From The Court To The Track – Division I

<p>On June 1^st and 2^nd athletes from around the state gathered to compete in the WIAA Track and Field State Championship at the University of Wisconsin -La Crosse.  As another sport season has wrapped up for the 2017-2018 school year, we will take a look at some of our top performing multi-sport athletes.  While many young athletes are in pursuit of the Division I athletic scholarship, they sometimes overlook many universities that may be able to offer scholarships between two sports and possibly packaged with academic scholarships that equal a full-ride.  Let’s take a look at some Wisconsin volleyball players that showed they are more than a “one-trick pony”. </p> <p><strong>Division 1-</strong></p> <p><strong>From #5 – Madison La Follette</strong></p> <p><strong>Tyra Turner</strong> – 2018 - 5’6” – Pin Hitter</p> <p>This young woman is IMPRESSIVE! This was Turner’s 4^th trip to WIAA State Track.  She took 3^rd place in the Triple Jump (39.00.50) this year to get on the podium.  Turner has also been a standout in softball (competing in both softball and track at the same time) being named as an All-Big Eight Conference outfielder.  She also competed at State Gymnastics with East/La Follette and has been a conference standout. As of February, Turner had plans to attend and play softball at UW-Madison.</p> <p> <strong>From #5 – Monona Grove</strong></p> <p><strong>Ali Dorn</strong> – 2019 - 5’9” - Middle Blocker</p> <p>Don’t blink or you will miss her!  Dorn is fast and she proved it last weekend at the WIAA State Track meet by taking 1^st place in the 100 meter dash (12.26), 2^nd place in the 200 meter dash (25.10), and 2^nd place in the  400 meter dash (54.78).  Dorn single-handedly accumulated all of Monona Grove’s 26 points to tie Madison La Follette for 5^th place.</p> <p><strong>From #11 – Kimberly</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9265" first="Emily" last="Scott"] </strong>– 2018 – 6’2” – Middle Blocker/Right Side</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="9265" first="Emily" last="Scott"] can high jump over the height of the average American woman (5’4”) and she cleared her by couple inches when she placed 3^rd in the High Jump this past weekend (5-06.00).  Scott played club for WVA 18 Black and is committed to play volleyball for Louisville in the fall. </p> <p><strong>From #11 – Arrowhead</strong></p> <p><strong>Abigail Bartelson</strong> – 2018 – 5’7” – Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Bartelson makes up the 3^rd leg of the 4x400 meter relay that won a state title this past weekend (3:55.42).  My mother was a track coach in the 70’s and 80’s, and she had always called the 400 meter dash “a puker”.  I’ve always found it impressive when a team can find 4 solid runners in“the puker”! </p> <p><strong>From #14 – Oak Creek</strong></p> <p><strong>Jenna Dankert</strong> – 2018 – 5’8” – Setter</p> <p>Wow.  Dankert helped Oak Creek to win a Conference Championship in volleyball, was co-captain on the varsity basketball team, 2-time 2^nd team all-conference in FOOTBALL, and on her 3^rd trip to state track, she took 1^st place in the Shot Put (45.05.00) and 4^th place in the Discus Throw (128-05).  All this and a stellar GPA. No surprise she will be attending and competing in track and field at the division I Campbell University in North Carolina. </p> <p><strong>From #14 - D.C. Everest</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9327" first="Natalie" last="Mohring"]</strong> – 2018 – 5’11” -Setter/Outside</p> <p>She is another stellar 3-sport athlete who competes in volleyball, basketball, and track and field. Natalie helped the volleyball team to a sectional final appearance where they lost to a solid River Falls team.  Mohring ended her high school sports career taking 1^st place in the Discus Throw (141-07). </p> <p><strong>From #22 – Reedsburg Area</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9340" first="Brooklyn" last="Schyvinck"] </strong>– 2018 – 5’10” – Outside Hitter</p> <p>Schyvinck will be attending and competing in track and field at Winona next year, but not after improving on her 7^th place finish in the 400 at state in 2017. In her senior campaign, she first was a captain and team MVP, as well as earning WVCA all-state honors in volleyball, and then all-conference honors in basketball.  Finally she wrapped it up taking 3^rd place in the 200 meter dash (25.18) and 3^rd place in the 400 meter dash (55.45).  </p> <p><strong>From #24 – Appleton North</strong></p> <p><strong>Gabby Smith </strong>– 2018 – 5’8” – Right Side</p> <p>She helped her volleyball team to sectionals where they fell to Kimberly, but in Smith’s 4^th and final trip to state track and field, she and her teammates finished in 6^th place in the 4x100 meter relay (48.94).  </p> <p><strong>From #24 – West Bend West</strong></p> <p><strong>Maddie Rettler</strong> – 2020 – 5’9” – Outside</p> <p>Rettler is only a sophomore, but her training with Milwaukee Sting 16 White has set her up to make a big impact in the 2018 Season.  She wrapped up her sophomore year as the 3^rd leg in her team’s 4^th place finish in the 4x400 meter relay (3:58.48). </p> <p><strong>From #33 – Middleton</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9352" first="Jennifer" last="McGinnis"] </strong>– 2018 – 5’10” – Outside Hitter/Middle Blocker</p> <p>McGinnis tallied over 500 kills in her 3 seasons on the varsity squad at Middleton.   She was able to wrap up her high school athletic career with taking 4^th place in the Triple Jump (37.05.00). </p> <p><strong>From #33 – DeForest</strong></p> <p><strong>S</strong><strong>ophee Mink </strong>– 2019 – 6’1” – Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter</p> <p>She has another year to go but is committed to play at High Point for the 2019 volleyball season after a great club season on the Capital 17 Adidas team.  She is definitely an athlete that could do some damage with the explosive power to take 2^nd place in the High Jump (5-06.00). </p> <p><strong>From #38 - Appleton West</strong></p> <p><strong>Lauren Lietzke </strong>– 2018 – 6’2” – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Lietzke’s high school team struggled in 2017, and the struggle will most likely continue after losing a presence like Lietzke, who lead her team with 78 total blocks in 2017.  She ended her high school sports career with a great 3^rd place finish in the Discus Throw (135-01). </p> <p><strong>From #38 – Brookfield East</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56036" first="Riley" last="Kindt"] </strong>– 2020 – 5’9” – Middle Blocker</p> <p>She can fly!  Kindt may have placed 6^th in the High Jump (5-.04.00), but what makes that even more impressive is that her competitors were mainly 6 feet or taller.  She boasts a 10’1” approach touch and a 29 inch vertical. Her work with the Motion Volleyball Club will only help her continue to grow in the next couple years. </p> <p><strong>From #43 – Hortonville</strong></p> <p><strong>Aliza Van Den Elzen</strong> – 2019 – 5’10” - Setter</p> <p>She was a starting setter for Hortonville last season, and after a season playing up with WVA 18 Red, look out for this kid!   This spring she also placed 4^th in the High Jump (5-.04.00). She is not committed yet, but her stock should rise a great deal in the next few months.<strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>From #46 – River Falls</strong></p> <p><strong>Sarah Langlois (</strong>2019 – 5’10” – Middle Blocker)</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33253" first="Emily" last="Banitt"]</strong> (2020 – 5’11” – Outside Hitter)</p> <p>With Banitt as the lead-off and Langlois as the 3^rd leg, their team placed 6^thin the 4x400 meter relay (3:58.88).  These two and their River Falls volleyball team will be a force to reckon with for a few years yet while they capitalize on some stellar athletes and solid training with the Kokoro Volleyball Club.</p>