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Wisconsin State Meet Recap 2022 - Willis No. 3 All-Time 800mPublished by
Roisin Willis Runs No. 3 All-Time 2:00.03 At State Meet By Mary Albl of DyeStat The last time Roisin Willis competed at the WIAA State High School Track and Field Championship meet was all the way back in 2019 when she was freshman, winning the 800 meters in a meet record time of 2:05.68. Flash forward three years later and the Stanford-bound middle-distance star left a lasting mark as one of the best athletes in state history. On Saturday, at Veterans Memorial Stadium Complex in La Crosse, WI, the Stevens Point senior won the 800 in a personal-best time of 2:00.03, narrowly missing the 2-minute barrier but breaking her own state record with a performance that is the fastest ever at a state championship meet. Her time is US#2 behind future teammate Juliette Whittaker and No. 3 all-time behind Whittaker and Mary Cain. "The goal was to go for a personal best in the 800 and see what I could do," Willis said. "I knew it was just going to be against the clock, so the goal was to just go out and run as hard as I could and see what happens, and then have a good 4x400 with my team.
"I was feeling pretty calm before the race, the goal was to go out in 27/28 (seconds) and then coming through the 400 ind sub 60 seconds and then hold on from there. I really had the crowd pushing me and I had to give it everything I had, because there wasn’t really anyone around. The last 100 meters I gave it everything I had, pushing to the line. When I initially saw (the time) I was kind of was like, ‘Oh, oh no.’ But you know, I kind of turned around and was like, ‘Hey. You just ran as hard as you could. There’s no reason to be disappointed. I was still really happy with that and still ran a PR in a very different environment. I’m really happy with how it went.”
Willis came back later in the meet to help her team to a second-place finish in the 4x400 relay. Wilis ran the anchor leg in 52.34. Stevens Point finished in 12th place as a team in the Division 1 meet, while West De Pere won the state title with 66.30 points. West De Pere won the 4x100 and 4x400 relays and Eliza Aitken finished in second place in the 400 (56.57) for the team. Chippewa Falls’ Brooklyn Sandvig won the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.84, the 200 (24.26) and claimed the 400 in 54.83 despite falling at the finish line. Zaira Mallory-Salgado of Middletown won the 3,200 meters in 10:32.25. Oak Creek senior Rachel Blaskowski won the long jump with a meet record mark of 19-9.75. Jaiah Hopf of Wisconsin Lutheran defended her titles in the triple jump with a US#25 mark of 40-8.75, which broke the all-time state best by a half inch. She placed third in the long jump. Riley Quinn of Watertown won the shot put (41-9.50) and discus (134-5). In the Division 1 boys race, Arrowhead repeated as state champions, scoring 55.50 points. Bryant Yanke of Reedsburg Area won the 300m hurdles in 39.11 seconds to become the first individual champion for the school in 79 years. Yanke was second in the 110 hurdles (14.97). Emmanuel Johnson of Racine Park won the high jump, clearing 6-9. Waunakee’s Andrew Regnier won the 400 in a time of 47.80. Middleton’s Griffin Ward won the 1,600 (4:14.86) and 3,200 (9:07.04). Division 2 The Shoreline boys edged out Lodi 46-45 points to claim the Division 2 state championship. Nathan Cumberbatch led the way for Shoreline winning the 400 (49.33) and 800 (1:52.84). Senior Shane Griepentrog of Valders won the 1,600 in 4:11.82 and set a meet record in the 3,200 with a winning time of 9:04.98. In girls Division 2, junior Brie Ackerman of Mauston won the first state championship for the school in the 100 hurdlers with 15.63 and placed second in the 300 hurdles (46.49). The Shorewood girls won the team title with 38 points capturing the 4x800 and 4x400 relay titles. Division 3 Parker Schneider of Durand pulled off the distance triple, winning the 800 (1:54.29), 1,600 (4:17.79) and 3,200 (9:18.51). The Chetek-Weyerhaeuser boys won the team title with 44 points. The Webster girls won the Division 3 title over Dodgeland 38-37 points. Ava Washburn led the way, winning the 100 hurdles (15.39), triple jump (38-3.25), long jump (18-11) and finished second in the 300 hurdles. Dodgeland’s Miranda Firari won the pole vault 11-9, the 200 (26.07), finished second in the 100 (12.83) and ran on the runner-up 4x400 relay. Team Champions Division 1 - Arrowhead boys 55.50 points, West De Pere girls 60.33 points - RESULTS Division 2 - Shoreline boys 46 points, Shorewood girls 38 points - RESULTS Division 3 - Chetek-Weyerhaeuser boys 44 points, Webster girls 38 points - RESULTS |
