A late surge by the Neenah girls track and field team solidified the program’s second consecutive Fox Valley Association title May 18 at Lawrence University.
The Rockets leapfrogged Appleton North late in the meet for the team title thanks to a strong overall showing plus a pivotal triple jump victory by Celia Gentile to finish with 153.5 points. North finished with 141.5 points with Oshkosh West third (98.5).
“They should be proud of themselves,” Neenah coach Kelly Ellington said. “They put in the work and they did preseason work, and we are so lucky to have a well-rounded team. So we have someone [scoring] in all the different areas. We have good leadership and all the different areas that comes from within, and a fantastic group of coaches that work together every day to bring ourselves to our best. So I’m so proud of the athletes and the whole team.”
Kimberly won the boys meet in less dramatic fashion, totaling 145 points with Fond du Lac second with 103. It was the ninth conference title for Kimberly in the past 10 seasons, not counting the COVID year.
Gentile, Severson shine for Rockets
Gentile, a junior, won the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 5.5 inches and was second in the 100 (:12.254 seconds) and third in the 200 (:25.18).
But it was her first-place finish in the triple jump (38-4) that gave Neenah the critical 10 points it needed to overtake Appleton North late in the meet.
“We’re definitely really excited and we have a couple of teammates who are really, really excited,” Gentile said. “I feel like this gives us an extra boost of confidence going into regionals and sectionals. But I think we’re all going to go out there and do our best.”
Emma Severson was first in the shot put (48-2) and the discus (153-11) for the Rockets. Neenah also got great production from its relays, with the 800 (Savannah Wendrick, Brynn Fox, Molly Snider, Kobi Meyer) taking first with a time of 1:46.64 along with the team’s 3,200 relay (Elsa Gruber, Elise Braaten, Lizzy LaPlant, Anna Benthein) finishing first with a time of 9:44.2.
Izzy Malloy (800, 2:19.0) and Sam Zilm (1,600, 5:05.88 and 3,200, 10:57.29) also took second for Neenah, along with the 400 relay team of Fox, Snider, Meyer and Kate Lenninger in 49.62 seconds.
Those points helped in holding off a stellar Appleton North effort highlighted by titles from Eva Busch in the 1,600 (5:02.04) and the 3,200 (10:55.73) along with first-place finishes from Ashley Parrish (100, :12.252), Ava Helmbrecht (800, 2:18.54), Isabel Parrish (300 hurdles, :45.60) and the team’s 1,600 relay team of Ashley Parrish, Isabel Parrish, Jada Ellis and Sophia Busch (4:00.76).
Severson, who reached the state meet last spring in both throws to punctuate a breakout freshman campaign, said Neenah has the ability to generate points from anywhere on the track and in the field events.
“We need points anywhere we can,” she said. “And I think what helps us win is that we’re a very diverse team. And we have winners in a lot of events. I just go out and throw my number and I know what I can do and what I’m capable of, so I do it for myself and for my team.”
Kimberly’s depth key in securing boys team crown
Kimberly won two events in its championship victory, both by senior Gavin Salzmann, who earned gold in the 1,600 (4:26.39) and the 3,200 (9:45.53).
The Papermakers’ outstanding depth overwhelmed the rest of the FVA field, with the team securing six second-place finishes. That included Tyler Hinn in the discus (143-4), Spencer Pendleton in the 100 (:11.08), Alejandro Pagan Vega in the 200 (:22.38), Turner Behm in the 800 (1:59.24), Adam Bleck in the 1,600 (4:30.5) and the team’s 800 relay team of Pendleton, Owen Handschke, Alex Lom and Pagan Vega (1:29.83).
“I’m beyond proud,” Salzmann said. “Our distance guys obviously showed up. Our sprints showed up. Our throw guys showed up. Our freshman Titus [Finley] got third in the discus. It’s a team effort. It was great.”
Kimberly’s banner day was perhaps a bit of a surprise to head coach Steve Paske.
“I am very proud of the boys in the way they came out and competed today,” Paske said. “We were not feeling terribly confident coming in. It’s been a struggle of a season. I think a lot of guys had not seen personal bests or top performances to this point. So for us to come out and have this kind of day, it was just fantastic. And the kids deserve all the credit in the world for competing well. It was awesome. You can’t put that kind of point total unless you’re getting it from all different areas.”
Fox Valley Association Championships
GIRLS
NEENAH 153.5, APPLETON NORTH 141.5, OSHKOSH WEST 98.5, KAUKAUNA 93, KIMBERLY 86.5, HORTONVILLE 79, FOND DU LAC 25, OSHKOSH NORTH 13, APPLETON EAST 10, APPLETON WEST 2
100: 1, Ashley Parrish AN :12.252; 2, Celia Gentile NEE :12.254; 3, Kayana Turner OW :12.60. 200: 1, Kylie Triebold OW :24.99; 2, Ashley Parrish AN :25.00; 3, Celia Gentile NEE :25.18. 400: 1, Kylie Triebold OW :56.14; 2, Hannah Huza HORT :58.99; 3, Sophia Busch AN :59.42. 800: 1, Ava Helmbrecht AN 2:18.54; 2, Izzy Malloy NEE 2:19.00; 3, Hannah Huza HORT 2:19.31. 1,600: 1, Eva Busch AN 5:02.04; 2, Sam Zilm NEE 5:05.88; 3, Ava Helmbrecht AN 5:08.61. 3,200: 1, Eva Busch AN 10:55.73; 2, Sam Zilm NEE 10:57.29; 3, Hailey Falbo HORT 11:06.12. 100H: 1, Sydnee Nelson OW :14.51; 2, Isabel Parrish AN :14.95; 3, Camille Phillips OW :15.52. 300H: 1, Isabel Parrish AN :45.60; 2, Jenna Kinas KAU :46.25; 3, Carly Poggemann KIM :46.85. 400R: 1, Oshkosh West (Kayana Turner, Samantha Panske, Emma Liebergen, Sydnee Nelson) :49.06; 2, Neenah (Brynn Fox, Molly Snider, Kobi Meyer, Kate Lenninger) :49.62; 3, Kaukauna (Madison Koschnik, Addison Banaszynski, Addison Clark, Aubrey Lensmire) :52.02. 800R: 1, Neenah (Savannah Wendrick, Brynn Fox, Molly Snider, Kobi Meyer) 1:45.16; 2, Appleton North (Nora Thornton, Cayden Madlock, Maddie Loken, Emily Thompson) 1:46.64; 3, Hortonville (Jayla Rades, Madison Werner, Kalisa Peppler, Addison Drobnick) 1:48.51. 1,600R: 1, Appleton North (Ashley Parrish, Isabel Parrish, Jada Ellis, Sophia Busch) 4:00.76; 2, Kimberly (Carly Poggemann, Morgan Cutler, Chezney Brittnacher, Madison Krueger) 4:05.31; 3, Kaukauna (Isabelle Maass, Jenna Kinas, Hattie Mader, Kayla West) 4:05.67. 3,200R: 1, Neenah (Elsa Gruber, Elise Braaten, Lizzy LaPlant, Anna Benthein) 9:44.20; 2, Appleton North (Audry Dehlinger, Sophia Scherwinski, Aeryn Weber, Sophia Busch) 9:51.82; 3, Kimberly (Claire Paffel, Mara Meyer, Aleah Karls, Morgan Cutler) 10:00.72.
PV: 1, Asha LyBoualong KAU 11-3; 2, Alena Lewis HORT 11-0; 3 (tie), Resa Goethel NEE and Kaylee Skarda KIM 9-9. LJ: 1, Celia Gentile NEE 19-5.5; 2, Ashley Parrish AN 18-10.5; 3, Emma Liebergen OW 18-2.75. TJ: 1, Celia Gentile NEE 38-4; 2, Emma Liebergen OW 37-7.5; 3, Kayana Turner OW 36-10.25. HJ: 1, Madison Koschnik KAU 5-3; 2, Annabel Schneider KIM 5-2; 3, Norah Eidahl HORT 5-1. Shot: 1, Emma Severson NEE 48-2; 2, Audrey Myers KIM 38-6; 3, Lexington Davis NEE 37-5.75. D: 1, Emma Severson NEE 153-11; 2, Theresa Behnke KIM 133-10; 3, Misty Borchert KAU 126-4.
BOYS
KIMBERLY 145, FOND DU LAC 103, APPLETON NORTH 91, OSHKOSH WEST 90, APPLETON EAST 65.5, NEENAH 62, HORTONVILLE 51, OSHKOSH NORTH 48, KAUKAUNA 33, APPLETON WEST 13.5
100: 1, Jamare Scott ON :10.90; 2, Spencer Pendleton KIM :11.08; 3, Dylan McDonald OW :11.11. 200: 1, Ethan Kolb FDL :22.35; 2, Alejandro Pagan Vega KIM :22.38; 3, Joey Ware OW :22.65. 400: 1, Carter Crowe OW :49.63; 2, Alex Dedecker OW :49.94; 3, Birk Kozlowicz AE :50.92. 800: 1, Cade Mansfield HORT 1:58.96; 2, Turner Behm KIM 1:59.24; 3, Adam Bleck KIM 2:00.31. 1,600: 1, Gavin Salzmann KIM 4:26.39; 2, Adam Bleck KIM 4:30.50; 3, Graham Piette KIM 4:31.10. 3,200: 1, Gavin Salzmann KIM 9:45.53; 2, Jonny Golke FDL 9:58.30; 3, Bennett Scherrer KAU 9:58.80. 110H: 1, Gio Gonzalez FDL :14.91; 2, Abiatar Massingue AE :15.19; 3, Owen Fox NEE :15.33. 300H: 1, Mason Henschel FDL :39.80; 2, Owen Fox NEE :39.96; 3, Alex Lom KIM :40.70. 400R: 1, Oshkosh North (Dalton Clark, Brendyn Sawall, Evan Auler, Jamare Scott) :42.78; 2, Fond du Lac (Ben Kolb, Jaaziel Allen, Karter Osinski, Ethan Kolb) :43.49; 3, Hortonville (Greyson Rankin, Jacob Willner, Calen Plamann, Walt Pitzner) :43.75. 800R: 1, Oshkosh North (Dalton Clark, Brendyn Sawall, Evan Auler, Jamare Scott) 1:29.37; 2, Kimberly (Spencer Pendleton, Owen Handschke, Alex Lom, Alejandro Pagan Vega) 1:29.83; 3, Hortonville (Greyson Rankin, Jacob Willner, Calen Plamann, Walt Pitzner) 1:30.10. 1,600R: 1, Appleton East (Birk Kozlowicz, Preston Schefe, Brady Koplitz, Allan Massingue) 3:28.86; 2, Oshkosh West (Carson Choinski, Carter Crowe, Alex Dedecker, Noah Cardinal) 3:29.63; 3, Kaukauna (Holden Smith, Aiden Ferrier, Cole Smith, Jacek Beyer) 3:29.92. 3,200R: 1, Appleton North (Elias Martinez, Jeremy Clark, Lukas Nahm, Jacob McGinn) 8:11.85; 2, Appleton East (Liam Krainik, Holden Poole, Auden Winkel, Louie Mandich) 8:13.25; 3, Kimberly (Ellis Karls, Turner Behm, Caleb Dorsey, Braylon Hemmersbach) 8:26.59.
PV: 1, Colden Searles OW 13-0; 2, Dalton Phelan FDL 12-6; 3, Jacob Fiedorowicz KIM 12-0. TJ: 1, Collin Hanson AE 45-6; 2, Aaden Gorenc AN 43-1.5; 3, Simon Kairu AN 42-4. LJ: 1, Adrion Rogers AN 21-7.5; 2, Oliver Peterka NEE 21-5; 3, Alejandro Pagan Vega KIM 21-3. HJ: 1, Liam Otterson OW 6-2; 2, Abram Daniels HORT 6-2; 3, Keagan Wilkinson HORT 6-0. Shot: 1, Tyvon Pate FDL 55-11; 2, Hunter Meyers KAU 54-10; 3, Eli Janssen KIM 52-2.25. D: 1, Andrew Oehler ON 156-10; 2, Tyler Hinn KIM 143-4; 3, Titus Finley KIM 141-11.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Neenah, Kimberly secure FVA track and field team titles
Reporting by Ricardo Arguello, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
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