This past weekend, the Blue Devils competed in the Group 4 State Championship, where they claimed fourth place, achieving some huge personal bests and advancing nine athletes to the Meet of Champions.
On the first day of the meet, the team started off with a combination of both track and field events. In the field, Noah Rubenstein got fifth in the shot put, throwing a huge personal best of 54’6”, easily qualifying him for the MOC. Lincoln Meyers added to the team score by placing fourth in the javelin, with yet another personal best of 170’2”. Claiming a spot of his own for the MOC.
Talking in respect to his record-breaking throw, Rubenstein said, “Without Coach Haimann and Anderson, I wouldn’t have been able to make the little adjustments in between throws that allowed me to throw something that big.”
Starting off the track events would be senior Tyler Pietrewicz, who was able to qualify for the MOC in the 400m hurdles with a time of 54.79, which also happens to be the third fastest time in WHS history.
Next up was senior Ryan Daly, who finished third in the 800m, coming less than half a second away from first place, in a time of 1:53.87. This time would earn the Blue Devils yet another spot in the MOC.
Although Daly was disappointed about not coming away with the win, he still has his eyes set on the future, looking for another MOC title. He said, “I know that I have just as much of a chance to win it as the other guys do, the key for me will be to stay patient all race and really push myself through the last 100 meters.”
Moving on to the second day of the meet, a 4x800m team of seniors Cole Varner, Ryan Daly, Kaleb Stoeckmann and junior Brody Toriello were able to achieve first place, with a time of 7:51. Not only was this a commendable performance, but it also gave them an automatic qualifier for the MOC.
Head coach Chris Tafelski said, “Our depth as a team is something that everyone recognizes and respects us for. We may not have the four overall fastest guys in a certain event, but each year we have several guys who when put together can run a really fast relay split.”
Finishing off the day would be senior Andrew Geocos, who cleared 13 ft in the pole vault. Claiming him 4th place and becoming yet another MOC qualifier for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils look to finish off the state tournament strong this upcoming Wednesday at the Meet of Champions.
