Pulaski picks up the pace to earn trip to state
Better late than never.
Dustin Graf had been asking Pierce Narges to come out for track and field for several years.
Narges finally listened.
It resulted in a state trip for the Pulaski seniors.
“We really didn’t expect to go to state this year,” Graf said about the 1,600-meter relay advancing to the WIAA Division 1 state track and field meet. “But we knew it was there. We kept running and kept getting faster.”
Not only did the Red Raiders win a sectional championship in the 1,600 relay to punch their ticket to state, but Narges won the sectional title in the 400.
Narges’ time of 50.11 seconds is seeded eighth at state, while the 1,600 relay is seeded 13th with a time of 3:24.13, which is a couple tenths of a second off the school record.
“If somebody told me that we would be going to state in the beginning of the year, I wouldn’t believe them,” Narges said. “We definitely surpassed expectations.”
The 1,600 relay won Fox River Classic Conference, regional and sectional titles this year on the way to becoming the first relay for the Pulaski boys team to advance to state since 2012.
The Red Raiders went on a three-year drought without a state qualifier after that.
Junior Brody Olson advanced to state for a second straight season in the 3,200 this year.
Meanwhile, Pulaski’s sprint group has been on the rise with the addition of Narges and the return of Randy Fondow to the coaching staff.
“He’s a really, really good coach. He’s really nice to have,” said Graf, who will play football at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
“I can remember freshman year there was like 12 guys on our sprinting team. Now, it’s just growing.”
The cupboard won’t be bare after Graf and Narges graduate. They are joined by sophomores Brock Egnarski and Will Frank on the state-qualifying 1,600 relay.
The Red Raiders are hoping they can be just a hair faster to break the school record at state.
Narges, who sports a fro, should be able to help the relay accomplish that.
“I might do something crazy with it for state. We’ll see,” Narges said.
“Our program is looking the best it has in a while, so for me to be a part of that is awesome.”
On the girls side, Pulaski advanced its 800 relay, which features the sophomore quartet of Gianna Kornaus, Kayla Lipsey, Leighann Binkowski and Maddy Karcz.
Meanwhile, senior Annika Linzmeier will be finishing off her prep career with her fourth state run in the 3,200.