May 31, 2023 at 1:06 p.m.
Buchmann sets high goals for WIAA state track meet
Buchmann sets high goals for WIAA state track meet
"My goal is to set a new PR and represent RHS, with the ultimate goal of taking a state title," Buchmann told the River News last week after qualifying for state thanks to a fourth-place finish at a Division 2 sectional in Arcadia.
Winning the state title might be a stretch. Defending D2 state champ Ayianna Johnson is the overwhelming of Jefferson is favorite not only to win the event, but challenge the D2 state record of 153 feet, 11 inches, after a toss of 156-4 in sectionals.
Buchmann is eying a different record, however. If she achieves it, a podium finish in La Crosse is not out of the realm of possibility. She has her sights set on Amy Stevens' 1999 school record of 133 feet in the event. Only one qualifier, Johnson, surpassed that mark at sectionals.
Buchmann will throw out of the first flight this morning. Her toss of 116-3 at sectionals put her in the 12th qualifying spot for the event. Even if Buchmann doesn't reach the 130s, a toss in the 120-foot range might be enough to vie for a podium. There were only five girls who threw in excess of 120 feet at last year's state meet. During this year's sectionals, only six broke into the 120s and only three threw further than 123 feet.
Both Buchmann and Hodag track coach Aaron Kraemer figure she could have been in that range, if either of her final two throws had landed inside the white lines last Thursday at sectionals.
"Her first throw in the finals was a 106 and then she threw two that were at least 120 feet and they were just out of bounds," Kraemer said.
Even though those two tosses didn't count, Kraemer said they served a purpose as she prepared for state over the last week.
"She learned something today in her technique today that we hope she can bring back with her this week as we train for state," he said after last Thursday's sectional meet. "To be honest with you, you saw it today, anything can happen at state now."
Specifically, Buchmann said some fine-tuning in regard to her launch point and launch angle could put her in the running this morning.
"I really need to focus on my orbit and the height of my disc and how it flies in the air," she said. "I was throwing near my head level, but I need to throw above my head level to get it further."
It's been a busy spring from Buchmann, who split her time competing in the throws while also playing softball for the Hodags. She was spared from having to choose between the two sports when the RHS softball team dropped a 3-2 decision in nine innings to Medford in last Tuesday's regional finals. Had the Hodags pulled off the upset, the regional final would have been last Thursday in Merrill, at roughly the same time track sectionals were taking place some three hours away in Arcadia.
With softball season over, and Buchmann failing to qualify for state in the shot put following a 15th-place finish at sectionals, she said it's been easier to focus on just one thing over the last week as she prepares for state.
While the spring season has been challenging, Buchmann said she's managed by focusing on the task at hand - whatever that task is on a given day.
"I wasn't worried about what time I'd get to it," she said of juggling track and softball practices. "I was worried about how I was doing in the moment."
Regardless of how today ends up, Buchmann is part of a youth movement for the Hodag girls' track team that should continue to have success moving forward. Another freshman, Aila Bergman, broke the school record last week in the 300-meter hurdles of the eight entries the Hodag girls had at sectionals, only two featured a senior as Gussie Gruett ran the open 400 meters and a leg of the 4x400-meter relay.
"We feel really good about our underclassmen and we feel really good about the program as a whole moving forward," Kraemer said.
The WIAA state track meet gets underway in La Crosse this morning, with girls' discus being one of the first events contested over the two-day event. The Division 3 girls' discus competition will get underway at 9:30 a.m. and Division 2 will prepare to throw shortly following the conclusion of the D3 event.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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