WIAA state track meet: Wausau West's Brooke Jaworski sets state record in 300 hurdles
LA CROSSE - Brooke Jaworski continues to be a must-watch athlete at the WIAA state track and field meet.
Look away and you might miss a record-breaking performance.
The Wausau West junior established the third state mark that she holds either individually or part of a relay team Friday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium as she posted the state's fastest-ever time in the 300-meter hurdles during the Division 1 girls preliminaries.
Her winning time of 41.62 seconds in the second heat of the event eclipsed the mark of 43.04 set by Milwaukee Riverside's Valerie Thamesin 2013.
"It really means a lot. I think there is a lot more to come for the hurdles for me," said Jaworski, who won her heat by roughly a second and a half. "I'm really excited for the challenge.
"I was really surprised," Jaworski said of her preliminary mark. "I was looking at the national standards and I was striving to be (on the list). I think it will put me somewhere near the top."
Jaworski's time is tied for the 10th fastest for a prep girls athlete this spring, according to performances recorded by athletic.net. What makes it even more amazing is that Friday was only the fourth time she has competed in the event. Her time in the preliminaries topped the 42.34 she ran in Division 1 regional meet in late May, which had been the fastest mark in the state's history.
Fast times at the state meet are nothing new for Jaworski. She set the state record of 53.71 in the 400 last June, breaking her previous mark established two years ago in her freshman year.
She also was part of the Warriors' 1,600 relay, which set a state mark in 2016.
Jaworski ran a 54.04 in Friday's preliminaries in the 400 and is the top-seeded individual for Saturday's finals. She also ran the anchor leg for the Warriors 1,600 relay, which also advanced and is seeded 10th for the finals.
SPASH'S Belson bucks seeding, wins state title
Stevens Point Area Senior High's Liam Belson came into Friday seeded in the middle of the pack of the 24-entry field for the Division 1 boys 800. He finished the race as a state champion.
The senior won the race in 1:53.54, .17 ahead of Rhys Koch of Whitefish Bay. The time also was more than 4 seconds faster than what he posted in a Division 1 sectional meet at D.C. Everest.
He crossed the finish with his arms outstretched and placed them on top of his head as he looked up at the scoreboard that had the times posted
"I wouldn't consider it, like, an upset, but I get why (it would be thought that)," said Belson, whose teammate, Chad Franz, finished 11th. "I had a bad seed but I couldn't allow that to affect my mindset. i just had to come here and be ready to go. This is three years in the making. After my freshman year, this was the goal. I still can't believe it. I ran against some really, really great competitors and the race was just perfect for me."
Panthers' Hamerski takes 2nd in long jump
Trent Hamerski's hamstring injury hampered him in the 100 preliminaries as he finished last in his heat and 24th overall in the field. But he rebounded in his field event.
The Panthers senior, who grabbed at his hamstring at the end of the 100, finished second in the Division 1 long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 5 inches. The jump came on his second attempt.
"It feels good to go into my last high school meet and get at least something on the podium," Hamerski said. "The 100 was really painful, I couldn't even really finish (the race). I just did the best I could (in the long jump) and got a nice jump early on and carried me into the finals.
Other Division 1 place winners
Wausau West's Olivia Bright was seventh in the girls pole vault, clearing 11-6. The Warriors senior finished 14th in the event last June.