Falls girls come up just short of GMC outdoor track crown

Menomonee Falls - It was a game effort, marred by rain delays and cut short at the very end by storms, and there were terrific efforts turned in by just about everyone on the Menomonee Falls girls track team in its close runner-up showing to powerful Brookfield Central in the Greater Metro Conference Outdoor at Brookfield East on May 15.

There was Mikayla Robertson setting a new school record of 58.04 seconds in the 400 meters and also winning the triple jump (36-0) and then there was senior Alex Poole (5-0) taking the high jump with teammate Haley Precia right behind her in second (4-10) and you also had senior Emma Lodl putting in two strong efforts in the 100 high and 300 low hurdles.

And just before the storms stopped the meet well into the boys 3,200-meter race, you had a small piece of history being made, as freshman distance runner Megan Paule took down a 26-year program record in the girls 3,200 when she took third in the race with a time of 11:35.77.

She knocked close to two seconds off the old mark of 11:37, set by Kris Johnson in 1986.

It had been the oldest record on the girls track ledger, assistant coach Paul Schramka said.

"It was a great run on her part," Indians coach Andy Eisenbach said.

Former longtime girls cross country and distance coach as well as Falls Hall of Famer Wayne Bohlmann was happy to see it happen. He coached Johnson, who ironically, also set the record in her freshman year, too.

"I congratulate her on this," said Bohlmann of Paule. "She has great potential. She has great parents athletically and I think she's the best (distance) runner Falls has ever had as a freshman. We had great (distance) kids back then (in the 1980s and 90s), but we never had anyone just walk in and be phenomenal like she has been. She runs very aggressively, which I really like to see."

Paule qualified for the state cross country meet as a freshman last fall.

Paule and the rest of the Indians took part in the WIAA regional meet at Sussex Hamilton on Monday and host the WIAA sectional meet Thursday (3 p.m. pole vault, 3:45 p.m. remainder of field events and 4:30 p.m. running events). The top three in each event, plus all those whose efforts are among the eight best of all sectionals statewide advance to the WIAA State Meet in La Crosse, June 1 and 2.

In the conference meet, Falls, without the 1,600 relay contested because of the storms, scored 123 1/2 points, as defending champion Brookfield Central, which the Indians had upset in the league relays meet earlier this month, won with 135.

"It would have been nice to have pulled it out," Eisenbach said, "and we went in optimistically, but we knew there had been a big spread between us and Central at the league indoor (which Central won) and we know the league relay meet is a whole different animal (with only one entry per event).

"And we had some things work out here and some things that didn't. We were hoping to get it done but realistically, we were happy that it was as close as it was."

Stars shine, lead the way

As usual, Robertson and Poole led the way. Robertson was very impressive. She led qualifying in the 200 dash with a personal best of 26.21, and then went out a short time later and dropped close to a full second off her best with a school mark in the 400. She also got some good efforts in before the first rain delay and claimed the triple jump by three inches.

She eventually took third in the 200 (26.83).

The high jump was another good event for the Indians, and Poole continued her solid season by also taking fourth in the long jump (16-6) while teammate Aerial Holt was third (16-7). Poole was also second in the shot put (34-1).

Paule remained competitive with Tosa East and Brookfield East runners for as long as she could before eventually settling on her spot in the 3,200.

Eisenbach said that senior hurdler Emma Lodl had an excellent day and put herself in position to potentially do great things in the sectional. Lodl was third in both the 100 highs (17.01) and the 300 low hurdles (personal best 49.14).

Relay teams contribute, too

The sprint relays held up their end at the meet, too, as the 400 team of Jessica Robinson, Holt, Malorie Janechek and Asiah Meredith was third in 51.26 as was the 800 team of Robinson, Tori Plutshack, Precia and Meredith (1:47.22).

The 3,200 team was also third (10:22.61).

Other finishes of note for Falls included the following: 100: Meredith, fifth (13.24); 200: Robinson, fifth (27.44); pole vault: Madeline Molnor, fourth (9-0); and triple jump: Precia, fifth (32-7).

"It would have been a great thing (to win the outdoor)," Eisenbach said, "but it would have required a perfect day and there was no way we were underestimating Brookfield Central."