WIAA Track: Brookfield Academy Has Record-Breaking Day

When it comes to calling his own shot, Fred Willis knows what he’s talking about.

The Brookfield Academy senior said after he and his teammates wowed the crowd at the WIAA State Meet on Friday that Saturday they planned to break even more records.

Willis held true to his word as the Blue Knights took home two state records to go with their three gold medals.

“The more the better,” Brookfield Academy junior Max Wrenn said about the feat.

The first of the two record-breakers came in the 4x100 relay.

Academy actually set that event’s best mark on Friday with a time of 43.32 seconds, besting the 1996 team from Edgar by 0.22 seconds.

The Blue Knights’ erased any doubt their first run was a fluke by flying in first the whole way with a time of 42.51.

“We wanted it (the record), so we went after it,” Wrenn said. “Obviously after yesterday we knew we had to work on the handoffs so we just focused on that. We knew if we did that right and just got (the baton) to (anchor) Fred (Willis) that we could win it.”

Willis was at it again in the 200, as the University of Wisconsin football recruit cruised in with a time of 21.81 seconds, just in front of Howards Grove’s Marcus Ver Duin's time of 21.89 set in 2002.

Willis, who called La Crosse’s Veteran’s Memorial Field Complex the fastest track he’s ever run on, also took first in the 100, finishing with a time of 10.82.

“I was actually texting my position coach (at UW), Dale Alexander, and told him I put up a 10.5 (time in the 100) earlier in the season and he said that was pretty good and they’re going to put that to use.”

Competing in only three events, the boys team took fifth with 30 points.

On the girls end of the competition, Brookfield Academy’s 4x100 relay team took second overall.

The combination of Mary Liz Kim, Catherine Courchaine, Bailey Vipond and Mackenzie Bonk finished with a time of 50.63 seconds, just behind Edgar (49.94).

The girls team finished 26th overall with eight points.