Goessel boys track team racks up points at weekend state tournament
By DELBERT PETERS
Sports writer
Several surprises marked the performances this past weekend by the Goessel boys' team at the 1A state track meet in Wichita.
The first event involving Goessel athletes was the long jump in which Justin Fensky and Brett Goerzen participated. Fensky's first attempt went 20 feet, 00.5 inches and allowed him to participate in the finals. His last attempt went 20-2.5, but was not enough to propel him above eighth place.
Goerzen jumped 19-1.25 and did not make finals. Fensky did not make finals in the 100-meter dash as well, but his participation in four events at state is admirable.
In the javelin event Garrett Hiebert and Brian Meeks were both hoping for good results. Both Bluebirds were in the second flight of eight athletes and knew that a throw of more than 162 feet would land them in finals. Hiebert had three throws passing 170 feet and Meeks nailed his third attempt with a toss of 164 flat.
Neither athlete could improve their distance in the finals as Hiebert finished second with a distance of 176-6 and Meeks ended his high school track career with a fifth-place medal.
The 4x100m relay team had to make adjustments all week as an injury and wisdom teeth surgery took their toll on the relay team. Sheldon Goerzen and Jared Unrau needed to be replaced and Craig Banman and Daniel Funke teamed up with Fensky and Goerzen to finish with a time of 45.32 seconds, to qualify for finals.
Saturday the team finished faster yet with a time of 45.14 and received a seventh place medal.
Tricia Fensky was the lone female athlete at state for the Bluebirds. She cleared seven feet in the pole vault and finished in a tie for 13th.
Tyler Schroeder began Saturday with his discus performance. Throwing into a breeze on a warm morning was not the ideal conditions one would wish for. Schroeder did throw 134-6 on his second throw, but then had to watch as the second flight consistently passed him by.
Schroeder finished in 10th place. The Goessel senior moved to the shot put event and threw consistently, but was not able to match his performance at regionals and ended his high school career with a ninth place finish and a distance of 48-1.75.
Two Goessel athletes qualified for the triple jump and it was an exchange of school records that highlighted the performances of Hiebert and Fensky.
On Hiebert's second jump, he eclipsed the school record, but Fensky furthered the mark by three-quarters of an inch to hold the new record.
Both competitors made it to finals and on Fensky's final jump of the day he improved his mark again with a jump of 43-6. He finished with a sixth-place medal and Hiebert came in eighth with a distance of 42-9.
Goessel was fortunate to qualify two athletes in boys' pole vault. Both Craig Banman and Brett Goerzen cleared 11-6 but because of fewer misses, Banman was awarded a tie for seventh and Goerzen finished at 11th.
The boys' team accumulated 14.5 points for the day and finished in 16th as a team.
