Tigers to participate in WIAA regional at Wausau West on Wednesday

By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

MARSHFIELD — The buildup is complete, and it is the time of the year that really matters to high school track and field athletes.

The WIAA regionals are set for Wednesday as athletes try to make their way to La Crosse for the 2015 WIAA State Track & Field Championships on June 5-6.

Marshfield will take part in the Division 1 regional Wednesday at Wausau West with the top four finishers in each event moving on to the sectional at Stevens Point on Friday.

The top three in each event at the sectional qualify for the state meet at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Memorial Stadium.

Marshfield senior Tyler Peterson has emerged as one of the best throwers in central Wisconsin. He won the discus and shot put titles at the Wisconsin Valley Conference Meet on May 19 in Wisconsin Rapids with throws of 142 feet, 9 inches and 50-2 ½, respectively.

At the WVC Relays on May 5, Peterson broke a 30-year-old school record with a throw of 50-8 ½ in the shot put.

“We haven’t had that kind of thrower here in quite a few years,” Marshfield boys track coach Denny Goettl said. “He has really taken to the events he is in and put in the effort to do well.”

Another senior, Will Spindler, has been turning out solid performances in his three main events, the 110 and 300 hurdles and the triple jump.

Spindler won the triple jump (42-3) and the 300 hurdles (41.50) at the Wisconsin Dells Invitational on May 15. His triple jump of 41-3 was third at the WVC Meet, and he also placed fourth in both hurdles events.

Calden Wojt is another that stands a chance to move on for the Tigers. He won both the 200 (22.90) and 400 (51.10) with season-best performances at Wisconsin Dells.

“We have a group of gritty young men,” Goettl said. “We have no real superstars, just a group of seniors that have stuck it out for four years. They will do the best they can and will go as far as their efforts will allow them.”

On the girls side for the Tigers, senior Martha Kupfer is looking for another push to La Crosse.

Kupfer, who made state in the 200 as a sophomore and in the 400 last year, won the triple jump (35-7), was third in the long jump (16-7.75), and fifth in the 200 (27.23) at last week’s Wisconsin Valley Conference Meet.

Kupfer was also part of the 1,600 relay team — along with Alexa Aumann, Ashley Holubets, and Dani Bender — that placed second with a season-best time of 4:12.31 at the conference meet.

“The girls really stepped it up,” Marshfield girls coach Dan Akin said. “We were very proud to see three of our relays earn Wisconsin Valley All-Conference Honors. Both of our short relays placed third by only two one hundreds of a second.

“Martha continued her stellar career by winning the triple jump individual championship.”

The 400 relay team of Emma Boson, Angelina Dunomes, Mariah Goeppinger, and Olivia Tierney and the 800 team of Boson, Dunomes, Goeppinger, and Courtney Brown will have their sights set on another solid performance to make their season at least three more days.

(Hub City Times Sports Reporter Paul Lecker is also the publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com.)