Marshall track & field performs well in first week of action

The Marshall track & field program has hit the ground running in 2024, pun intended. The Cardinals have wasted no time as establishing themselves as a threat in the area.

They kicked off the season by lighting up a Capitol Conference triangular at Waterloo High School on Tuesday, April 9 before heading to Markesan High School on Thursday, April 11 for an invitational. There, the boys took first place with a team score of 192 while the girls finished runner-up with a score of 127.

Starting in the sprints, it became clear the Cardinals were destined for a good day. Junior Max Timpel won the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.72 seconds and also finished runner-up in the 400 meter dash with a time of 54.59 seconds. Junior teammate Brady Stensven was right behind him in the 400 with a time of 54.61.

Elsewhere in the sprints, junior Daniel Nickel nabbed third in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.06 seconds, sophomore Keira Hellenbrand logged a time of 1:08.33 for third in the 400 meter dash, and freshman Paige Colden also earned third in the 200 meter dash with a time of 29.17 seconds.

The Cardinals added two more first place finishes in the distance runs. Senior Jaxon Hornby won the boys 1,600 meter run with a time of 4:56.77 and freshman Tori Justmann was tops in the 3,200 meter run with her time of 13:05.78. Additionally, Hornby finished as runner-up in the 3,200 meter run (11:07.75), and junior Emma Hellenbrand placed third in the 800 meter run (2:44.77).

Marshall’s boys also crushed the hurdles. Sophomore Jackson Reichelt won the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 17.92 seconds and earned third in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 51.18 seconds. A Cardinal still won the 300 meter hurdles, though, as senior Caden Norquay took the top spot with a time of 44.25 seconds. Additional, freshman Jayden Young finished behind Reichelt in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 18.40 seconds.

First place finishes continued to pile up in the relays. The girls won the 4x100 meter relay as Colden and Held were joined by seniors Lizet Lopez-Montes and Sydney Denniston to put up a time of 56.35 seconds. The boys’ team of Klubertanz, Nickel, senior Kody Finke, and sophomore Carter Pettit also won the 4x200 meter relay with a time of 1:40.40. Additionally, Finke, Norquay, Stensven, and Timple teamed up to finish as runner-up in the 4x400 meter relay.

In the field, Nickel and Stensven led the charge with a pair of wins. Stensven won the triple jump with a distance of 40’3” and Nickel was champion of the high jump with a height of six feet flat. Other field highlights included Tori Justman (second, high jump), Lopez-Montes and Held (tied for third in the pole vault), senior Tucker Cobb (second, pole vault), and junior Alexandra Moreth (fourth, discus).

As for the conference triangular at Waterloo two days prior, it was a dominant afternoon for the Cardinals of Marshall. Neither host Waterloo nor visiting Cambridge could hold up as Marshall finished in first place in a whopping 24 varsity events.

Their strong performance was best displayed in the field events with multiple finishers near the top. Sophomore Jacob Dominguez won the boys discus throw with a distance of 109’05”, followed by senior teammates Peyton Gundelach and Carson Grob in third and fourth, respectively. Senior Paige Billig won the girls discus with a throw of 104’08”, followed by junior teammate Alexandra Moreth in second at 103’04”.

Summer Hellenbrand took the top spot in the girls shot put with a throw of 29’10”. Billig and Moreth weren’t far behind in third and fourth, respectively. Grob was top dog for the boys with a throw of 38’7” and Gundelach took third at 37’11”.

Cardinals filled the three top spots in the boys high jump, led by champion Daniel Nickel at 5’10”. Fellow juniors Lucas Christen and Brady Stensven tied for second at 5’2”. Freshman Tori Justmann also won the girls high jump at 4’6”.

Much like high jump, the Marshall boys took the top three spots on pole vault, as well. Senior Tucker Cobb was king at 11’6”, followed by senior Kody FInke at 11 feet flat and senior Brayden Klubertanz at 10’6”.

Both the boys and girls took the top spots in the triple jump, too. 2023 state qualified Brady Stensven won for the boys with a distance of 41’3”, followed by Nickel in second at 39’4”. Junior Ciara Dowdy won for the girls with a jump of 28’8”.

This dominance stretched into the sprints, too. Marshall boasted the two fastest times in the 100 meter dash, led by junior Max Timpel with a time of 11.63 seconds and followed by sophomore Carter Pettit at 11.68 seconds. Senior Wynn Held was fastest for the girls, as well, with her time of 13.72 seconds.

Timpel was fastest again in the 400 meter dash, winning with his time of 54.74 seconds. Stensven was right on his tail in second at 55.09 seconds. Sophomore Keira Hellenbrand won the race for the girls with a time of 1:07.88. The girls also boasted a first place finish in the 200 meter dash as freshman Paige Colden blitzed to a time of 29.16 seconds.

Senior Jaxon Hornby dominated the longer runs, winning both the 800 and 1,600 meter distances. He won the 800 with a time of 2:13.02 and the 1,600 with a time of 4:58.06. Junior Luke Egan finished off Marshall’s distance success by winning the 3,200 meter run with a time of 11:48.32.

Not to be outdone, the Marshall girls also took first in every distance run. Tori Justmann was their champion winning both the 1,600 meter and 3,200 meter runs with times of 6:19.00 and 13:34.05, respectively. Junior Emma Hellenbrand won the 800 meter run with a time of 2:50.69.

The boys and girls were well represented in the relays, as well, with two wins each.

Colden and Held were joined by seniors Lizet Lopez-Montes and Sydney Denniston to win the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 56.10 seconds. The girls also took the top spot in the 4x800 meter relay. Sophomore Paige Hill, Emma Hellenbrand, sophomore Madalyn Weyh, and Justmann teamed up to put up a time of 12:11.73.

As for the boys, the team of Klubertanz, Nickel, Finke, and Pettit won the 4x200 meter relay with a time of 1:40.29. The Cardinals also took the top spot in the 4x400 meter relay as senior Caden Norquay joined Hornby, Stensven, and Timpel to put up a time of 3:47.67.

Marshall’s second week of competition will mirror its first. The Cardinals will compete in another Capitol Conference tri, this time at Cambridge High School on Tuesday, April 16. They’ll be up against the host Blue Jays as well as Wisconsin Heights. To follow, Marshall will head to Deerfield for a mini invitational on Thursday, April 18.