Westosha’s Rau sets school record, medals in state track

Westosha Central broke a personal record twice, a school record, and earned a spot on the podium at the WIAA Division 1 state track meet in La Crosse (Submitted/The Report).
Westosha Central senior Sydney Rau broke a personal record twice, a school record, and earned a spot on the podium at the WIAA Division 1 state track meet in La Crosse (Submitted/The Report).

Lady Falcons senior raised the bar to take 6th

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

Entering the WIAA Division 1 state meet in La Crosse, senior Sydney Rau had one expectation, to break the school pole vault record of 11 feet, 3 inches, but her performance raised the bar.

The senior vaulter snagged a personal record twice, capped off by clearing the bar at 11 feet, 6 inches, en route to a spot on the podium with a sixth place finish.

“I knew the school record going in was 11-3, so I really wanted 11-6, and did what I had to do,” Rau said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all, and to PR it, it feels pretty amazing.”

Westosha Central coach Brandon Claypool was more than impressed, noting she went well beyond her personal best established earlier in the season.

“Sydney was awesome today,” Claypool said. “She actually vaulted a foot higher than her previous personal best. It was a clutch performance too as she made 11 feet and 11 feet, 6 inches on her final attempt at each height.”

Rau fell short of just three inches to tie Green Bay Preble’s Sheridan Michaud, who finished third, and six inches away from second-place finisher Grace Kowalkowski of De Pere.

But, she did six inches better than Janesville Parker’s Hannah Rainero, whom she beat for the sectional title in Stoughton a week earlier.

Leading up to the meet, Rau set the bar high with jumps set at 11 feet, giving her the confidence on the state stage.

After she cleared the first jumps, it came down to 11-6, and Rau recalled words of advice from vault coach Dave Mobile.

“Really focus, don’t let it get to the head, and make the jump,” she said.

Finishing in the top six among the state’s best was on her first and last appearance came as no surprise, according to Claypool, citing her work ethic and composure.

“Sydney is a unique competitor in that she tends to thrive under that type of pressure. She is a very mentally tough kid,” Claypool stated. “Sydney is a hard worker and a model athlete for her teammates.”

Rau qualified at the state meet in the 400-meter dash as a sophomore, and earlier this year, she advanced as a member of Kenosha Combined Gymnastics.

Two other Westosha Central athletes competed in the first day of competition, junior thrower Amanda Sabourin in girls discus and boys sprinter Austin Kurylo in the 200-meter dash.

While both did not place, the Falcons have one more qualifier scheduled on Saturday, senior distance runner Jacob Hebior in the 3,200-meter run.


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