It’s barely been two weeks, and the JWP track and field team is already breaking records. During their last indoor meet at MSU Mankato on Thursday, April 4, senior Ryan Kronbach snagged two school records in the high jump and the triple jump. Kronbach’s 6’5” high jump broke the previous record of 6’2” held by Chad Mihm in 1994. He also broke his own triple jump record from last season with a jump of 43’2”.
JWP had some tough competition, which included Minnesota Valley Lutheran, St. James Area, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, and Blue Earth Area, which hosted the meet. The girls earned first place while the boys earned second.
JWP’s girls once again showed they were the team to beat, taking first with 86 points, while St. James took second with 60, edging MVL by 58.5. BEA took fourth with 48 while WEM placed fifth with 39.5. The JWP boys found tougher competition in the MVL Chargers, who took first with 115. The Bulldogs took second with 66 points, beating BEA’s 51.5, St. James’s 34.5, and WEM’s 23.
Track Events
There were many firsts for the girls in the events on the track. Katie Olson took the gold in the 200, while MaKenzie Westphal took the top spot in the 1600. The team of MaKenzie Westphal, Ashlynn Wolff, Nevaeh Weimert, and MaKaela Westphal took the top spot in the 4×400 relay. Kwynn Krause took second in the 1600, while Lauren White took second in the 800. Third place finishers were Wolff in the 400 and Olson in the 55-meter dash.
Although none of the boys took first in the track events, they had plenty of seconds and thirds. Ryan Kronbach placed second in the 200, with teammate Daulton Bauer taking third. Bauer also took third in the 55-meter dash. The team of Isaiah Berndt, Memphis James, Bauer, and Kronbach took second in the 4×400.
Hurdlers had a pretty good day as well. Kaden Baker took second in the 55-meter hurdles while Ava Appel took third in the 60-meter hurdles.
Field events
Both teams had a fantastic afternoon in the field events. The girls took the top three spots in the triple jump, led by Nevaeh Weimert with Onikia Herme taking second and Presley James taking third. Katie Olson earned a second in the long jump. Aubrey Weedman took third in the shot put.
The boys had an even better day, taking first in all the jumps. Kronbach’s record days in the triple and high jumps earned him first in both events, while Alex James took first in the long jump. Memphis James took third in the triple jump, while Luke Cahill snagged a second in the pole vault.
The track teams will have the first outdoor meet of the season, starting with a meet at Kenyon-Wanamingo on Tuesday, April 9. They will have their first home meet on Thursday, April 11.
