LA CROSSE – Lauren McCalla took two second place finishes as the Menomonie girls track and field team finished 11th at the 2025 WIAA Track and Field Championship, June 6-7 at UW-La Crosse’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The junior distance runner was second in both the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run, which both took place on Saturday.
The 1600 was a two-person race with McCalla and Cedarburg’s Charlize-Trinity McKenzie. McKenzie had a five second lead after 400 meters and built a seven second lead after 800 meters. McCalla shaved three seconds off the lead at 1200 meters and a final kick in the last 400 meters brought her within 0.18 of a second as McKenzie won at the wire. McCalla finished in a time of 4-minutes, 45.66-seconds, while McKenzie posted a time of 4:45.48.
McCalla was second in the 800m later in the day with a time of 2:12.04. Freshman Bree Barfknecht placed seventh in a time of 2:15.05.
Senior Bennett Schmitt placed sixth in the 3200-meter run in a time of 11:02.15. Schmitt entered the race seeded 12th.
The 4×800-meter relay team of Barfknecht, McCalla, sophomore Bella Drake and freshman Addison Schuler placed eighth in a time of 9:16.06.
On the boys side, senior Nolan Bien captured two top five finishes in the hurdle events, placing third in the 110-hurdles in a time of 14.51 seconds and was fifth in the 300-hurdles in a time of 38.70 seconds.
Senior Jae Berg finished ninth in the high jump with a height of 6-feet, 4-inches. Berg had finished 21st and 17th in his previous trips to the state meet. Senior Blake Kissh was 17th in the discus with a toss of 140-9.
As a team, the Menomonie girls placed 11th with 22 points and the boys placed 23rd with nine points.
Softball
The Menomonie High School softball team saw their magical season come to an end when they ran into a buzz saw in the WIAA Sectional finals at Woyak Park in Plover where the seventh-seeded Mustangs lost to top-seeded D.C. Everest, 6-0, Thursday, June 5.
The Mustangs (22-8), seeking their first trip to the state tournament since 1994, were on the receiving end of a perfect game as the Evergreens’ Addison Kluck was delivering. Kluck struck out the first six MHS batters and went on to strike out 14.
Menomonie’s Amanda Holzhueter went toe-to-toe with Kluck three scoreless innings. But the Evergreens got on board with three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two runs in the sixth on back-to-back home runs. Holzhueter recorded four strikeouts and two walks before giving way to Maci Marlett.
The Mustangs, who reached the sectional finals after an 11-3 win over New Richmond June 3, finished the season with a school-record 22 wins. DC Everest earned their first trip to the state tournament and also posted the most wins in school history, going 25-2 as they head to Madison.
The All-Big Rivers Conference softball team was recently released. Olivia Sample and Reese Barfknecht earned first team honors. Amanda Holzhueter was a second team selection and Siera Auth and Maci Marlett received honorable mention.
Boys Tennis
The Menomonie boys tennis team participated in the WIAA State Individual Tennis Championship June 5 in Madison. All Menomonie competitors bowed out in the first round.
In singles, senior Adam Lambrigtsen (18-12, season record) fell 6-2, 6-3, to Rafe Zifferblatt of West DePere. Junior Harrison Davis (24-4) lost 6-1, 6-0, to Layton Batcholder of Fond du Lac.
In doubles play, senior Jack Winterfeldt and junior Jacob Rue (23-2) lost a tough 6-1, 4-6, 10-7, decision to Aiden Irish/Conor Blatner of Franklin. Seniors Micah Gunderson and Tristan Webb (24-3) lost 6-1, 6-3, to Sebastian Bernal/Brandon Tran of Oak Creek.
The Mustangs return to action Friday, June 13, when they participate in the WIAA State Tennis Team Championship. The eighth-seed Mustangs (21-6) take on top-seeded Brookfield Central (23-0).
Boys Golf
The MHS boys golf team finished their season by tying for seventh in the Wausau West Sectional, Wednesday, June 4, at Greenwood Hills.
Junior Tyler Reckin led MHS with atie for 10th place (79 strokes). Junior Trent Wold tied for 26th (84), sophomore Quin Rabeneck tied for 34th (89), sophomore Wes Miller finished 37th (90) and senior Mitch Kopaczeweski was 38th (91). As a team, Menomonie scored 342 strokes.
Baseball
The Menomonie baseball team saw their 2025 season come to end in the WIAA Regional Finals June 5 at Casper Park in Chippewa Falls. The Mustangs (17-10) lost to Big Rivers rival Chippewa Falls, 9-1.
Girls Soccer
The Mustang girls soccer team closed out their 2025 season with a 2-0 loss in the WIAA Regional to Marshfield in Marshfield, Tuesday, June 3. Menomonie finished the season at 6-10-2 overall.
The story Menomonie Teams Participate in WIAA Tournament Action by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/