Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

Senior Sawyer Fleming won the State Title in the 800 run and was also part of the 4×800 relay team that won a third consecutive State Title in the event for the Rosholt boys track team at the WIAA Division 3 State Meet at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2.

Rosholt High School senior Sawyer Fleming runs down the final stretch to give the Hornets the State Title in the 4×800 relay at the WIAA Division 3 State Meet in La Crosse Saturday, June 2. (Rusty Mitch photo)

The reigning State Runner-up Rosholt boys also received a pair of second-place finishes from junior Adam Rzentkowski to lead the Hornets to a fourth-place finish in the team standings, as they had 41 points to end up behind State Champion Cambridge (62), Wild Rose (43) and Bangor (43).

“Fourth is really great, but we had a little bit more to get,” said Rosholt track head coach Mike Trzebiatowski. “We did a lot of research and planning and figuring out what other teams might do, and Cambridge really had a great meet

“We knew we probably had second in our hands, but there are a lot of things that can happen,” he said.

Rosholt opened up with the 1,600 run, where Rzentkowski looked to challenge junior David Vannucchi of Onalaska Luther, who won the Division 3 State Title in cross country during the fall, when Rzentkowski placed second.

Rosholt High School senior Adam Rzentkowski fights through a tight pack in the 1,600 run at the WIAA Division 3 State Meet at La Crosse. (Rusty Mitch photo)

The race went down to the wire Friday, as Vannucchi finished with a time of 4:19.25 to win the State Title just ahead of Rzentkowski (4:21.05) in second place.

“Adam knew he would run into Vannucchi and they’d have an epic race in the mile,” said Trzebiatowski. “It was a school record, but we thought he could run a little bit quicker, and he just got a little bit in trouble with 150 meters to go.

“Adam’s legs were pretty trashed (after the mile) and it was a project to get him ready, even though it was a two-hour break between the mile and the 800,” he said.

After placing second in the 800 run last year as a junior, Fleming entered the State Meet as the third seed in the event (1:58.75) behind senior Michael Axtman of Living Word Lutheran (1:57.81) and the defending State Champion in senior Isaac Bohaty of Chippewa Falls McDonell (1:58.6), with Rzentkowski (1:58.82) seeded fourth.

“There was really a goal for me all year to win,” said Fleming. “I knew the defending champ was returning, and I knew he was going to be solid and really good this year again.

“So the training all year was leading toward that and helping the team score more points,” he said.

At state, Fleming pulled ahead at the end to win the race in 1:55.33 and capture the State Title over Bohaty (1:56.34), Axtman (1:57.4) and Rzentkowski, who placed fourth in 1:58.33.

“I tried actually making my move the last 300, but (Bohaty) held it off, so then it came down to the last 100,” said Fleming. “And it was kind of just a mental-strength thing, just to push through to tell myself that I can beat him.

“And it was unreal (crossing the finish line),” he said. “I’ve won the 4×800 a couple of times, but it was a lot harder and more earned, and it was nice to be able to stand on the top of the podium by myself, as well as with my teammates in the 4×800.”

Rosholt High School senior Sawyer Fleming crosses the finish line to win the 800 run at the WIAA Division 3 State Meet at La Crosse. (Rusty Mitch photo)

“Fleming ran a great race and broke the school record by over two seconds,” said Trzebiatowski. “He had a pretty good mindset of what he wanted to do, his main goal was obviously to beat the defending champion and win the 800, and then hold off Adam.

“Fleming knew the second-best half-miler might have been Adam, if he was fresh it could’ve been an epic battle with three guys, and I’ve got a feeling that everything would’ve been flying at the end,” he said.

The Rosholt boys picked up 15 points in the 800 run to leave them in first place in the team standings at the end of the first day, as they scored 23 points to hold the lead over North Crawford (13), with expected State Title contenders Bangor in 10th with eight points, Cambridge tied for 11th with six points, and Wild Rose yet to score a point.

Also Friday, the 4×400 relay team of freshman Josh Zick, Fleming, sophomore Reese Anderson and senior Dausen Anderson came into state seeded seventh in the event, but it was disqualified in the preliminaries and missed out on a trip to the finals after the baton was knocked out on the final leg, while Fleming finished 15th in the long jump Saturday.

After winning the State Title in the 4×800 relay last year and four times in the last seven years, the Rosholt boys continued with its stranglehold on the event.

Junior Zach Lepak, Dausen Anderson, Zick and Fleming combined to win the 4×800 relay in 8:16.2, as they pulled away from Webster (8:18.63) down the stretch, and Fleming was part of his third State Championship team in the event.

“Zach ran 2:07, which was solid enough, and then Dausen ran a 2:02 and got us the lead,” said Trzebiatowski. “Zick ran in only the third half-mile that he ever ran in his life, and he ran a PR in 2:07 and actually was able to rally enough to give Fleming a step or two lead at the pass.

“And once the stick was in Fleming’s hand, we knew it was over,” he said.

“I had a good sense of who was anchoring for the other teams, and I knew that Bohaty was in the race but he wasn’t anchoring, so I knew if we got near the front, we’d have a good chance,” said Fleming. “I just had to tell myself that I would chase down or beat anyone in the last leg to get the other three guys a State Title.”

Rzentkowski went head-to-head with Vannucchi again in the 3,200 run Saturday, where he placed second (9:28.3) behind Vannucchi (9:17.39), while sophomore Matt Ross finished 14th in 10:18.04.

“We knew Adam might not have those legs underneath him, but he ran solid and still broke the school record, and he got us eight points,” said Trzebiatowski. “And Matt ran a PR and beat a couple of kids, which was good.”

That left the Rosholt boys with 41 points, after they placed second at state last year with 39. However, Cambridge won State Titles in four events and racked up 56 points on the second day to win the State Title with 62 points, and finish ahead of Wild Rose (43), Bangor (43) and the Hornets (41).

After capturing the State Title in the 800 run, Fleming said winning the 4×800 relay was the perfect ending to his career at Rosholt and the four years that built up to last weekend.

“At Rosholt, it’s a distance-renowned program, my freshman year in track led me to go out for cross (country) my sophomore year, and I really just bought into it,” said Fleming. “And it’s Mr. T, Jon Trebs, Joe Trebs, Eugene Trebs, coach (Len) Hill, they’re all amazing people, and they’re even better coaches.

“They’re just really good at training and convincing younger guys and girls to believe in what they’re doing, and to buy into their system to be successful,” he said. “And it really amazes me when I look back at how much impact that they have on the kids at Rosholt, not just in their sports, but their lives in making them better people. So I’m very grateful for those guys.”

“It was a great weekend, but there was a little bit more out there,” said Trzebiatowski. “Fleming was really pleased, it was a great plan that we had for all of our kids, and most of it came true.

“But it’s been a great season,” he said.