Senior Spotlight: Wrightstown’s Buechler

I believe in finishing what you start.

Brielle Buechler certainly did that in June.

The Wrightstown senior advanced to the WIAA state track and field meet for a fourth time and ended her prep career by winning her second Division 2 state title in the pole vault.

After coming back from an injury, Buechler won her second state championship in three years with a personal-best vault of 11 feet, 9 inches.

She’s continuing to vault at the college level as a preferred walk-on with Marquette University.

Why am I writing about her today?

I was just about to start transcribing the interview I did with Buechler for a Senior Spotlight in May when I was told my services weren’t needed at the newspaper anymore.

I felt horrible that story wasn’t going to run and offered to finish it despite the circumstances.

I had conducted the interview a couple weeks before during a track and field meet at De Pere on an unusually warm April day.

I always enjoyed going to track and field meets early in the season and talking with coaches, athletes and parents to cultivate story ideas. But I went there that day with the intent of interviewing Buechler for a Senior Spotlight, which always required long interviews of about 20 to 25 minutes to truly get to know and tell the story of a student-athlete.

I can recall Buechler’s pole vault coach taking photos of her being interviewed because she was so proud. I can still remember those types of details of just about every story I’ve ever written or produced. It’s like a Rolodex that’s forever imprinted in my mind.

I’ll be honest, I hated the thought of having to do a weekly “Q&A” when I was approached about the idea by sports editor Mike Vandermause – the person I can’t thank enough for taking a chance on hiring me. I felt the “Q&A” pieces were usually rather dry and simply a series of short responses.

I told him I would do the “Q&A” articles on two conditions: 1) I would feature only senior athletes; 2) I was going to put these together as an actual conversation that tells an actual story.

I feel that’s what I did over the years.

Now, back to finishing what I started.

Buechler discusses her teammates, career goals and competing with her older brothers in my final Senior Spotlight.

How did you become interested in pole vaulting?

I just remember hearing about Bonnie Draxler pole vaulting and it sounded cool, so we asked her about it my freshman year a little before the season started. She told me more about it and really helped me get into it.

What did you learn from Bonnie as a freshman?

It was awesome being able to watch her as a freshman. I learned so much. She had a lot to do with how well I’m doing today, so that’s really cool.

What do you like most about the pole vault?

It’s such a technical sport, so every little thing you do can make a big difference in how the vault turns out. But it’s really awesome when you clear the bar coming down. It’s a lot of fun.
How do you like the school’s new track?

It’s awesome having the new track because this runway is so much better. The old runway had a bunch of patches missing, so you kind of had to watch where you stepped. But this one is a lot better.

You have a 4.03 GPA and will be attending Marquette. What do you want to study there?

I want to be a speech and language pathologist and, hopefully, work at a school.

What inspired you to pursue that career path?

I have a friend, Sheila, that has a speech disorder. She is one of my closest friends, so she really inspired me to go into this career. We really got close in middle school when she became the manager of our basketball team. This year, we were actually managers together since I decided not to play.

How did you feel when you got to see Sheila Cohen dress and play in a game against Waupaca in February?

It was so awesome. She was so excited. She told the whole school as soon as she found out. She really made everyone else so much more excited for her.

You’re not the only state champion and medalist in your family. Your oldest brother, Brett, won a state wrestling title in 2011, while your other older brother, Brandon, placed third at state wrestling in 2015. What was it like growing up with wrestlers in the family?

Everything was always a competition. We were all so competitive. They would beat up on me, but we would have competitions when I was in gymnastics of who could do more flips and everything like that. I would win those always.

How did you dislocate your left knee last year?

In happened in a basketball game against Freedom. I was trying to go around a screen and my knee just caught on another girl just right. It partially dislocated. I started practicing again because they didn’t know it was dislocated and that’s when I did it again. I had to do three months of physical therapy before I could start running again.

The injury bug bit you again though last year when the track and field season started, correct?

Right when I started vaulted again I pulled something. I didn’t think anything of it, but I kept running. Eventually we went and got a MRI and we found a hematoma. It’s a dry blood clot. I wanted to make it through the season, so all I did was pole vault and towards the end of the season I ran the 4×100 again.

I know your goal was to repeat as the D2 state champion, but how rewarding was it to finish as the state runner-up following the injury setbacks?

It was hard being so close to first again because I only missed it by one height. But after I thought about it, it was rewarding knowing that after everything I went through I could still come back and take second.

What’s one of your earliest sports memories?

In elementary school, we always had a track meet at the end of the year. Three other friends and me always did the 4×100 relay. Our goal every year was to break the school record for third and fourth grade. We were excited for that the whole year.

What’s your most embarrassing sports memory?

During basketball in eighth grade, we were at a tournament and the ref blew the whistle, but my friend didn’t hear it and threw the ball at me. I turned right at that moment, and it hit me right in the face and I fell backwards. Both our team and the other team had it on video tape, and they showed it to me many times.

What stood out to you the most about winning a state title as a sophomore?

It’s just a cool atmosphere to be in because there are so many great vaulters. It’s so much different from the rest of the season because it is up in the really high heights. It’s just fun to compete with some friends from other schools you might not see all the time. I want to do that again this year.

What’s something most people might not know about you?

I played the piano for 13 years. I still play for fun sometimes, but not as much as I used to.

Which teammate would you want with you if you were trapped at sea?

I would say Alisha Murphy because she always has the wildest ideas, so I think one of her ideas could get us onto a raft.

Who is the most polite teammate you’ve had?

Gabby Koel. She’s always so kind to everybody and fun to be around.

Which one of your teammates should have their own reality TV show?

I would say Jackie Martin because she always has something crazy going on, and I think it would be a very funny show.

What are you going to miss most about high school?

Competing in sports with all my close friends because it has been an awesome experience. That’s where I have some of my greatest memories from high school.

Favorites

Class: Biology.

Food: Italian.

TV show: “Grey’s Anatomy.”

App: Instagram.

Athlete: Jenn Suhr.

Coach’s comment

“She’s a perfect student-athlete. As far as academics, she gives 100 percent. She does the same thing with athletics. To me, that’s a perfect combination with her. She’s a great team player, who is always supporting other kids, which is neat.” – Wrightstown girls track and field coach Patrick Boyd