Winning Division 3 regional titles in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions, the Lodi track and field teams got off on the right foot for the postseason, even if the Blue Devils weren’t at their best.
Lodi’s girls’ team won the regional title by half a point, scoring 115 points, compared to 114.50 for Dodgeville/Mineral Point.
It was a bigger spread for the Blue Devil boys, who put up 158 points, with Platteville taking second with 103. In all, Lodi will send 31 athletes to sectionals, slated to take place Thursday at Portage.
“Coming out of the gate, we were a little flat, but we came around in the middle of the meet and showed signs of life,” said Randy Skellenger, head coach for Lodi.
Rylie Wilcox turned in a strong all-around performance, taking second in the pole vault with a personal record 9-0. Wilcox was also runner-up in the 300 hurdles, racing to a time of 48.97, and took second in the 100 hurdles in 17.00 to teammate Olivia Heyroth, who won the event in a time of 16.28.
Lodi dominated the throws on both sides, with Izzy Bahe sweeping shot put (36-6) and the discus (126-9, a top 25 throw in the state). It helped that Lodi was able to advance multiple throwers to sectionals, as Mikayla Dachel took third in the shot put (34-1).
The emergence of Zoe Bahe has also given the Lodi girls a shot in the arm, as the freshman placed second in the 800 run (2:26.80, a PR) in just her third time running the event.
Heyroth ran a PR to win the 100 hurdles, while also taking second in the high jump (5-3, a top 25 leap in Wisconsin) and fourth in the triple jump (33-8.75).
“Our girls were really depleted by illness and injury,” said Skellenger. “To come away with a half-point victory was very satisfying, considering the circumstances.”
Lodi’s boys also had a good day in the throws, with Isaiah Groskopf winning the shot put with a PR toss of 52-3.75, a top 50 throw in the state. Teammate Henry Koeppen was fourth, going 46-6.
Lodi’s Nick Week was first in the discus, with a PR toss of 140-1.
Doing more damage in the field events, Gavin Sargeant won both the triple jump (45-3, top 10 in the state) and long jump (21-6.25, top 50 in the state).
As the only Blue Devil to advance in four events, as a freshman no less, Bennett Nyquist served notice that he’s a track and field athlete to watch. He finished third in both the 110 (15.76, PR) and 300 hurdles (15.76, PR) and the long jump (20-8) and fourth in the high jump (5-10).
Ben Skellenger topped the field in the pole vault, clearing 13-0.
Conference meetLakeside Lutheran’s historic performance (188 points) sent the Lodi boys down to second place, while the Blue Devil girls won a Capitol Conference title.
Lodi was down only four points heading into the final two events in the boys’ portion of the meet, but the Blue Devils didn’t have a 3,200 runner and Lakeside had three that placed.
The Lodi boys totaled 161 points, as the Lodi girls won with 132.5.
Sargeant again won both the long jump (22-5.75) and triple jump (45-3.25). Teammates Bennett Nyquist (21-3.25) and Jacobo Castillo-Rosales (20-1.5) finished second and third, respectively, in the long jump.
Coach Skellenger said Zach Nyquist had a “phenomenal” meet, taking second to Belleville’s Jack Erickson in the 300 hurdles in a PR of 40.16 — the second fastest in the state in Division 3 — and winning the 110 hurdles in a PR of 15.70.
The boys’ 400 relay team of Sawyer Baron, Aiden Groskopf, Mason Lane and Jack Bozacki also won in 44.71.
Heyroth was a triple winner to lead the Lodi girls, topping the field in the triple jump (34-2, PR), long jump (5-2) and the 100 hurdles (16.07, PR) and taking second in the 300 hurdles (49.26, PR).
Izzy Bahe shined again in the throws, winning the discus with a career-best fling of 127-10 and the shot put (36-11, PR). Meanwhile, Zoe Bahe won the 800 run in a PR of 2:31.45, at the time a PR for her.
“She is really coming along late in the season,” said coach Skellenger.
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