LA-CROSSE - A number of area athletes competed at last Friday and Saturday’s WIAA State Track & Field Meet held in La Crosse, bringing home a few state medals and a ton of memories.

In division 2 competition, the Lancaster boys’ 4x400 relay team of juniors A.J. Day, Justin Mara and Kile Jerrett, along with sophomore Hunter Budack, failed to qualify for Saturday’s finals.

Their preliminary time of 3:26.13 on Friday earned them 12th place of 18 competing teams.

Mara also competed in Saturday’s D2 state long jump competition, where his best leap of 18’5.25” earned him 15th place of 16 competitors.

Between the athletes competing at La Crosse from River Ridge and Cassville the D3 competitions had a lot of local flare to them.

River Ridge senior Tom Osterday brought home some hardware, placing sixth in the 100-meter dash with a time of :11.35. He also placed 10th in the 200 with a time of :23.26.

Fellow senior Kevin Christ was the area’s top finisher, taking fifth in the 300-intermediate hurdles with a time of :41.06.

Christ and Osterday also teamed up with juniors Logan Irish and Cody Witzig in the 4x200, where they finished eighth with a time of 1:33.73.

In the D3 girls’ competition, Cassville’s 4x200 relay team of Jenna Friesen, Stephanie Muench, Grace Ballweg and Madeline Bode, placed eighth in Saturday’s finals with a time of 1:48.84, which also established a new school record.

Muench, also placed 13th in the 100-meter dash with a time of :13.09, while Bode was 14th in the 200 with a time of :27.25.

For the River Ridge girls, junior Jordyn Laufenberg placed 13th in the D3 girls’ shot put with her best toss of 33’2.25”, while senior Hillary Taylor placed 19th in the high jump at 4’8”.

WIAA State Meet
(from June 1-2 at La Crosse)
Boys
State participants from Lancaster
Long jump - 15. Justin Mara 18’5.25”. 4x400 -  12. (A.J. Day, Hunter Budack, Justin Mara, Kile Jerrett) 3:26.13.
State participants from River Ridge
100 - 6. Tom Osterday :11.35. 200 - 10. Tom Osterday :23.26. 4x200 - 8. (Kevin Christ, Logan Irish, Cody Witzig, Tom Osterday) 1:33.73. 300 hurdles - 5. Kevin Christ :41.06.

Girls
State participants from River Ridge
High jump - 19. Hillary Taylor 4’8”. Shot put - 13. Jordyn Laufenberg 33’2.25”.
State participants from Cassville
100 - 13. Stephanie Muench :13.09. 200 - 14. Madeline Bode :27.25. 4x200 - 8. (Jenna Friesen, Stephanie Muench, Grace Ballweg, Madeline Bode) 1:48.84.