BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On Friday, May 3, 2024, Merrill hosted the 38th Annual Otto Bacher Invitational Track and Field Meet. “We had a total of 11 different boys and girls teams that competed,” Coach Alec Oestreich said. Competitors came from Antigo, Crandon, Medford, Mosinee, Newman Catholic, Northland Pines, Rhinelander, Three Lakes, Tomahawk, and Wausau East.
“Overall the boys finished 11th and the girls finished 7th,” Oestreich said. “It was a great night filled with some phenomenal competition! I’m really impressed with how our athletes competed. Our final team score doesn’t show it, but we continue to get better each week, and have countless athletes that keep setting new personal bests.”
Notable performances for Merrill athletes included these highlights:
- Tyler Spade finished 5th in the 400m dash, with a personal best of 53.49 seconds.
- The Boys 4x800m team finished 6th with a 9:42.69.
- Mia Smith finished 5th in the 400m dash, with a personal best of 1:04.33.
- Jalie Severt finished 3rd in the 100m hurdles, with a personal best of 18.05; finished 6th in the 300m hurdles, with 54.47; and finished 4th in pole vault.
- The Girls took 4th in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays with a 56.14 and 4:29.94, respectively.
- Elexa Emmer finished 4th in discus and shot put with a 96’3” and 30’1.5”, respectively.
