Buchmann breaks school discus record

Sophomore Libbey Buchmann has already made a name for herself in the discus ring, finishing on the podium with a sixth-place finish last year at the WIAA Division 2 state meet. On Thursday, the newly-crowned GNC champion in the event added another accolade to her growing list of accomplishments.

    Buchmann
  

Buchmann broke a 25-year-old school record in the discus, firing a toss of 134 feet, 9 inches as she took first place in the event at the Dale Peterson Invite in Antigo. That throw broke the previous mark of 133-0 set by Amy Stevens in 1999. 

Buchmann told the River News that the record toss, which smashed her personal best of 122-8 set at last Tuesday’s GNC meet, came as a bit of a surprise in her final tune-up before WIAA postseason action, which got underway yesterday in Rice Lake.

“Honestly, I was expecting it at bigger meet, not a little meet that I decided to go to,” she said. “I felt pretty loose compared to most meets because I knew it wasn’t as big and there wasn’t as much pressure.”

“We’ve had school records broken in the last several years, 4x1, 4x2, the hurdles with Aila (Bergman) last year,” Hodag track coach Aaron Kraemer said. “It’s always special to break a school record and put your name on the board. She definitely deserves it.”

Buchmann was already going to far exceed her personal best, as her first toss on Thursday traveled in excess of 131 feet. That’s when she said she knew she had a green light to so after the record.

“I felt really good about that and I knew I was only two feet away from the record,” she said. “So my next one, I put a little more oomph and let it rip and it was enough to break it, I guess.”

Buchmann’s performances have taken a massive leap forward in the three meets leading up to regionals. She had been stuck on her personal best of 117-3 set at last year’s regional meet in Colby prior to the Hodag Invite May 10, where she turned in a throw of 118-10. She surpassed that mark by nearly four feet as the took the conference championship last Tuesday in Medford.

“I’ve worked a lot on my technique and staying on my toes and try not to dip too much. I don’t know, something’s just clicked. I don’t know how to explain it,” she said.

Kraemer said the explanation comes into the work she’s been able to put into the event over the last few weeks.

“She’s found that form,” he said. “She’s also a person who cares about doing well. She’s spent the time on the weekends to get some extra throws in and to work on her form. It’s something that she loves. She’s learning. She’s getting better. I think that’s part of it and then just her being fresh and ready to throw and excited about it. That all kind of came together. She’s using her hips a little more, which is big, getting a little more distance. The disc is flying well out of her hands.” 

Buchmann’s performance highlighted what was otherwise designed to be a low-key meet for the Hodags in between conference and regionals. Fielding squad that mostly competed in few or no events at conference, the Hodag girls still managed to claim six events as they won the six-team meet. The Hodag boys scored a win, five runner-up showings and placed third. 

“It just shows what our depth looks like, and I’m proud of that,” Kraemer said. “We got to see some impressive things from our JV athletes and put some of our athletes that did run at conference in their alternate events. The girls ended up victorious and the boys were strong, too. They did a nice job tonight.” 

Freshman Olivia Ruetz turned in another strong performance in the 400 meters, winning that event with a time of 1 minute, 2.88 seconds. That may have been fast enough for the Hodags to contemplate trying her in that event at Monday’s regional, but Kraemer said the team turned in its postseason lineup prior to Thursday’s meet and Ruetz was locked into the 4x100 relay that immediately follows the 400. She and her teammates looked to advance to sectionals in that event after winning the GNC title.

“Ultimately, we decided, that Olivia would run the 4x1 with her team,” he said. “They’re conference champions, they’re excited. They’ve got the momentum going and the handoffs have been good. I’m hoping that that decision is a good one for both her and her teammates.”

Rhinelander won the girls’ 4x1 as well on Thursday, albeit not with the exact group that was slated to run the event Monday. Shyanne Hueckstaedt, Emma Deede, Lucy Eddy and Millie Gruett went 56.52 in that event take the win. Rhinelander also took the 4x400 with Kayla Skubal, Gruett, Maddie Legrey and Averie West (4:40.41). West added a win in the 300 hurdles (54.63) and Lena Timphus claimed the pole vault (6-0). 

Kara Monk was second in the 800 meters, Isabel Hartman took third in both the shot put and discus and the Hodags claimed third in the 4x200.

Ivan Loka scored a win in the pole vault for the Hodag boys (8-6). David Houg took second in the shot put and third in the discus. Landon Catlin was second in the triple jump and Ryley Hull was third in the 110 hurdles. Rhinelander also placed in the top three with all four of its relays — taking second in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 and third in the 4x800.

The Hodags traveled to Rice Lake yesterday to take part in a nine-team Division 2 regional that took place after press time for today’s edition. The top four finishers in each event advance to Thursday’s sectional round in Colby. From there, the top four finishers at sectionals will advance to the state meet  May 31 and June 1 in La Crosse. 

Buchmann is hoping to get to state for a second year in a row and, should she match her throw from Thursday, a state championship is not out of the question. That toss would have been good enough to take second at state last year and the top two finishers in that event were seniors who have since graduated.

Buchmann said she will carry a lot more confidence into the postseason following Thursday’s performance.

“It does, but I’m also a little nervous because I know the competition is going to be good. My goal’s really just to stay consistent and possibly PR again, even if it’s by a foot or two,” she said. 

Added Kraemer, “She’s consistent and she’s found something in her form that works. Now it’s on to regionals to do her thing. The discus is weird, so we’ve just got to keep consistent with our form and, hopefully, we’re making a run to state again.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].