By David Paulsen
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Four athletes from the Burlington High School track and field squads will be competing in the 2013 Track and Field Championships Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, at UW-La Crosse.
For the Demon boys, seniors Mickael Pauly and Max Shenkenberg will be competing in two events each, while senior Audra Weis and freshman Emma Fettig will represent the Demon girls.
All four advanced to state out of the WIAA Division 1 sectional held at Waterford Thursday. The top three Division 1 athletes in each event at sectional advanced to state.
Pauly, a foreign exchange student from Belgium, will compete in the 400-meter run and the 800.
Pauly won the 400 in 50.64 seconds, a season best for him. He was second in the 800 in 1:58.98.
“He’s run strong all year long,” boys head coach Trent Tonn said. “I’ve been fairly impressed with his work ethic. He helped our team out tremendously.”
With his best times not placing him in the top 20 in the state in either event, Pauly will probably need to have personal bests in both events to have any chance to be on the podium at state.
“It wouldn’t surprise me to see him run faster at state,” Tonn said.
Shenkenberg finished second in both the triple jump and pole vault. In the triple jump, he leaped 43 feet 5.75 inches. His best so far this season was 44-03, which is 17th best in the state.
“I don’t think he jumped as well at sectionals,” Tonn noted.
In the pole vault, Shenkenberg cleared 12-09. He is not in the top 20 in state in this event. The top vaulter has cleared 16 feet.
“Max is one of the hardest working kids on the team,” Tonn said. “He does everything we ask of him.”
Tonn added that both Pauly and Shenkenberg are very deserving of this trip to state.
“You hope they end the year with their best performances,” he said.
For the Demon girls, Weis will be returning to state for the third year in a row in the pole vault competition. She won the sectional competition, clearing 11-06. That ranks her No. 6 in the state, but tied for No. 2 in actual height cleared.
“She would be the closest thing we have to a ‘for sure’,” girls head coach Dan Luneau said.
Fettig is the only freshman competing at state in the long jump.
“That’s pretty exciting,” Luneau said.
Fettig’s leap of 16-08.75 at sectional was her personal best and gave her second place. It does not rank her in the top 20 at state, though.
“She’s had a phenomenal year for a freshman girl,” Tonn added.
Luneau said his goal for Fettig at state is to pull off her best jump of the season.
“Go for the experience, have some fun and maybe get some success out of it,” Luneau said of Fettig’s state appearance.
The other Demon athletes who competed at sectional did not advance to state. They were Hannah Anderson (girls 100, seventh), Meta Ehlen (girls 1,600, fifth), Zach Wawrzyniakowski (boys 1,600, sixth), Charles Aguirre (boys 300 hurdles, sixth), Cody Mather (pole vault, tied for fifth), Ross Canales (high jump, seventh), the girls 4-by-100 relay (seventh), the girls 4-by-400 relay (sixth), and the boys 4-by-400 relay (fourth).
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