WIAA STATE GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD MEET PREVIEW
The WIAA state track and field meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, as athletes converge on La Crosse to compete for individual and team titles. Events are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday with Divisions 2 and 3, followed by Division 1 beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Here are 25 girls track athletes from the Milwaukee area who are poised for strong performances at UW-La Crosse's Veterans Memorial Stadium:
Ella Anschutz, fr., Muskego
Anschutz heads into her first state meet as the top seed in the Division 1 1,600-meter run. She'll also be a podium contender for the 3,200 as the fourth seed.
Anisa Barnett, so., Homestead
Barnett has the third-best seed distance in the D1 triple jump of 37 feet 8 inches. Barnett finished fifth as a freshman with a best jump of just over 38 feet.
Eva Brandenburg, jr., Homestead
Brandenburg captured the D1 300 hurdles title last season and returns as a favorite to repeat. She also will look to improve on her fifth-place finish in the 100 hurdles.
Charley Brinks, jr., Menomonee Falls
Brinks just missed out on qualifying for the 100 final in D1 last season, but she's not only back as a podium contender in the 100, she also qualified for the 200 with a third-seeded time of 25.14 seconds.
Angela Dale, jr., Nicolet
Dale will make an appearance at state in the 200 right next to Whitefish Bay's Lola Kolawole in the third preliminary heat. She qualified with a time of 25.48.
Noelle Junig, sr., Muskego
Junig qualified for both the 1,600 and 3,200 in D1 meet last season, but this year she'll look to just improve on her sixth-place finish in the 3,200.
Rachael Kleinhaus, jr., Arrowhead
Kleinhaus finished eighth in the 100
hurdles and ninth in the 300 hurdles last season and qualified for both again.
Lily Kriegel, jr., Whitefish Bay
The local names in the D1 distance events continue with Kriegel, who is the No. 4 seed in the 1,600. Five of the top six seeds in the event are from the Milwaukee area, including Kriegel, who finished ninth in the 1,600 and eighth in the 3,200 last season. She also qualified again in the 3,200.
Lola Kolawole, sr., Whitefish Bay
Kolawole will have a busy weekend, running in the D1 100, 200 and 400 and competing in the long jump. Kolawole was a two-time visitor to the podium last season in the 100 and 200 as the
state runner-up.
Eva Kuehn, jr., Wisconsin Lutheran
The Milwaukee area has a few favorites to win the 1,600 in D1 and Kuehn is one of them. Her time of 5:01.03 earned her the second seed. She's also the seventh seed in the 3,200. Kuehn finished 22nd in the 1,600 and 14th in the 3,200 last year.
Paige Kurlinski, so., Ozaukee
Kurlinski enters the D3 shot put as the top seed with a throw of 39-10, almost 9 inches better than the title-winning toss last year. Her throw of 38-11⁄4 earned a fifth-place finish last season.
Nevia Levenhagen, jr., Waukesha West
Levenhagen qualified in the D1 100, 200 and the triple jump, which is up for grabs with the departure of three-time champion Jaiah Hopf from Wisconsin Lutheran. Levenhagen is seeded second in the triple jump with a leap of just over 38 feet, setting a school record in sectionals.
Clare Marchant, jr., Brookfield Central
Marchant was 0.28 of a second away from qualifying for last year's D1 300 hurdles final. She has qualified again as one of six athletes to run a sub-45second time of 44.88.
Delea Martins, sr., Shorewood
The D2 state champion in the 100 and 200 and runner-up in the 400 two seasons ago is healthy and ready to regain her crowns. Martins will be trying for the elusive sprint triple crown that she just missed out on as a sophomore. The North Carolina commit is the top preliminary seed in each race.
Charlize-Trinity McKenzie, fr., Cedarburg
One of the freshman phenoms making her first appearance at state is McKenzie, who could be a sleeper in the D1 400 and a real contender in the 800, where she's the second seed with a time of 2:16.90.
Korynne Moga, jr., Homestead
Iowa State commit Brooklyn Sandvig is a heavy favorite in the D1 400, but Moga had one of the three qualifying times that were under 58 seconds and could
challenge Sandvig.
Victoria Okoro, sr., Dominican
Okoro will be chasing a D2 triple jump title as the top seed. Her jump of 34-13⁄4 put her in 13th place last year. This year her jump of 36-7 was 3 inches better than Brown Deer's Mikayla Jones for the top seed.
Kaymin Phillips, so., Shorewood
Phillips made an impact in the relays during Shorewood's D2 team title run last season. This year she'll compete in the hurdles events and has a legitimate chance to grab a medal in both.
Meghan Schultz, sr., New Berlin West
The UW-Green Bay basketball commit will be chasing a pair of D2 titles as a thrower. She captured the shot put crown last season and comes into this year's meet as the top seed in the shot and the second seed in the discus.
Summer Schuster, sr., Slinger
The future Tennessee Volunteer is the D1 third seed in the 1,600 and sixth seed in the 3,200. She finished eighth in the 1,600 last season and took third in the 3,200.
Regan Scott, jr., Brookfield East
Scott is one of the six top seeds with a sub-45-second qualifying run in the D1 300 hurdles. She'll face off with DeForest senior Anna Szepieniec, last year's runner-up, in a preliminary heat.
Hope Stangel, sr., Wauwatosa East
Stangel was a part of the three-way tie for second place at 12 feet in the D1 pole vault last season behind recordsetting vaulter Peyton Berryman of Homestead. Her vault to get the second seed this year? 12 feet on the dot.
Kate Tarrence, sr., Wauwatosa East
Tarrence is tied for the third seed in the D1 high jump with a height of 5-3 and could find herself in the thick of the medal chase.
Ayden Yee, sr., Franklin
Yee returns to the D1 high jump after a tie as runner-up last year with a jump of 5-2. Her qualifying jump of 5-4 would've put her in a tiebreaker to win the top spot a year ago.