Sports

Whitnall Seniors Mentkowski, Heller State Track Bound

They will be joined by freshman hurdler Jasmine Bickerstaff at the state meet in La Crosse on May 31 and June 1. Greenfield junior Robert Hopeful also qualified at Thursday's sectional.

A pair of Whitnall seniors are making sure their high school track careers end on the state’s biggest stage.

Needing to place in the top three of their respective events to qualify for next week’s WIAA Division 1 State Track and Field State Meet, Meredith Heller and Sam Mentkowski erased all doubt by posting victories at the Wisconsin Lutheran Sectional on Thursday.

Heller won the 300-meter hurdles in 46.62 seconds, ahead of Union Grove freshman Alex Goodrich’s runner-up effort of 47.95. Mentkowski, meanwhile, picked up a win in the 400 dash in 50.76, just ahead of Wisconsin Lutheran senior Jansen Van Grinsven’s 50.92.

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The state meet is May 31 and June 1 in La Crosse. Joining the Whitnall senior tandem is freshman Jasmine Bickerstaff, who was the runner-up in the 100 hurdles in 16.03, behind only Franklin junior Melissa Kirchoff’s 15.56.

Greenfield High School’s only automatic state entry was junior Robert Hopeful, who was third in the triple jump with a distance of 42 feet, 1 ½ inches.

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Greenfield freshman Keely Hanley just missed qualifying when she took fourth in the 1,600.

In addition to the top three finishers in each event, the state’s top-eight non-automatic qualifiers also earn state nods. Greenfield Patch will update this story if any Greenfield or Whitnall athletes are among the additional qualifiers.


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