Hurricane Girls Achieve Podiums At State Track Meet | Record in Sawyer County

The Hayward Hurricanes track and field team had nine athletes competing in the WIAA Division 2 state meeting in UW-La Crosse on Friday June 25, taking second, fourth, fifth and tenth place 17 team points.

The girls’ 4 x 400 meter relay with newcomer Avery Poppe, junior Ana Johnson, student Camilla Bonicatto and senior Sierra Clifford finished second overall in 4: 05.36, which is 3.06 seconds behind First place Freedom was.

In the week leading up to the booth, the quartet broke the 2009 Hayward High School record with a time of 4: 05.33.

“The 4-by-400 team finished second and came second, so I see this as a big win for us,” said coach Ben DiSera. “We’ve been unbeaten all season and the postseason this season so it was a bit annoying for us not to win the whole thing, but second place in the entire state is still very cool for us. And three out of four girls this season will return next year with our first substitute Sarah Grubbs, so I’m really looking forward to the next season. “

Senior Eliana Malnourie started in the 1,600 meter and 3,200 meter run and finished fourth and 10th respectively.

In addition to a medal and a podium, Malnouries another highlight of the weekend was a new Hayward High School record in the 1,600-meter run. Her time of 5: 04.21 broke the record of 5: 07.02 set by Jessica Novak in 1987.

“It was a tough race as she’ll tell you,” said DiSera. “And at the state level, the 1,600 meters will become a sprint of around 70% for four laps instead of a long-distance run.”

Malnourie’s time in the 3,200 run was 12: 24.98. She will be attending the University of North Dakota this fall, where she will continue her running career in both cross-country and athletics.

Senior Sierra Clifford started in the 400-meter run and finished fifth and secured a podium with a time of 58.41 seconds. At the WIAA D2 sectional meeting the week before, Clifford ran a time of 58.26, breaking the previous Hayward High School record of 59.41 set by Corrine Malcolm in 2008.

“Overall, I’m happy with my time,” said Clifford. “I was a little disappointed that I didn’t set a personal best of the season at my last meeting, but I’m still happy with the way I ran.”

She’ll be attending Southwest Minnesota State University this fall and running for the Mustangs.

The Hayward 4 x 200 meter team made up of Camilla Bonicatto, Senior Holly Miller, Sarah Grubbs in their second year and Ana Johnson finished 12th in 1: 48.81.

Overall, the Hayward girls finished 13th out of 85 teams at the state meeting.