Notes: Kewaunee County athletes at state

Algoma’s Williams gets D3 medal: Algoma sophomore Katelyn Williams placed fifth in the D3 girls discus to earn a medal in the event for a second straight year.

She missed out doing the same in the shot put on Friday, when she was also trying to balance running a leg in the 400 relay.

“When my events overlap I start to stress out,” Williams said. “They pushed me ahead and then I rushed.”

Menominee Indian senior Ania Smith also placed third in the D3 girls discus.

Meanwhile, the Packerland Conference had a pair of girls reach the state podium in the D3 girls pole vault. Sevastopol junior Demi Ploor placed second, while Algoma sophomore Elizabeth McClure placed fifth.

VanGoethem storms way back to D2 podium: Kewaunee senior Abby VanGoethem placed fifth in the 300 hurdles to earn a D2 state medal for a second consecutive year.

After placing sixth in the triple jump to become the Storm’s first place-winner since 2005, VanGoethem was excited to make a return to end her career, which saw her advance the two state the past two years in three events.

She was the anchor of a Kewaunee team that won a third straight Packerland Conference title this year and win a regional title for the first time.

“It means a lot to me to be able to represent Kewaunee,” VanGoethem said. “The community has supported me the entire time, and I really like representing the whole town by being up on the state podium.”

Spartans enjoy big day: Luxemburg-Casco will be bringing home some medals.

The 400 and 800 meter relays both placed second in their races, while junior Sam Larson placed fourth in the 300 meter hurdles.

The 400 meter relay team of Jake Shefchik, Brogan Hall, Malaki Wessel and Tyler Suess ran a time of 43.14, while the 800 relay team of Jon Deprey, Hall, Wessel and Suess ran 1:28.88.

It was the second time the relay teams competed at state, with last year being an experience for this year.

“Building off of last year was what we were trying to do this year,” Shefchik said. “We wanted gold but came away with silver and we are happy with that.”

For Larson, he placed fourth with a time of 40.06 in his first individual state event. Larson stated he was terrified at first, but felt acclimated especially with all the work he put in through the year.

“A lot of hard work that kicked my butt but made me better,” Larson said.

Algoma pair medals: Caleb Lohenry did not leave La Crosse empty handed this year.

The Algoma senior placed second in the D3 110 hurdles with a time of 15.58, improving seven spots from finishing ninth last year.

“I ran my hardest to get here,” Lohenry said. “I pushed myself all this year to be a better runner spending more time on the track, in the weight room, and it really showed off.

Meanwhile, Algoma junior Jacob Wahlers placed third in the boys D3 3200 meter run with a time of 9:34.76.

Wahlers time broke the Algoma school record by eight minutes, which was his goal for the day.

“I kind of changed my goal,” Wahlers said. “I was going for time and wanted the school record.”

apekarek@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @andrewpekarek.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press Gazette: Notes: Kewaunee County athletes at state