Kewaunee’s Bortolini caps busy spring with state medal
Tanor Bortolini produced a big finish to cap a busy spring.
The Kewaunee junior recorded a personal-best mark of 51 feet, 5 inches in the shot put with his last throw at the WIAA state track and field meet in La Crosse.
It propelled Bortolini to placing fourth in the Division 2 and becoming the Storm’s first boys state medalist in eight years.
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“It felt really good coming off,” Bortolini said. “I felt really quick coming across the ring. I felt it exploded off my hand. Everybody started cheering, so I figured it must have been pretty good at that moment.”
Bortolini’s success in the throwing circle this spring coincided with him being heavily recruited by NCAA Division I college football programs.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound linemen received offers from over 20 schools before making a verbal commitment to the University of Wisconsin the week before the state track and field meet.
Both things seemed like distant aspirations for Bortolini to achieve last year.
“I knew I had a ways to go from last year, when my final throw was 42-10,” Bortolini said. “I worked hard in the weight room all offseason, and I was ready for the challenge.”
Bortolini became the Storm’s first state medalist since Jordan Schmidt reached the podium three times in 2011.
Bortolini was one of three individual state qualifiers this year for Kewaunee, which enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in program history by winning the Packerland Conference and capturing its first WIAA regional title since 1987.
Seniors Nick Baumgartner (pole vault) and Alex Hewett (triple jump) both capped their careers by qualifying for state for a second time.
Baumgartner, who broke the school record with a clearance of 14 feet this season, just missed making the podium by finishing seventh.
Bortolini has some work to do to break the school’s shot put record of 54 feet, 10¼ inches held by Tom Vogel.
However, the Wisconsin recruit will be up for the challenge after taking in the state experience for the first time.
“I’m still taking it all in,” Bortolini said. “It was pretty awesome. There was a lot more people out there than you really ever had watching you throw. They’re all cheering you on. It’s exciting.”