Merrill track athletes shine at Regional and Sectional meets, Allen is headed to State

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the Merrill Varsity Track & Field team traveled to Medford High School to compete in the Division 2 Regional meet. The Bluejays turned in a strong performance, producing three Regional Champs and a number of athletes who qualified for Sectionals.
“What a special night at the Medford Division 2 Regional meet,” said Varsity Head Track & Field Coach Alec Oestreich. “Despite weather delays, our athletes competed incredibly. Merrill had three Regional Champions and a handful of other Sectional qualifiers!”
Keylin Allen claimed the Regional title in the boys long jump, Tyler Spade took the Regional Championship in the boys 400m dash, and Ben Hanson won the boys 800m run to round out Merrill’s three Regional Champions.
Also qualifying for Sectionals from the Regional meet were the girls 4x800m relay team of Caroline Durbin, Kayla Klimek, Olivia Smith, and Charlotte VanDerNest; Brenna Jirovec in the 100m hurdles; the girls 4x200m relay team of Hannah Rell, Khloe Olson, Brenna Jirovec, and Lauren Zuelsdorff; Marie Hagemeister in the girls 400m dash; the girls 4x100m relay team of Hannah Klinger, Hannah Rell, Khloe Olson, and Lauren Zuelsdorff; Charlotte VanDerNest in the girls 800m run; the girls 4x400m relay team of Hannah Rell, Lauren Zuelsdorff, Amelia Weberpal, and Marie Hagemeister; the boys 4x400m relay team of Patrick Whited, Ben Hanson, Jacob Mueller, and Tyler Spade; and Marie Hagemeister in the girls long jump.

Sectional meet

On Friday, May 29, the Bluejays traveled to Rice Lake High School to compete in the Division 2 Sectional meet against 31 other teams.
“We had a strong showing, and had numerous season-best performances,” Oestreich said.
The girls relay teams were outstanding across the board, with all four recording season bests. The girls 4x800m relay finished in 10:55.32, the girls 4x400m relay in 4:14.71, the girls 4x200m relay in 1:49.99, and the girls 4x100m relay in 52.48.
Marie Hagemeister had a standout individual performance, posting a new personal best of 1:00.04 in the girls 400m dash for a sixth-place finish, and a new personal best jump of 17’-1” in the girls long jump — missing a state berth by one place.
On the boys side, the 4x400m relay team recorded a season best of 3:36.92. Keylin Allen earned a trip to the WIAA State Track and Field Championships with a season-best long jump of 21’-2”.
“Congratulations to all of these outstanding competitors on an incredible season,” said Oestreich. “As a coach there’s nothing better than putting your athletes in a position to continue to perform better every meet. I’m really proud of our athletes — the hard work and dedication they’ve put in throughout the season was highlighted by these performances at the Sectional meet.”
Allen will compete at the WIAA State Track and Field Championship meet in La Crosse on Saturday. He is currently seeded 15th in the Division.
“He has shown considerable improvement at each meet. We wish him the best of luck,” Oestreich said.