By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
Union Grove senior hurdler Alex Goodrich’s dream to qualify for the state track and field championship for a fourth straight season seemed unlikely at best.
Goodrich had two shoulder surgeries last fall and hadn’t gotten clearance to practice or compete in hurdles until last week with the regular season nearly over.
Yet when Goodrich completed in the hurdles for the first time this season at the Borg Invitational Friday May 14 and then at the Southern Lakes Conference Champion-ship Tuesday, May 17, she was victorious in both events.
After winning the 100 and 300 hurdles at the Borg Invitational, Goodrich swept the same events at the Southern Lakes Conference championship with times of 16.22 and 47.55 respectively. Overall the Bronco girls finished fifth with 73 points, while the boys finished eighth with 35 points at the Lakes championship at Badger High School.
“Alex got clearance sooner than planned,” Union Grove coach Mike Mikula said. “Her form looks almost like it’s a new person from last year. She battled shoulder problems last sea-son, so now with the surgeries and recovery, her form looks better than ever.”
Riley McMahon followed Goodrich’s lead by winning the 1600 meter run in 5:11.98.
“Riley was ill on Fri-day and didn’t run at Borg,” Mikula said. “Her winning time in the 1600 was her best of the season and just a few seconds shy of the school record. She also finished fourth in the 3200. To come back like this after being ill says a lot for her stamina.”
Other notable finishers on the girl’s side included Hannah Bryson finishing second in the 100 with a time of 13.25. Jenna Rainey also finished second in the shot put with a season best throw of 34-5. Freshman Terra McMahon rounded out the girls top finishers with a third place time of 27.71 in the 200.
“I can’t say enough about Bryson,” Mikula said. “For her to turn out that time and take second, she was quite happy about that. Rainey’s throw was her personal best and for Terra to finish third as a freshman says a lot about her potential.”
On the boy’s side, Brendan Farmer once again led the way with a second place finish in the 400 with a time of 51.14.
“Brendan ran a great 400 and pulled out a decent time,” Mikula said. “He has been a stalwart for us all season.”
The Broncos also finished strong in the 800 relay. The team of Eric Dean, Brett Knutson, Joe Martinson, and anchor Jake Knuth finished with a third place time of 1:36.94.
“Overall, we had a good day, with some personal bests,” Mikula said. “This was a good sign for everyone going into regionals.”
The Broncos also had a strong day at the Borg Invitational.
Goodrich won the 100-meter high hurdles in 16.94, and then won the 300 low hurdles in 48.54.
Goodrich was one of four Broncos to win events at the event with the girls finishing fourth overall with 93 points, while the boys finished fifth.
Bryson also won the 100 with a time of 13.27. Rainey finished second in the shot put with a throw of 31-9 (shot put, 31-9), while Jackie Bianchi also took second in the jump with a distance of 15 – ¾. Other notable Bronco finishers include Terra McMahon (27.75) and Alyssa Kus (1:05.99), who both took third in the 200 and 400 meter runs respectively.
“Last year Hannah Bryson was slowed shine splints toward the end of the sea-son, but she has been improving every race this year,” Mikula said. “Her goal is to go back to regionals and be strong and healthy like her freshman year.”
On the boys’ side, Toby Robe won the 800 meters in 2:08.95, while Robert Walusay, won the high jump at 5-8. Other notable finishers included Andrew Tompkins’ second place finish in the shot put (39-3) and Mitchell Rybarik’s third place effort in the 3,200 (11:26.13).
“It was good to see Robert throw well and then see Andrew and Mitchell continue to improve as part of our younger runners,” Mikula said.
The Broncos look to build on their improvement Monday when they host a WIAA Division 1 Regional.
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