The Neenah Boys’ Track Team starts the season off strong by breaking records at the first few meets of the 2019 season.

Recently, the 4x800m team of senior Griffin Congdon, sophomores Zach Ziegert and Trenton Bauer, and senior Matt Meinke dropped a time 8:17.68 beating the old record by under five seconds. Meinke also holds the record for the indoor 1600m and hopes to break the outdoor record.

“It’s very exciting to have been able to leave such a lasting and positive mark on this school. I think it was even more exciting that I got to share the accomplishment with some very close teammates,” Bauer said reflecting on the experience.

Meinke, captain, placed first at the Titan Invite on March 12 with a time of 4:15.93 securing the indoor school record; he also placed third at the Madison West Invite on March 30 with a time of 4:23.77.

Meinke shared the secrets to what he does before the meet.

“The day before I get my mind right,” Meinke said explaining his pre-meet routine.  He does not waver from his preparation routine.  He always does the same warm up and races to the best of his ability.     

Senior thrower Alex Boehlen strives to break a 30-year old record in the upcoming meet. In 1989, Dave McLaren set a record in indoor shot put of 56’7” as seen on the fieldhouse posted record board; March 16 Boehlen came only 11” shy of breaking this record with much of the season left.

From distance to throwing Neenah has done fantastic in the beginning of the season. Coaches are looking forward as this season continues to see what happens next.

“Disciplined, self-motivated, self-driven with a very, very hard work ethic — a fierce competitor. Along with being able to endure pitfalls and be able to come back from that and persevere and stay after it.  Set a dream, set a goal and be relentless to go after it,” boys’ track coach Kurt Krueger said in illustration of attributes needed to become a great athlete.

One example of this is in the 200m hurdles. Sophomore Weston Lerdal raced the fastest time since 2001 according to Athletic.net of 28.98 and only 2 seconds short of the school record. Sprinter and captain, Jeff Schneider, showed potential along with the rest of the sprint squad as he places 11th at the Madison West Invite.

Anyone can become a good athlete as long as they are willing to put in the work, and students can really see it in this year’s track team. As many of the athletes continue to drop times and break records fans can follow the results at Athletic.net.