Prep track and field: Mondovi boys, girls keep stampeding to success
May 23—MONDOVI — The Mondovi High School track and field team has already shown it's got some of the best young competitors in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference, as the Buffaloes proved when they stampeded past the competition to win both the boys and girls conference titles last week. It doesn't end there though. The Buffaloes also boast some of the best athletes in the state.
For instance, senior Dustin Mohler is currently among the top-ranked Division 3 boys triple jumpers in the state, thanks to a 44-foot, 4.5-inch leap. That mark is the second-best in the Division this season, only behind Cambridge's Trey Colts, who hit 45.25. Mohler's 44-foot, one-inch jump at the Dunn-St. Croix championships netted him first place in the conference. He's trying to reach the state tournament for the first time when the postseason begins this week.
His teammates, Jarod Falkner and Evan Gray, are state-ranked hurdlers who finished first and second in the 110-meter hurdles at conference. Both went to state in the event last spring.
The Mondovi girls have won four consecutive conference titles, while the boys have won two in a row. The Buffaloes needed to overcome a stop-and-start spring to extend those streaks.
Falkner, Mohler, and Gray all voiced some frustration over the uncooperative weather conditions this spring which led to a slightly shorter competition season than desired.
Gray joked briefly about attending meets dressed in multiple layers of clothing to help him keep his muscles loose.
"Practices have definitely been more fun now that we go outside," Gray said, clarifying this is because being outdoors offers a wider variety of practice activities. "It's hard to want to run when it's cold and wet outside."
Several girls runners agreed being outdoors is a welcome change. Senior pole vaulter Alex Seyforth seemed to appreciate the chance to compete, after many teams missed a season in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sophomore distance runner Courtney Stadter went to state as a freshman in the 3,200-meter race and finished the girls 1,600 at the conference championships in Glenwood City in 5:25.24, exactly two seconds behind Colfax's Molly Heidorn for second place.
Stadter explained she started running in sixth grade and kept it up because she likes the energy it gives her. Seyforth, Stadter, and some of their fellow girls teammates credit coach Jamie Maguire and his assistants with making track and field fun and a good place to learn some new skills.
That's been part of the appeal of the sport at Mondovi.
"I think they (the athletes) just found a spot where they feel successful," Maguire said. That, many coaches have said, is the beauty of track and field. "It can be a place many students or athletics fans overlook because it seemingly lacks the draw of faster-paced, popular, team sports like basketball, football, or baseball. But as the Buffaloes boys and girls have proved over the last few years, success is there for the taking.
Regionals begin Monday and sectionals follow on Thursday.
