Prep track and field: Regis sprinter trio pushing each other to the top
May 16—CADOTT — Regis High School is currently home to three of the fastest boys Division 3 sprinters in the state of Wisconsin.
Those three sprinters are Carson Tait, Gus Theisen, and Alex Figy. Tait is currently ranked ninth in the boys 100-meter dash with a time of 11.34 seconds. Theisen is ranked 21st in the 200 with a time of 23.74 seconds, and Figy ranks 20th in the 100 with a time of 11.53 seconds.
The trio of Ramblers finished first through third in the 100 at Friday's DeJung Invitational at Cadott. Tait earned the race win with his 11.49-second finish. Theisen was second with a time of 11.57, and Figy was third with a final time of 11.77 seconds. The threesome also formed three of the four legs of the boys 4x100 relay, which the Ramblers won in 44.85 seconds. Ian Andrews joined the trio to make a full four-man team for the race. Andrews also had a fast finish in the 100 with a time of 11.9 seconds for fifth place.
Head coach Jerrell Hancock disclosed the trio is not just talented, but also exceptionally hard-working. They are aware there are younger runners coming along behind them who hope to follow in their footsteps. Figy, Theisen, and Tait have a goal of going to the state track meet in two weeks at UW-La Crosse.
"They like to work hard every day they come to practice," Hancock said. "They're willing to learn and to make changes over time to get ready for state. That's the ultimate goal, to do things so well to get there. They just are workers. They like to push each other, so I like that because they like to run."
Both Theisen and Tait qualified for state in the 100 a year ago, with Theisen going on to reach the finals. He placed sixth in Division 3 last June. Both sprinters have shaved several milliseconds off their times from state.
Theisen also went to state in the 200, where he narrowly missed out on the finals after taking 11th in the preliminaries.
Hancock implied the three athletes are always working harder to improve. He said he has told them multiple times to focus on the work and themselves, not on just the times, to simply get a little bit better each time they practice or compete so there is continuous progress. He said he tells them, "just focus on what we trained to do, and those things, the times will come as long as you stay consistent."
The Regis team scored 78 points to finish third at Friday's meet. Fall Creek won both the boys and girls titles. Stanley-Boyd was the boys runner-up.
The Cloverbelt Conference meet is Tuesday at Stanley-Boyd, regionals are May 23 and sectionals May 26. The state meet is scheduled for June 3-4.
