Middle-distance and distance was the name of the game on Friday night.
Both Campbellsport's boys and Laconia's girls used those events to earn Flyway Championships. For the Cougars, it was the first title in 51 years; for the Spartans, it made their streak four straight.
Each side had close team races. Campbellsport scored 186.5 and beat Winnebago Lutheran Academy by nine points. Laconia scored 143, which was eight better than St. Mary's Springs.
Laconia trailed Springs much of the evening. That changed after the 800-meter run, which Spartans' junior Molly Duel won, followed by Marissa Johnson in second and Hayden Johnson in third with a PR of 2-minutes, 35.42-seconds.
Those finishes scored 24 points for Laconia; Springs did not score a point in the event.
"It's so great to be able to come back as a team," Duel said. "Last year we did lose quite a few seniors that really benefitted us, but coming back as a team and being able to get that win again is a really good feeling.
"It's just nice to be able to contribute to the team and to give them as many points as possible for a good outcome."
The Spartans then extended their lead with another 14 points from the 3200. Duel finished second and Marissa Johnson finished third, each with her season-best time of 13:35.43.
Johnson said gritting out difficult races like the 3200 is worth it for the conference title.
"It's worth it at the end because we're getting the points that we all need," Johnson said. "Just seeing the trophy and the teamwork at the end is all worth it."
Laconia had two wins in the field: junior Kinsly Laudolff won the discus and Aubrey Leonard won the triple jump. The Spartans also got a win in the 400 from Tierney Madigan, who ran a PR 1:01.55.
Campbellsport's boys did not have the same type of winning success, but the depth that the Cougars had ruled the day.
The Cougars had three of the top-six finishers in the 400, 800 and 3200 while also having two of the top-five 1600 runners.
Coach Derek Toshner credited the strong cross-country program at Campbellsport for the success of the track team.
"That's been a huge help to have just an amazing distance program come in," Toshner said. "Obviously, it's a huge part of track and field if you can have the depth in distance.
"That allows some of the mid-sprinters to really focus on 200 and 400 kind of work, they don't have to jump up and do the 400 or 800 kind of stuff."
WLA had a slender lead after the sprint races and the field events were finished. The Vikings' Gannan Schwartz once again won three events and was runner-up in the high jump. Schwartz ran a PR 11.10 in the 100; he also ran a career-best in the 200.
WLA dominated again in the field as well. Kaiden Schmitz won both the shot put and the discus, breaking a school record in the process. Oscar Blohm and Chop Simmons each supported Schmitz with top-six places.
Campbellsport coach Derek Toshner said he knew WLA would dominate the sprints and field, but he was confident in his team's depth in the mid-distance and distance races.
"I knew it would come down to WLA and us tonight, the two most dominant teams in the conference all year," Toshner said. "I just knew we could take them in the 800, the 400, mile and two-mile. I knew those were the distances that we could step up and win.
The Cougars also dominated the hurdles events. Evan Wilcox won both the 110 and 300 hurdles races and teammate Caleb Smith finished third in both.
Individual Highlights
Vikings' senior distance runner Bennett Midthun and Ledgers' junior sprinter Grace Coon were named Flyway Players of the Year for their performances at the conference meet.
Midthun ran the 4x800, 1600 and 3200 races and won all three handily. He had a PR in the 3200 with a time of 10:09.03.
Midthun's closest competition would have been teammate Gannan Schwartz's three-win performance.
Coon was dominant once again with four wins. She set a PR in the 100, running in 12.73. Coon also won the 200, the 4x200 and the high jump, where she jumped 4-feet, 10-inches.
Coon held off Campbellsport's Lydia Toshner, who had three wins. The junior won her third-straight titles in the 100 and 300 hurdles and she was part of the winning 4x400 team.
Coach Toshner said he has enjoyed getting to coach his daughter and said she wants to win conference in hurdles every year in her high-school career.
"She's going for four [next year], that's her goal," Toshner said.
Duel was also one of the top performers on the night with wins in the 800 and 1600 as well as a runner-up in the 3200.
"Conference day is always a little brutal, especially with the events that I have to be put in in order to score points," Duel said. "I thought the mile was pretty good and the 800, I actually felt better than the mile."
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