Sports News April 15th - 20th
Golfers Take First at Hartington Cedar Catholic
by Kelsi Svendsen
Pierce’s varsity golfers got first at the Hartington Cedar Catholic dual on Monday, April 15. The varsity ended with the winning score of 169. Along with a first place finish for the varsity, the first junior varsity team shot a 214, and the second junior varsity team got a 225.
The varsity boys had good scores that got them to the top. Zach Fehringer ended the meet with a 40, placing first. Aaron Hanlin also got a 40, placing second. Matt Luckens shot a 43 on the course. Matt Bruce got a 46 to add to the score. Mason Zimmerer took a 47 at the meet.
The first and second junior varsity teams also had a good showing at the meet. For the first JV team, Bradon Gerdes shot a 50, Drew Fasse 54, Zach Brenden 54, Shane White 56, and Chris McWilliams 59 to bring the team’s total to 214. JV team two included Tyler Kocian with 54, Colin Magdanz with 55, Matt Proffitt with 56, Clay Johnson with 60, and Alec Price with 63 for a team score of 225.
The golf team took the green again on Tuesday in a dual at Battle Creek.
JH Track Competes at Battle Creek
by Noah Fisher
The seventh and eighth grade girls’ and boys’ track teams competed at the Battle Creek meet on Tuesday, April 16.
The seventh grade boys’ team placed third with 104 points, losing to Battle Creek and Norfolk Catholic respectively. The Jays brought home ribbons in 11 events. In the 100-meter dash the Jays had two placers in Collin Tinker and Trevor Guenther, placing first and fourth, respectively with times of 0:12.47 and 0:14.09. In the 200-meter dash Tinker placed first with a time of 0:26.31. Also, in the 400-meter dash the Jays went one-two with Tinker and Guenther, respectively, finishing with times of 1:00.88 and 1:06.93. In the 100-meter hurdles Alex Lindsay received second place with a time of 0:19.6, and in the 195 hurdles Lindsay took first place, crossing the finish line with a time 0:33.21. In boys’ pole vault Aaron Lorberg placed third with a vault of 6’. In the long jump Tinker took another first place ribbon with a leap of 16’10”. In the throws, Taylor Oestrich took first in the shot put with a heave 31’8” and in the discus Cody Brown received fifth with a toss of 59’2.75”. In the relays the Jays took third in both the 4x100 and the 4x400 with times of 1:00.38 and 5:03.31 respectively.
The eighth grade boys’ team finished in fourth place with 58 points, finishing behind Norfolk Catholic, Battle Creek, and Stanton. The Jays had placers in nine events on the day. Walker Raabe took second in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 0:12.16 and 0:25.24, respectively. In the 800 meter run Pierce placed two runners, Brady Simmons and Kyle West, third and fifth respectively, finishing in times of 2:39.91 and 2:46.75. In the high jump Simmons placed fifth, soaring over a height of 4’8”. In the long jump Raabe placed third with a jump of 16’11”, and Raabe also placed second in the triple jump with a hop, skip, and a jump of 34’7”. In the discus Dillon Lubischer brought home first place with a toss of 120’6”. In the 4x100 relay the Jays took third, and in the 4x400 relay the Jays received fifth.
The seventh grade girls’ team placed third with 94 points, just behind Norfolk Catholic and Battle Creek. The Lady Jays had placers in nine events. In the 100-meter dash the girls placed second and sixth with Annie Johnson and Hannah McCrady respectively, finishing with times of 0:14.23 and 0:15.47. In the 200-meter dash Sidney Zimmerer placed first with a time of 0:29.03. In the 400-meter dash Jordan Peitz placed fifth, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:16.04. In the 100-meter hurdles the Zimmerer and Grace Spieker took first and second, respectively, finishing up with times of 0:18.03 and 0:19.40, and in the 195 hurdles Zimmerer and Spieker took first and third, respectively with times of 0:31.93 and 0:33.97. In the high jump three Lady Jays placed, Zimmerer, Peitz, and Johnson: second, third, and fourth, respectively, all with leaps of 4’2” only separated by misses. In the long jump Spieker took first, soaring to a mark of 13’5.25”. In the triple jump Johnson and McCrady placed third and fifth, respectively with jumps of 25’7” and 24’4.75”. In the 4x400 the Lady Jays placed third with a time of 5:22.65.
The eighth grade girls ‘ team placed fourth with 80 points, behind Stanton, Battle Creek, and Norfolk Catholic. The Lady Jays had placers in nine events. In the 100-meter dash Ellexis Dunn and Emily Simmons placed third and fourth, respectively with times of 0:13.82 and 0:14.21. In the 200-meter dash Dunn placed third with a time of 0:28.90. Simmons won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:12.93. In the 100-meter hurdles Hailey Race and Dunn placed fourth and sixth, respectively, finishing with times of 0:18.89 and 0:19.22, and Dunn and Race also placed first and fifth, respectively in the 195 hurdles with times of 0:32.06 and 0:34.10. In the pole vault Ellie Moeller and Haley Wieting placed second and third, respectively with vaults of 7’ and 5’6”. Race and Moeller placed third and sixth, respectively in the long jump with leaps of 13’11” and 13’.75”. The Lady Jays took second in both the 4x100 relay and the 4x400 relay with times of 0:58.28 and 5:03.94 respectively.
The junior high track teams hosted the Pierce High track meet on Tuesday, April 22, and will be in action again on April 30 at Wayne.
Boys’ Golf Competes at Battle Creek Dual
by Noah Fisher
The Pierce High JV and varsity boys’ golf teams participated in a dual with Battle Creek on Tuesday, April 16.
The varsity lost their bout with the Braves with a score of 187-177. The low shooter on the day was Zach Fehringer with a score of 43. Matt Lukens shot a 47. Mason Zimmerer finished up with a 48. Aaron Hanlin completed his day, shooting a 49, and rounding out the varsity scoring was Brandon Gerdes, shooting a 54.
The JV golf team came out on top finishing with a score of 202 to the Braves’ 216. The low score for the JV was a 46 shot by Shane White. Matt Bruce and Colin Magdanz both finished with a score of 51. Zach Brenden shot a 54, and Drew Fasse finished the teams scoring, adding 57 of his own.
The second JV team shot a 226 as a team on the day led by Tyler Kocian, shooting a 52. Clay Johnson shot a 54. Matt Proffitt shot a 59. Alec Price finished up the day with a score of 61.
Varsity low shooter Zach Fehringer said of his team’s performance at the meet, “We played very well for the conditions we were given, but there is always room for improvement.”
The golfers were scheduled to compete next on Saturday, April 20, at Osmond.
Bluejays Fly High at Tom Martin Memorial Invite
By Rachelle Tucker
Pierce High’s track team competed on their home track at the Tom Martin Memorial Bluejay Invitational on Saturday, April 20. Although weather conditions were less than favorable, the Pierce girls’ and boys’ teams both placed second overall in the meet.
The girls’ team had nine athletes who placed in field events. In the high jump, Jaci Brahmer cleared 5’0’’ and claimed second place, Krystina Koepke jumped 4’08’’ and received third place, and Rachel Tweedy cleared 4’6’’ and earned fifth place. Pierce had three placers in the long jump: Allison Koehlmoos received second place with a leap of 15’6. 25’’, Sierra Ronspies earned third place after jumping 14’8’’, and Rachelle Tucker received fifth place with a jump of 14’6. 25’’. Tucker won the triple jump with a jump of 34’7’’. In the same event, Shelby Bretschneider received fifth place after jumping 30’4. 75’’ and Hannah Higgins jumped 29’11. 25’’ and claimed sixth place.
Running on their own track, the girls’ team was successful in the afternoon running events. In the 100 meter hurdles, Katie Atkins received first place after finishing the race in 0:15.8, Briana Polt earned fifth place with a time of 0:16.7, and Maddie Jenkins received sixth place with a time of 0:16.8. Casey Sutherland received second place in the 100 meter dash after clocking in at 0:13.2 and Jacy Bretschneider placed third with a time of 0:13.4. Shannah Unseld ran the 3200 meter run in a time of 13:28.00 and claimed the fourth place medal. Pierce dominated in the 200 meter dash: Sutherland received first place after running the race in 0:27.1, J. Bretschneider earned third place with a time of 0:27.5, Koehlmoos ran a time of 0:28.3 and received fourth place, and S. Bretschneider received sixth with a time of 0:28.9. In the 300 meter hurdles, Atkins earned fourth place in 0:49.8, and Brahmer received fifth place after completing the race in 0:50.2. Pierce’s 4x100 meter relay team comprised of Sutherland, Koehlmoos, Atkins, and Bretschneider received first place with a time of 0:52.3. In the 4x400 meter relay, Pierce earned second place after completing the relay in 4:25.5. The 4x400 team was made up of Brahmer, Tucker, Atkins, and Bretschneider.
The Pierce girls’ track team came in at second with 112 points after seventeen events.
The Pierce High boys’ team competed well in the morning session of the track meet. In the high jump, Lane Rohrich received second place after clearing 5’10’’, Christian Beery finished in fourth place after jumping 5’6’’, and Colten Hintz cleared 5’6’’ and claimed fifth place. Tyler Pettitt placed fourth place in the long jump with a leap of 19’6’’. Also, Pettitt saw success in the triple jump when he received first place with a jump of 41’4.5’’. Michael Fleer placed sixth in the triple jump after jumping 36’10.5. In the discus, Braden Taylor received fourth place with a throw of 130’.
On the track, the Pierce’s male athletes emerged successfully after the running events were completed. The 4x800 meter relay comprised of Austin Unseld, Theisen Ziehmer, Zach Kremlacek, and Caleb Lohrberg received third place with a time of 9:46.2. In the 110 meter hurdles, Trent Spieker claimed first place in 0:15.3, and Myles Sudbeck received sixth place in 0:17.3. Nate Meier earned third place in the 100 meter dash with a time of 0:11.4. Chance Larsen placed fourth after clocking in at 0:11.6, and Dillon Dickey placed sixth with a time of 0:11.8. Aydan Ronspies ran the 400 meter dash in 0:53.9 and received fourth place. In the 3200 meter run, Lohrberg earned fourth place in a time of 11:28.6. Pierce had three athletes who placed in the 200 meter dash: Larsen placed third with a time of 0:24.3, Meier earned fourth place with his 0:24.3 performance, and Dickey received fifth place in a time of 0:24.9. Ronspies earned a third place medal for his 2:09.4 performance in the 800 meter run. Sudbeck ran the 1600 meter run in 5:15.4 and received fifth place. Pierce’s 4x100 meter relay team composed of Meier, Larsen, Spieker, and Dickey received second place after clocking in at 0:45.6. Pierce competed in the 4x400 relay and received fifth place with a time of 4:09. The relay was made up of Noah Zimmerer, Ziehmer, Collin Falter, and Noah Fisher.
Head track Coach Tim Waldner reflected on the daylong competition at the Tom Martin Memorial Bluejay Invitational. He said, “It was nice to see everyone compete since so many of the meets have been cancelled.”
Looking ahead, qualifying track and fielders will compete in the Norfolk Classic on Thursday, April 25, and the teams will also compete in the Midstate meet on Saturday, April 27, at Madison.
