Hundreds of third- and fourth-graders converged on Menasha’s Calder Stadium May 14 for the annual All-City Grade School Track and Field Wellness Day.
For the students, it was an opportunity to be physically active under the morning sun while socializing with their classmates.
For organizers and supporters, it was a moment to mark the 50th anniversary of the event.
“I am grateful for the positive role that the All-City Grade School Track and Field Wellness Day has played in the City of Menasha’s history for a half century,” Mayor Austin Hammond said. “I look forward to its continued involvement for years to come.”
John Breaker, a former physical education teacher and now the event coordinator, has been involved from the start.
“Anytime you start a new program, there’s going to be some hills and valleys,” he said. “I have been able to wade through the valleys.”
The event was organized by the Menasha Parks and Recreation Department and the Menasha Joint School District. Activities started with a celebrity run that featured school resource officers, the Menasha Bluejays mascot and Pointer, the mascot of the Wisconsin Herd. Police officers and firefighters who participated in the track meet when they were elementary students were also recognized.
Students could choose to run a 50-, 100- or 200-meter dash. Fourth-graders had an additional option of a two-person relay.
Each student also could participate in one of 10 field events:
Silas Huebner, a fourth-grader at Butte des Mort Elementary School, chose to participate in the 100-meter dash and soccer kick. He had been looking forward to the meet since earning a third-place finish in 2025.
“You get out and get to do competition, and if you win, they’re going to announce your name and stuff,” he said. “It just feels good.”
When the event started 50 years ago, organizers tried to mimic a traditional track meet, offering the high jump, long jump, shotput, etc.
“That was our starting point,” Breaker recalled, “but over the years, it was hard to get the kids to practice because they didn’t have access to the high jump or the long jump. The equipment just wasn’t in the grade schools. So, we decided to make it more user-friendly by adding some of those novelty events.”
The field events serve as an alternative to running, or as a supplement to running for students who want to do both.
“We want the kids to come and feel good about being active,” Breaker said. “If you don’t like to run, how about the Hula Hoop? How about jumping rope? How far can you throw a football? How far can you kick a soccer ball?”
The nature of the event also has evolved. At the start, the meet was more competitive. Results were recorded to determine first-, second- and third-place awards, and the school that scored the most team points earned a trophy.
Today, the top performers get their names announced over the public address system but otherwise don’t walk away with anything more than anyone else.
“It was just going in the wrong direction,” Breaker said. “It personally bothered me that we were putting these grade school kids into that competitive mindset, rather than just enjoying participating.”
Elementary schools that participated in the 2026 event were Banta Bilingual, Butte des Morts, Clovis Grove, Fox Valley Virtual, Gegan, St. Mary and Trinity Lutheran.
Many of the students walked to and from Calder Stadium, adding a wellness component.
In previous years, grades 3, 4 and 5 participated in the event. With the fifth-graders now at Maplewood Middle School, scheduling logistics prevented them from continuing the tradition.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @DukeBehnke.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Menasha’s grade school track meet celebrates 50 years of running
Reporting by Duke Behnke, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
