.75 after qualifying for state last year.

Hunter Klippel was fourth in the 55 dash in 6.73 seconds.

The boys have 60 on the team, including Jack Marti, who qualified for state in the triple jump and is the returning North Shore Conference champion in the long jump. He and Heinle, Meinen said, “will be quite a 1-2 punch.”

“Our primary strengths will be in the sprints, jumps and relays as we return eight athletes who competed at La Crosse last season,” he said.

Grafton was to compete in Ripon on Tuesday, March 24, and at Homestead on Thursday, March 26.