Area hurdlers are set to break barriers
There hasn't been a sophomore slump for most of the area's promising young hurdlers.
Last season Homestead's Eva Brandenburg, Arrowhead's Rachel Kleinhans and Union Grove's Brooklyn Lamers finished in the top ten at the state meet of the 100-meter high hurdles or 300 low hurdles as freshmen. Among boys, Arrowhead's Logan Hicks and Kyle Janke cracked the top 10 in the 300 intermediates.
A year later all five are back at the state meet. Brandenburg, Kleinhans and Hicks appear to be in the best position to build on last season's showing. All three have qualified in both hurdle events this year after making it in just one last season. All are also high seeds in their races.
The three, who will compete in the Division 1 prelims of the WIAA state meet Friday at UW-La Crosse, are among the area athletes expected to be in the hunt for titles and medals during the two-day event.
Here is the rest of our list. Runners compete in Division 1 unless noted.
Boys
Evan Herrmann, Sussex Hamilton: The Arrowhead Sectional was so tough that the junior took third in the 110s but still is a top six-seed at state. His seasonbest of 14.64, which he ran at the regional, ranks 10th on the all-division honor roll.
Logan Hicks, Arrowhead: After a fourth-place showing in the 300s last season as a freshman, Hicks won Classic 8 titles in both 110 and 300 hurdles and sits in the top 10 of the all-division ranking in both races.
Kyle Janke, Arrowhead: A 10th-place finisher in the 300 hurdles as a freshman, the sophomore arrives at state fresh off his best race of the season. That times (40.55) makes him a No. 11 seed in a very tightly packed field.
Gus Kasun, Marquette:
The senior
Homestead sophomore Eva Brandenburg is the No. 1 seed in the 300-meter low hurdles for the WIAA state track and field meet. Competition will be held Friday and Saturday.
has been peaking during the postseason, first improving his season-best in the 300s to 40.85 at the regional and dropping that time to 40.46 in winning the sectional title. Look for a much better showing than his 21st-place finish of last season.
Carter Maffet, Waterford: The junior is undefeated in the 110s, as well as the 200. His best time of the season (14.64) came at the regional meet and is the best in the state among Division 1 athletes.
Mikey Nugent, Arrowhead: This has been a banner senior season for Nugent, who earned a spot in the high hurdles by dropping his season-best in the race by .26 of a second to 14.78. That is the fourthbest time on the state honor roll.
Jonas Price, Germantown: The junior finished eighth at the Greater Metro Conference meet in the 300s, but he within a couple of steps of Arrowhead's Logan Hicks in the sectional final. He could surprise.
Randolph Slade, St. Francis: The sophomore showed he has another gear or two at the sectional in the 110s when he won in 15.18. That was almost 1 second better that the previous season best (16.03) he ran at the regional. He is the No. 2 qualifier in Division 2.
Damareyon Taylor, Kewaskum: The senior is the No. 1 seed in the Division 2 300s and has dropped his season-best in the event in his last three outings. The 39.37 he ran at sectionals makes him one of five runners in Division 2 to crack the 40-second barrier this season.
AJ Pepin, Hartford: The senior won the North Shore Conference title in the 300s and then won the sectional title with a time of 40.71. His season best of 40.22, which he ran May 13, shows his potential him to outperform his No. 13 seed.
Girls
Rachel Kleinhans, Arrowhead: The sophomore finished eighth in the 100 high hurdles last season. This year she'll compete in the high and low hurdles and with top 10 times in Division 1 for those races, achieving a medal in both events is a real possibility.
Eva Brandenburg, Homestead: The North Shore champion is back at state after an eighth-place in the 300s last year. She made the field in both the highs and lows this time. She owns the state's top 300 time (44.76) and a very strong standard in the 100 highs of 14.98 seconds, which ranks seventh in Division 1.
Madilyn Dogs, Kewaskum: The junior, who also made the field in the high jump, finished ninth in the high hurdles n Division 2 last season but in posting a sectional time of 15.65 showed that she will be in the mix for a higher finish this year.
Lauren Graham, Nicolet: The junior is a first-time qualifier, who claimed the final spot in the 100 highs out of the Arrowhead Sectional with a time (15.26). That ranks 10th in the state for all divisions.
Rebecca Hoffmann, Ozaukee: The sophomore is a two-time qualifier in the high hurdles in Division 3. She has added the 300s to her plate and appears stronger in that race, heading to state with the fifth-fastest Division 3 time of the season (47.74).
Nealee Chiroff, New Berlin Eisenhower: The sophomore ran a personalbest 15.83 in the high hurdles at the Woodland Conference meet, which should make her a contender for a medal.
Brooklyn Lamers, Union Grove: The sophomore has the slowest qualifying time in the 300 hurdles, but she took fifth last year. Don't count out the Southern Lakes champion.
Clare Marchant, Brookfield Control: A two-time qualifier in the 300 hurdles, the sophomore will arrive at state at the No. 9 qualifier thanks to her season-best time of 46.26 at the sectional.
Gretchen McNeal, Germantown: The junior made the field in the 300s last season but didn't advance to the final. This year the outcome could be different. She showed her potential at the sectional when she chopped more than 1 second off her season best, getting it down to 46.09, a time that ranks eighth in the state.
Caitlyn O'Brien, DSHA: The Greater Metro Conference high hurdle champion, who also qualified in the long jump, has lost only one of her starts this season. The senior's season-best time of 14.75 seconds ranks fourth on the Division 1 honor roll and her sectional time was just two-hundreths of a second off that pace.
Kaymin Phillips, Shorewood: The freshman jumped to the top six of the 300 low Division 2 honor roll with her sectional final victory in 46.99.
Kaitlyn Ulalisa, Waukesha West: The junior made the field in both hurdle events but is really hitting her stride in the 300s. She improved her time in that race at the regional and sectional meet, getting down to 46.35, which was good enough for the No. 10 seed.
Ellie Zagel, Slinger: The junior, who qualified for state as a sprinter and jumper last season, has made the field in both hurdle events. Her best shot is the 100 highs where her season best time of 15.44 ranks 14th overall in the state.
SCOTT ASH / NOW NEWS GROUP