Kerner, Waltz finish seventh in respective events at state

Northland Pines athlete Eli Kerner and Three Lakes sophomore Nolan Waltz represented North Woods athletes at the WIAA State Track and Field meet June 6-7 in La Crosse, and finished seventh in the D2 400-meter dash and D3 1600-meter run, respectively. 

Both athletes finished just one spot off from being on the podium in each event. 

This was Waltz’s first trip to the state meet, while Kerner wrapped up his high school career with three trips to La Crosse. 

Kerner competed against 16 other runners in the 400-meter prelims on the opening day of the state meet, June 6. The senior finished third in his heat and seventh overall to qualify for the finals with a time of 50.28 seconds. He moved onto finals June 7, intending to finish inside the top six. Kerner ended just outside of that in seventh with a nearly identical time (50.29) to his prelim run. Sixth place was finished with a time of 49.67. 

“While his goal was to get on the podium, he was pretty happy with how he competed and gave it everything he had,” said Josh Rhode, the Northland Pines track and field coach. “His story of the season was about overcoming various injuries throughout the year.”

Rhode reflected on Kerner’s impact on the track throughout his high school career, which ended once again competing against the best of the best in the state.  

“Eli has left his mark at Pines as a three-time state competitor, two school records (4x100 relay, 4x200 relay), and second all-time 100M dash, third all-time in the 400M dash,” Rhode stated. “He was our team captain this season and did a great job leading his team through adversity.”

Kerner will go through off-season surgery, according to Rhode, and will then focus on competing on the track at UW-Oshkosh next spring.
Waltz competed on opening day, where he chased a familiar face in Crandon senior Taylor Karcz, who won the D3 1600 state title.  

The sophomore once again set a new personal best time of 4:24.03, including beating his own school record in the 1600 he set earlier in the postseason (4:24.31). Waltz got off to an interesting start and was stuck between the pack on the first lap. 

“He had a difficult first lap at state. He got boxed in by the pack early in and eventually had to slow down to get out of it,” said Three Lakes-Phelps coach Nate Koch. “He kept his composure and was patient as he worked to get up with the leaders.”

He finished his first 400 meters in 1:05.46, which put him in 13th. He improved his placement by two or three spots in the next two laps, which put him in eighth place with one to go. 

“On his last lap, he ran the second fastest split of anyone in the race and placed seventh, just one spot off the podium,” explained Koch. “He was also the fastest sophomore in the race. With a different start, he could have gotten on the podium, but that's all part of racing.”

Waltz will head into the fall season for cross country, where he looks to make another state appearance before another track season next spring.