Norskies take on sectional track meet

Members of the DeForest Norskies track and field team will be well represented at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 1 state championship this weekend.

DeForest, competing at sectionals on Friday, May 29, at Verona High School, saw plenty of athletes punch their tickets to state. The boys’ team finished runner-up with 81 team points, while the girls placed 15th overall with eight team points.

Verona won the boys’ sectional with a team score of 104 points, while Holmen won the girls’ sectional with 114 team points.

As a result of the strong performance at sectionals, the Norskies qualified for state in seven events.

Leading the pack during Friday’s sectional was senior Lucas Tanner. The NCAA Division I Furman commit won two individual sectional titles: the 800 meters and the 1600 meters.

In the 800 meters, Tanner raced to a first-place time of 1:55.51. In the 1600 meters, Tanner used a personal-best time of 4:15.04 to secure his second sectional title of the day.

But Tanner won’t be the only Norski representing DeForest at the state meet.

In the 3200 meters, junior Jacob Lafever raced to a career-best time of 9:31.46, placing third overall to punch his ticket to La Crosse.

In the field, senior Emmitt Stegmann used a personal-best throw of 148-11 to place second overall, securing his spot at state this weekend.

Then came Isaac Ziegler, where the senior qualified for state in the high jump, clearing six feet and four inches, placing third overall.

The back-to-back Badger-Large Conference champions will also send two of their relay squads to La Crosse: the 4x200 and the 4x800 relays.

In the 4x200, senior Shane Schroeder, sophomore Logan Swoboda, senior Kyle Scout and senior CJ Galloway teamed up for a third-place finish with a time of 1:28.83, while the Norskies’ 4x800 group — senior Mason Dobbs, senior Wyatt Parker, Jacob Lafever and Lucas Tanner — raced to a second-place finish with a sub-eight-minute time of 7:57.63.

The WIAA state track and field championships will take place from Friday, June 5, through Saturday, June 6, at Veterans Memorial Stadium on the campus of UW-La Crosse.