By MIKE BEACOM
of The Gazette
Prior to last weekend's state track and field championships, Stevens Point Area Senior High boy's head coach DuWayne Behnke read a lot of area papers' previews for the meet. Behnke found a number of reoccurring schools papers had picked to win the team title and, to his surprise, SPASH was not a popular choice.
Milwaukee Vincent, Oshkosh North, Madison LaFollete and Racine Park were all favorites to vie for the team championship. But Behnke felt his team was just as strong a competitor as any other squad.
"We thought we had a shot at the title, even though nobody picked us to challenge for it," said Behnke.
After Saturday's events concluded at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the Panthers had surprised everybody but themselves.
SPASH finished with 49 team points, second only to Vincent's 59.
The squad scored team points from a multitude of its athletes.
Sophomore Chris Solinsky won a state title and claimed a second-place finish to contribute 18 of the team's points.
Solinsky ran to a first-place mark in the 3,200 meter run with a time of 9:08:44.
"You always expect the older guys to run a smarter race and not make mistakes," said Behnke. "But Chris, being determined, really ran the smarter race."
Solinsky gained the lead with just over a lap to go and held on to the finish.
"By about the sixth or seventh lap, I could see the lead runner was starting to tire," said Solinsky. "That's when I decided to take him."
Solinsky's, dad, Wayne attributes much of Chris success to his son's work ethic.
"Nothing comes without a lot of hard work," said Wayne. "I've always told him, 'In school, you don't get As without doing the homework.' The same is true with running-you put in the hard work, you reap the benefits. I'm very proud of him."
Solinsky also took second-place honors in the 1,600 meter run. Chris credits his teammates and coaching staff for helping him achieve success at state.
"I couldn't have done any of this without the team and coaches pushing me," said Solinsky.
Ryan Kawski, another sophomore, won the state discuss competition with a throw of 160'04.00".
"It felt like all the hard work in the off-season paid off," said Kawski of his feelings after winning the event. "It was the perfect end to a perfect season."
Like Solinsky, coach Behnke feels Kawski is a more mature athlete than most sophomores and many of his competing peers.
"Ryan has been consistent all year," said Behnke. "He had his best throw to win by two inches on his final throw. He handled the mental pressure very well."
SPASH also took a state title in the 4x200 meter relay, edging out Vincent by three-tenth's of a second.
"We thought we could run with the best teams in the state and we've done it all year," said Behnke of his squad, which included Nate Olson, Chase Kostichka, Ge Vang and anchor Cory Flisakowski. Behnke also gives a lot of the relay team's credit to Ryan Hoffman, who ran with the group throughout the year.
Others contributing to SPASH's success were senior Flisakowski, fifth in the 200 meter dash; senior Josh Kujawa, sixth in the 1,600 meter run; junior Phil Lazarski, seventh in the 110 meter high hurdles; senior Kostichka, eigth in the long jump and junior Chad Erspamer, eighth in the triple jump.
Behnke was very pleased with the Panthers performance at state and thanks his coaching staff of Mark Bohanski, Pat Leahy, Kevin Strebeler and Pete McAdams.
"Our assistant coaches preparation of the athletes was critical in our performance at state," said Behnke. "They played a huge role."