De Pere’s Mirkes makes the most of his extra chance
Michael Mirkes was going with the flow at the WIAA state track & field meet this year.
The De Pere senior’s mentality – along with his long locks – took him to the podium twice.
“My coaches have told me I would run a lot faster if I shaved it off,” Mirkes said about his hair. “I did get a haircut right before this, so that took off a little bit.”
Mirkes placed sixth in both Division 1 boys hurdles races to medal twice at Veterans Memorial Stadium last Saturday in La Crosse.
Although he kept a majority of his flow, the Carroll University recruit cut down his times last Friday in preliminaries to reach the finals with personal-best best marks in the 110-meter hurdles (14.97 seconds) and the 300 hurdles (39.54 seconds).
Still, he was seeded eighth and ninth, respectively, for the 110 and 300 hurdle finals, meaning he had to operate from the challenging outside lanes.
“It was a little bit harder with the stagger of the hurdles when you’re in Lane 1,” Mirkes said about recording a time of 39.84 seconds in the 300 hurdles finals.
“It’s really exciting, especially my seeds going into the finals today. I was the underdog, basically.”
Mirkes qualified for state in the 300 hurdles by earning the third and final qualifying spot at the Ashwaubenon sectional May 24.
He finished fourth in the 110 hurdles at sectionals, but was able to punch his ticket to state in the event as an extra qualifier since his time of 15.02 seconds ranked in the top eight times among all of the D1 sectionals.
“I was going out to eat with all my friends that night and heard the news,” Mirkes said.
Mirkes compared it to playing with house money at state, having nothing to lose as an extra qualifier in the 110 hurdles.
After watching his older sister, Lindsey, finish as the D1 state runner-up in the girls high jump the last two years, Mirkes was happy to make the most of his first state appearance by earning two trips to the state podium.
“It’s a really cool experience,” said Mirkes, who had a time of 15.15 seconds in the 110 hurdle finals.
“I’ve always been a big 300 guy, but with the way I’ve performed lately, I’ve really learned to like the 110s more.”