DeForest track athletes take podium spots at state

DeForest's boys track and field team placed 12th in Division 1 at the WIAA state meet, scoring 20 points behind several podium performances.

For the DeForest boys’ track and field team, they capitalized on its trip to state on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6 at UW-La Crosse.

Collectively, DeForest earned a 12th-place finish in the Division 1 field with 20 team points. They were one of just 13 teams to score 20 or more team points at the Division 1 level.

This effort was fueled by several podium finishes, starting with Lucas Tanner.

Tanner, a senior and NCAA Division 1 Furman University commit, raced to a third-place podium finish in the 800 meters, clocking a time of 1:52.33.

Individual performances

Tanner also finished on the podium in the 1600 meters. Because of a time of 4:07.75, Tanner raced to a fourth-place finish.

In light of Tanner’s individual success, it was only fitting that postseason accolades were to follow.

On Monday, June 8, the Badger Conference announced its postseason awards. For the second consecutive season, Tanner was named the Badger-Large male track athlete of the year. Additionally, his coach, Joe Parker, was named the boys’ coach of the year for the second straight season.

While Tanner unquestionably made his splash at state, more podium finishes continued for DeForest.

In the field, senior Isaac Ziegler cleared six feet and six inches in the high jump. This leap placed Ziegler, an NCAA Division I FBS St. Thomas football commit, third on the podium at state.

In the relay events, DeForest's 4x800 relay team edged Verona by .74 seconds to secure its spot on the podium with a sixth-place time of 7:51.48. DeForest's relay quartet was fueled by its seniors: Blake Rauber, Mason Dobbs, Wyatt Parker and Lucas Tanner.

DeForest also had their 4x200 relay team qualify for state. Behind the efforts of seniors Shane Schroeder, Kyle Skoug, CJ Galloway and Logan Swoboda, the quartet missed the cut for the final round, but finished 17th in its preliminary round, per the WIAA.

The list of state participants continued for DeForest when junior Jacob Lafever represented DeForest in the 3200 meters. There, Lafever placed 21st with a time of 9:52.67.

Emmitt Stegmann, a senior, represented DeForest in the discus. Stegmann used a career-best throw of 150 feet and four inches to place 13th in the Division 1 field to cap his track and field career with DeForest.