Algoma aims for repeat performance
Trying to predict team state champions for track and field is a lot like trying to put together a Wisconsin weather forecast in late April.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen,” Algoma track and field coach Steve Schmiling said.
Returning all of the participants that accounted for all of its state points last year, the Algoma girls track and field team has a strong chance to repeat as the WIAA Division 3 state champion this year.
Still, the Wolves have plenty of work to do if they want to bring home another trophy.
Like many programs across the state, it started with clearing a large amount of snow from their track before the outdoor season started following the April snowstorm that rolled through.
The byproduct of the inclement weather made an already close team even closer as it set its sights on a repeat performance.
“Some of us were going for three hours doing shovel relays,” Algoma senior Katelyn Williams said. “We had the whole thing organized.”
Algoma senior Morgan Davister added, “It was so fun because the whole team was doing it.”
Williams and Davister were key reasons why the Wolves were able to win their first WIAA state title in the 55-year history of the program.
The duo piled up 26 points in the shot put and discus alone at state. Williams finished as the runner-up in the shot put and placed third in the discus, while Davister was runner-up in the discus and placed fifth in the shot put.
Williams and Davister rank first and second, respectively, in the Green Bay area for both throws this year. In Division 3, Williams ranks third in the shot put (40 feet, 10 inches) and second for the discus (148-4), while Davister is seventh for the shot put (37-9½) and ninth for the discus (123-6), according to Wisconsin Track Online.
There’s also a chance the Wolves could send three throwers to state this year.
Freshman Bobbi Blahnik (37-0) ranks fourth in the Green Bay area for the shot put and 11th in Division 3.
The trio of Williams, Davister and Blahnik placed 1-2-3, respectively, in both throws May 14 to power Algoma to its first Packerland Conference title since 2013.
“We are literally three peas in a pod,” said Williams, a Drake University recruit. “We work really well together, and I think we help push each other even more.”
A team can enter three individuals for an event at Monday’s WIAA regionals and has 28 individual entrants, overall, in addition to the four relays.
At state, the top eight finishers in an event score team points.
Considering Algoma (44) edged Edgar (42) by two points last year, it could be crucial to score an extra point somewhere among its state qualifiers.
Another opportunity the Wolves have to score some additional points this year could come in sending a second relay to state.
The foursome of junior Liberty Ansorge, sophomore Jenny Farley, senior Courtney Guilette and senior Alli Spitzer rank eighth in Division 3 for the 1,600 relay with a time of 4 minutes, 19.86 seconds.
The 400 relay consisting of Guilette, Davister, Katelyn Williams and senior Khloe Williams that placed fourth at state last year returns intact and currently ranks seventh in Division 3 with a time of 52.42 seconds.
“If one of us is having a bad day, we calm each other down,” Davister said. “It’s a team dynamic, and I think that’s what is making us really successful this year because we are working together as a team.”
Algoma senior Elizabeth McClure is hoping to score some big-time points at state again in a pair of events.
McClure is aiming to repeat as the D3 high jump champion and reach the podium in the pole vault after placing sixth last year. She ranks sixth in the high jump and seventh in the pole vault entering the postseason.
Watch WFRV Channel 5’s feature on McClure as she attempts for repeat success this year.
Schmiling feels his team has as good a chance as anyone to win a WIAA state championship this year. He’s certainly seen the Wolves have put in the work this season to themselves in a position to reach the top of the podium again.
“I think it’s a mentality our kids have,” Schmiling said. “If I work, it’s going to pay off.
“We’re going to do what we do, and if somebody can beat us, then they can beat us.”
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