Boys
Junior Paul Wisnaskas (8.10) took the start on the day in the 55m hurdles, easily winning his section and advancing to the finals, despite working through fallen hurdles to his right and hand checking from his left. Nevertheless, Wisnaskas earned a preferential spot in the finals, where he flourished to his third fastest time of the season (8.01) in a fourth place finish.
Sure enough, Wisnaskas was not done. Competing in the 600m out of the third to last heat, his 1:30 seed proved shortsighted as his fitness was far beyond what he ran earlier in the year against D/S. Coming through in 26 and his 400 in 55-56, Wisnaskas (1:25.54) held on to a two second win in his heat, and a new TVL #1, a slight personal best as well. Outright, he beat everyone other than the top two from the seeded section, grabbing a bronze medal on the morning. While also in a personal best effort, senior captain Ethan Tetrault (1:33.20) fought through a quick section to compete in the last lap and finish in 30th place.
Sean Wynne (2:43.85) followed suit in the 1,000m. Seeded at 2:47 just inches away from a state-qualifier, his heat was honest and consistent with their pace, leading Wynne well under the standard up through the bell lap. He then powered through to place third in his heat, running a personal best by nearly four seconds and easily earning a Division 4 state qualifier.
Lastly, Wisnaskas (20'-6") was not done as he waited to jump last in the seeded section of the long jump. Heavy legs came from the previous two events, but he managed a strong first jump that held up through the trials. A slight foul on his third jump very likely could have eclipsed 21-feet. Keeping his speed in the last 5 meters, Wisnaskas (20'-10.75") prevailed on his last jump in the finals to close in on 21 feet. An indoor personal best, he improved his school record by one and three-quarter inches while finishing in fourth place overall. His three medal performance earned him Athlete of the Meet honors.
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| Wisnaskas with his soon-to-be-engraved hardware |
Junior Michaela Whiteside (28'-6.75") got the girls squad started in the shot put. Though a strong first throw got her on the board, she failed to reach the required mark on her subsequent throws to be measured. She reached closer with a 30+ foot heave but it was not legal, so she had to settle for 19th place overall.
Riding perhaps the most consistent streak of improvement, freshman Shea Podbelski (5:37.48) came into the meet running a personal best in each of her last four meets. Seeded at her 5:42 1,600m leg in the State Relays DMR, she got off early set on 5:20 pace. At the front of the lead pack, she tucked in behind the leader through the last three laps, waiting to blow her out in the last 150m, once again running a personal best by nearly four seconds. She just missed a top 10 spot, finishing in 11th place in the event.
In the last event of the day for the Lady Lancers, the girls proved ready to compete in the 1,000m. In the first heat, senior captain Ashley Schepis (3:23.74) found herself in early trouble that she could not shake. Getting trapped behind a pack of girls, she waited till the last lap to swing ride to get out of there. A personal best, her efforts got her to TVL #15. In the seeded section, Megan Cross (3:12.92) shattered her personal best by nearly six second to earn her first automatic bid to the Division 4 State Championships. She just missed medaling in seventh place. While out in front, Isabella Pietrasiewicz (3:01.04) played patient in hopes of breaking 3:00. On pace early, she fell off as she passed through into the bell lap. A hard-charging finish missed the barrier but earned her a runner-up medal and a personal best by nearly four seconds. The pair now sit at TVL #5 and TVL #1 respectively.
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