By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
WAUKESHA - The relay curse hit the Pacelli High boys track and field team again at the WISAA state meet, costing the Cardinals a top five, and possibly a top three, finish.
Pacelli, after the No. 1-seeded 400 meter relay team was disqualified, finished seventh with 52 points.
The 400 relay, comprised of Pete Ziolkowski, Matt Kruzicki, Neil Jurgella and Nate Swenson, were neck and neck with the leaders when Jurgella and Kruzicki handed off the baton outside of the exchange zone.
Lakeside Lutheran and Marshfield Columbus tied for fifth with 55, while Manitowoc Lutheran (56) was fourth and Kenosha St. Joseph (57) was third. Eau Claire Regis finished second (78) and Fond du Lac Springs won the meet with 111 points.
If the Cardinals would've finished at least third in the relay, Pacelli would've moved into third place in the team standings. On several occasions in past seasons, favored relay teams for Pacelli have been disqualified. The Cardinals led the meet after Friday's action with 32 points.
The Pacelli girls finished 10th with 24 points. Chippewa Falls McDonell won the meet with 121.50 points.
Swenson also missed out on individual state titles in the high jump, long jump and triple jump. He was second in the high jump (6-2) to Jeff Davidson of Lakeside Lutheran (6-2), who had fewer misses than the Pacelli senior.
He was also runner-up in the long jump (20-5-1/2). The winner was Nick Wilson of Fond du Lac Springs (21-4-3/4). Swenson was third in the triple jump (42-2-1/4), which was also won by Wilson (43-2-3/4).
"I was a little disappointed with the high jump. I probably should have taken that and I probably should've won the triple jump," Swenson said. "I wasn't expecting to take second (in the long jump). I probably should've taken the other two."
Added Pacelli coach Tim Olson: "I think I'm most disappointed for Nate. He didn't have his best meet."
Greg Snow picked up another runner-up finish, taking second in the pole vault (12-0) to Caleb Turzinski of Wisconsin Rapids Assumption (12-6). The 1,600 relay of Jurgella, Kruzicki, Nick Gross and Justin Anderson finished third (3:37.66).
"The 4x400 ran about as well as they could've run," Olson said.
Jurgella was fourth in pole vault (11-0), Kruzicki took fifth in triple jump (40-4-1/2), Franz Klein finished sixth in 3,200 (10:21.47), Dustin Fahney was sixth in 110 high hurdles (:16.75) and Jordan Wojtalewicz was eighth in shot put (43-2).
"Franz had to drop out of the 3,200 at conference. He was sick, hurt and then sick," Olson said. "To come back and run within one second of his PR (personal record), that was good. He knew what we needed to do."
The 800 relay team of Kim Schulist, Lisa Ksionsk, Cindy Lila and Joy Jacoby finished fourth (1:53.72) to give the girls team its highest finish.
"The competition for the meet was much tougher than I anticipated," Pacelli coach Kate Luebke said. "The girls handled it well and ran to the best of their abilities."
Three individuals earned medals for Pacelli. Laura McCorkell was fifth in the 800 (2:28.53), Kristin Mitchell finished fifth in triple jump (31-11-1/2) and Emily Swenson took fifth in 100 high hurdles (:17.31).
"Kristin competed in four events and although it could be tough to keep focus on each event, she was able to do it," Luebke said. "Laura never gave up in the 800. It's probably the toughest competition she's ever had in the open 800."
The 3,200 relay of Erin Van Hammond, Angela Peters, McCorkell and Katie Hansel finished sixth (10:20.91); the 1,600 relay team of Val Glodowski, McCorkell, Lila and Jacoby was seventh (4:22.68); and the 400 relay of Schulist, Swenson, Mitchell and Ksionsk also took seventh (:54.26).