Bay Port makes the most of second chance in boys 1,600 relay
The Bay Port boys 1,600-meter relay knew they would be competing in the last race of the WIAA state track and field meet this year.
The Pirates didn’t mind running it again.
Bay Port’s 1,600 relay finished as the Division 1 state runner-up after finishing with a time of 3 minutes, 24.32 seconds in a re-run of the race over an hour following the initial finals race had concluded.
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The Pirates opted to compete in the re-run once WIAA officials ruled Neenah had been disqualified for causing a pileup in the handoff exchange area, which Bay Port got caught up in and ultimately led to the top seed finishing near the back of the pack.
D.C. Everest ran the fastest time (3:34.84) in the initial finals race and opted to not participate in the re-run, so teams like Bay Port that did decide to compete in the re-run were racing against that time as much as each other.
Bay Port’s quartet of juniors Andrew Thomas, Sam Plumb, Ryan Thieme and sophomore Mitchell Merhalski produced a runner-up finish as it was pushed by Appleton North, which won with a time of 3:24.13 seconds.
The boys 1,600 relay’s state runner-up finish marked one of four trips to the state podium for the Bay Port track and field team.
Junior Isaiah Gash placed fourth in the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 45 feet, 11½ inches in his second state appearance.
“It’s a good PR, but I was expecting more and next year I’ll get more,” Gash said.
Junior Braden Doyle placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 160-3 in his first state appearance.
On the girls side, sophomore Ella Meeuwsen placed third in the high jump by matching her personal-best mark of 5-6.
It was the first time Meeuwsen cleared 5-6 since the first meet of the season on March 25.
“It’s super cool,” Meeuwsen said. “I didn’t think I would do too great at state. I was just hoping to place.”
