Cheers and Jeers
Sportswriter Steve Tietz will use this blog to try to duly reward the great, praise heartily the hard-working, uncover the unsung, and take to task the spoilsport, the foul-mouth and the crass in the local prep sports scene. He'll try to remember that kids are just kids and that coaches aren't in it for the money. He'll try to gently remind parents that the kids are playing for fun, not for profit and that the officials, though occasionally human and therefore prone to error, are there to ensure fair play and not out to get anyone.
Homestead thinclads confident but wary of GT as NSC relays loom
Relay meets in track are designed to make a favorite nervous. Only one entry is counted per team, and a no-height in a field event or a dropped baton in a race can make a surefire team champion an also-ran in a matter of seconds.
Homestead boys coach Dan Benson, whose team will go into Wednesday's North Shore Conference Relays at Cedarburg as heavy favorites understands that all too well. Though his squad has not lost to a Wisconsin team all spring (five invitational level titles so far), he knows that his talented team has soft spots and can be exploited by a Germantown unit that has depth, talent and confidence.
"There is just very little room for error in a meet like this," he said, "but we're excited. Who knows how it will turn out? We'll just make sure that we're ready to go and do our best to hang in there."
Compounding things is the fact, that there is a lack of depth in the league this season and little anyone can do in this top-heavy event to prevent Homestead and Germantown from going one-two in many events on Wednesday. Cedarburg in the jumps and Whitefish Bay and Nicolet in the short sprints is probably as close as anyone can come to causing either team serious trouble,
The Highlanders will likely dominate the field events with sheer talent as Danny Schiller leads the state honor roll in the high jump at 6-10, Justin Barber is leading the state shot and discus rolls and super-smart Brad Pelisek (36 score on the ACT) continues to astonish as a proven 22-foot long jumper, a steady 6-2 high jumper and in his first attempt at the event last Friday in Wauwatosa, a 43-foot triple jumper.
Further, the Highlanders will likely put a heavy crimp in anyone's plans in races that involve the 400 and the 800-meter lengths. Homestead is a ticking time bomb in both the 1,600 and 3,200 relays as Gabe Genovesi is a sub-50 second 400 and sub 2-minute 800 runner and teammates Mike Collins, Doug Mueller and Nate Routhier are also state-caliber performers at those distances (and in Routhier's instance, beyond that).
Elsewhere, the Highlanders can hold their own in the hurdles (Taylor Ruffin leading the way) and in the distances (Routhier is a state honor roll 3,200 runner too).
That's where the Warhawks will have to make their headway. They have abundant talent in the distances with Tim Trapp (honor roll 3,200), Nick Skidmore (2-flat 800), Adam Schueller, Kenny Haferkorn and Gary Hackney. Their secret weapon is hurdler Dexter Schleis, who is trying to unseat Menomonee Falls neighbor Matt Widule for state high and intermediate hurdle honors and who also provides a steadying link on the sprint relays.
In the shot,put, they should also hold their own, as Bryan Keys has made his way up the ladder of the state rolls with a 56-foot effort that is a new school record.
Warhawk co-coach Andy Bavlnka, whose team almost caught a Highlander squad that put on the brakes a little too soon at the league indoor last month, sees winning the relays as a difficult but not impossible task.
"I'm sure they've totaled up the numbers and we have our own numbers too and in both cases, it's probably very close," he said. "It will take a very good day by us with no mistakes."
0 COMMENTS