Local track teams set to brave the outdoors By MIKE KEMMETER of The Gazette After winning the Wisconsin Valley Conference indoor championship, the Stevens Point Area Senior High boys track and field team is anointed the favorite to take the outdoor title. The Panthers, who coach DuWayne Behnke said is the deepest he's had at the school, will find themselves battling Marshfield and D.C. Everest for the WVC outdoor crown. "I'm sure people may be gunning for us and looking for what we're going to do," Behnke said. "We're going to go in with a business-like approach. "Everything starts at zero. We're not going to take it lightly by any means. Marshfield and D.C. Everest are good teams. We're going to consider ourselves the underdogs." One reason the Panthers won the indoor title is the strength of their field events. Travis Laird, Chase Kostichka, Steve Baumhofer, Chad Ersparmer and Ross Adamczak will compete in the various jumping events, the long, triple and high jumps. Rick Trzebiatowski will contribute points in the pole vault and Robb Kolodziej and Adam Dow will score points in the shotput and discus. On the track, Cory Flisakowski, Nate Olson, Bobby Burtley and Ryan Burhite will be the team's top sprinters. Aaron Huser and Phil Lazarski are the team's hurdlers. Josh Garbe, a senior, is the team's top distance runner. He's joined by freshman Chris Solinsky, Nate Hurst, Kyle Patoka and Owen Schuh. "Right now you have to get through this portion of the season and get to the postseason healthy," Behnke said. We want to get through healthy and make sure everyone's peaking. The Panthers have several returnees who made it through the regional and sectional rounds and to the state meet. Garbe finished third in the 800 meters at state last year. "It's again, who has the best race that day. We need to make sure we do our homework so people are peaking at the right time," Behnke said. "If they have a P.R. (personal record) and they don't make it, so be it. We want to get as many guys down to state as possible." Pacelli The Cardinals hope to move up in the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference standings this season and the jumping events will play a big part if Pacelli leaps into the top two. Seniors Nate Swenson and Matt Kruzicki provided the majority of the team's points in the indoor season in the long jump, triple jump and high jump. "We have very good jumpers," Pacelli coach Tim Olson said. "They're going to be huge for us, I think, at the bigger meets." The Cardinals have strengths in the other field events too, with junior Greg Snow in the pole vault and junior Jordan Wojtalewicz in the shotput and discus. Swenson has already qualified for the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association state meet in the high and triple jumps while Wojtalewicz is in the shotput and Snow qualified in the pole vault. On the track, senior Franz Klein anchors the distance events. He has already qualified for the state meet in the 3,200-meter run and Olson hopes he can qualify in the 1,600 as well. Senior Neil Jurgella qualified in the 100 meters. The Cardinals will focus on a pair of relays, the 400 relay and the 1,600 relay. Seniors Pete Ziolkowski, Jurgella, Justin Anderson and either Swenson or Kruzicki will team on the 400 relay while Jurgella, Kruzicki, Anderson and senior Nick Gross will combine for the 1,600 relay. The Cardinals may pick up some points in the hurdles with junior Dustin Fahney, who Olson said has been a surprise. "That was an area that I didn't know if we'd be able to do anything," he said. Olson said the Cardinals are in the mix with Eau Claire Regis and Chippewa Falls McDonell for the top three. Pacelli was third a year ago. "We're at least where we were last year if not better," Olson said. "I don't know how we'll stack up against Eau Claire Regis and McDonell. We don't see them at all (until the conference meet). "It will be between the three of us. I know we'll score some points but I don't know if we'll be able to counteract. They're pretty deep." Amherst The Falcons are looking to take another step toward the top of the Central Wisconsin Conference's large division. "We're going to be a lot better than last year," Amherst coach Scott Rassbach said. "We have more sprinting depth and we have depth in the distance running." Seniors Dan Ehr and Jonathan Bronk will lead the way in the distance events along with sophomore Jordan Selbo. In the sprints, senior Eugene Uhl and junior Nate Peplinski return. Freshman Philip Konkol, who won the 100 and 200 meters at the Amherst Invitational Tuesday, joins the team along with junior Dustin Stuczynski. Sophomore newcomer Tim Orlowski will compete in the shotput and discus as well as the high jump. In the conference race, Wittenberg-Birnamwood is the favorite, having won the meet all four seasons Rassbach has been at Amherst. "It's still too early to say, but W-B is good," Rassbach said. Weyauwega-Fremont and Bonduel are also among the conference's top teams, he said. "I think we'll be behind those three," Rassbach said. "We're creeping up on them. I'm pretty optimistic with the direction we're going." Almond-Bancroft In the program's third year of existence, the Eagles are hoping to take another stop in the building process. After finishing in last place in the program's first season and in sixth place a year ago, A-B is looking to crack the median point in the CWC small division meet. "We have a lot of depth. There's more competition and we have more people in more events," A-B coach Rodney Wedig said. "We're hoping to get in the top half in the conference. Hopefully we'll advance some kids on to sectionals." Leading the way are senior Nick Sanchez and juniors Mike Johnson, David Danforth and Ryan Firkus. Sanchez competes in the sprints and shotput, Johnson in the 400 and 800, Danforth in the distance events and Firkus throws the shotput and the discus. Adding depth are sophomore Mike Horst in the middle distance and six freshmen. In the conference meet, Wedig said Wild Rose is the team to beat. Rosholt and Port Edwards are other teams to watch, he said. Rosholt Senior Rob Cherek and junior Luke Lane lead the way for the Hornets, who are shooting for at least a second place finish at the CWC small meet. The duo, who both competed at the state meet a year ago, are also eyeing a return to La Crosse and the state meet. "Maybe we can pull enough people together to finish second in the conference," Rosholt coach Mike Trzebiatowski said. "Overall, trying to get second in conference would be the ultimate goal. Anything above that is gravy." Cherek competes in several different areas - the hurdles, pole vault and in relays. Lane focuses on the long sprints and may move up to the 800 meters, where he ran a 2:02 split for the 3,200 relay at state last year. "Those two are our mainstays," Trzebiatowski said. The Hornets will look to seniors Pat Knudson (distance), Bob Omernik (distance) and Joel Skornia (middle distance); juniors Nathaniel Miller (hurdles) and Willie VanDeYacht (distance), as well as several sophomores and freshmen to score points too. "We'll do some battles in some other events," Trzebiatowski said. In the conference, Wild Rose defending champions and Trzebiatowski said they have a strong team again this year. Iola-Scandinavia will be in the mix too, he said. Trzebiatowski would like to put together a 3,200 relay team with hopes of advancing to the state meet. Cherek and Lane may concentrate on individual events, he said.