LA CROSSE – The Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg track and field went up to La Crosse last weekend ready to leave everything they had on the track. The Zephyrs did not disappoint, and they were rewarded well for their efforts.
    The BSMS girls’ team garnered four state medals and set four tri-op records along the way, while the BSMS boys’ team captured one state medal of their own to highlight a strong team performance at the 2016 WIAA Division 3 State Track and Field Meet held at UW-La Crosse’s Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday and Saturday, June 3-4.
    Sophomore Emma Lawrence placed second overall in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles in 45.63 seconds, and she teamed with senior Payton Bastian and juniors Paige Murphy and Ally Jansen to also place second in the 800-meter relay race in a Benton and tri-op record of 1:46.16.
    Bastian, Murphy and Jansen teamed with senior Lindsey Walton to place fifth in the 400-meter relay in a Benton and tri-op record time of 50.80 seconds.
    Sophomore Brianna Leahy placed fifth and set a Shullsburg and tri-op record with a top toss of 38’9.5” in the girls’ shot put, while Murphy also set a tri-op record by placing ninth in the long jump (16’11.75”).
    “It was great. We PRed in everything. All you can ask for is to come out and do your best. We left it on the track,” said BSMS head coach Paul Raley. “That’s the way you want to end your season! I can’t say enough about this group of girls. They always come to compete.”
    The Lady Zephyrs narrowly missed a spot on the team award stand, finishing in a three-way tie for third-place in the D3 girls’ team standings with Reedsville and Lourdes Academy with 24 points apiece. Cuba City repeated as the state champion with 34 points, and Weyauwega-Fremont came in a close second with 33 points.
    “We graduated a lot of kids from the previous year and we were able to bounce back and score nearly as many points as we did last season. That is a positive for our team and what we’re building here,” added Raley.
    Senior Kyle Pulvermacher competed in the boys’ shot put for the third year in a row and he earned his second career state medal in the event after finishing third with his top career state meet mark of 51’9.5”. The Benton senior also participated in the discus at state for the first time on Friday, finishing 14th with a best toss of 132’1”.
    Senior Joel Fawcett also completed his prep career with BSMS at the state meet, placing 13th in the pole vault with a height of 12’0”.
    Sophomore David Germaine placed 14th in the boys’ 400-meter dash preliminary race (52.47) for the BSMS boys’ squad, which finished tied for 36th in the D3 team standings with six points.
    “I’m very proud of them, particularly our seniors. They were able to end their careers on a very high note,” Raley commented. “I look forward to the future. We have a lot of kids coming back next year, so if we get healthy we can put a run on a top team finish next year.”