Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com
Published - Friday, May 02, 2008
Boys win home track & field triangular
How much does it mean to win a triangular track & field meet.
A lot, says Tomah High School boys track & field coach Eric Eswein. Especially when the competition is before the home folks.
Twenty points from Derek Storkel in the distances and some big performances in the field events lifted the Timberwolves’ boys to a victory over Holmen and Mauston Tuesday at E.J. McKean Field.
Tomah’s girls finished second. Tuesday’s meet was the second of two triangulars that were quickly scheduled to replace the Earl Gatzke Invitational that was washed out April 18.
“This one was really good for our kids,” Eswein said. “We finally had some nice weather, and they got to compete in front of the home crowd.”
More than a fourth of Tomah’s 78 points came from distance runner Derek Storkel, who won the boys 1,600 and 3,200-meter races by wide margins. Storkel finished nearly 2 1/2 minutes ahead of teammate Josh Butterfuss in the 3200, but Butterfuss’ effort was good enough for second and gave Tomah three critical team points.
The Timberwolves almost had another double winner in Tyler Butzler, who won the shot put by over seven feet with a toss of 49 feet, 11 1/2 inches. He lost the discus by just seven inches with an effort of 113-0. He gave the Timberwolves eight teams points.
“I thought Tyler had a really good day, especially considering how hard we pushed him in the weight room the day before,” Eswein said.
Matt Ferry and Zach Johnson also produced eight team points. Ferry won the triple jump in 41-3 and finished second in the 100-meter dash in :11.71.
“Matt had a great triple jump,” Eswein said. “It’s one of the better triple jumps we’ve ever had from a sophomore.”
Johnson finished second to Ferry in the triple jump (39-2 3/4) and won the 200 in :24.38.
Rhett Monroe and Zurik Adler were Tomah’s other individual winners. Monroe won the 100 in :11.53 and Adler cleared 12-0 in the pole vault.
The Timberwolves also claimed first place in the 400 and 800 relays.
Team scores: Tomah 78, Holmen 70, Mauston 38.
Jumpers lead girls
On the girls side, Tomah’s only two individual wins came in the jumping pits, where Melissa Moravec won the long jump in 17-0 3/4, and Emily Haines won the triple jump in 34-5.
Tomah also won the 400 relay in :51.26 to edge Holmen by .66 seconds.
The Timberwolves had eight second-place finishes and needed every one of them to hold off third-place Mauston. Tomah’s runners-ups were: Moravec, 100, :12.96; 800 relay, 2:00.56; Haines, 200, :27.66; Haleigh Flottmeyer, 3200, 13:02.73; Kaitlin Sweet, discus, 94-1; Haines, long jump, 14-9; Moravec, triple jump, 33-4; Abby Schoonover, high jump, 4-10.
Team scores: Holmen 79, Tomah 54, Mauston 52.
The April 25 trip to the Baraboo Relays was cancelled due to a problem with the lighting and standing water. It’s not likely to be made up.
On May 10, Tomah will host the Bill Schroeder Middle School Invitational, 10 a.m., at E.J. McKean Field.
All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.