Mauston High School's Brie Eckerman took first place and the District 2 girls WIAA state title in the 110m hurdles. | School District of Mauston/Facebook
Mauston High School's Brie Eckerman took first place and the District 2 girls WIAA state title in the 110m hurdles. | School District of Mauston/Facebook
Mauston High School junior hurdler Brie Eckerman brushed aside the elements in besting the field at the recent Division 2 girls WIAA state track and field championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on the UW-La Crosse campus.
In earning her first state title, Eckerman raced to a time of 15.63 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, ending a 34-year title drought for the Golden Eagles.
Eckerman is only the third Mauston woman in school history to win an individual championship.
“It’s really cool because I know there are some amazing track and field athletes that came from Mauston, so it’s really cool to be up there,” she told WISCNews. “It’s like a dream come true. It’s amazing. It’s unreal.”
The day started out as a dreary time for Eckerman, with a steady downpour only adding to her list of concerns.
“It made me a little nervous,” she said. But thinking about everyone else having to overcome the same conditions was one of the few things to ease her mind.
Later in the day, Eckerman nearly swept the hurdle events, finishing second in the 300m race with a time of 46.49. That earned her a place on the podium twice for the second straight year.
Eckerman is hoping to make even more history next season as she seeks to become the school’s only two-time champion.
“It was really special because a lot of the girls from our team came and supported, and hopefully I’ll bring some of them to state next year,” she said. This year she was the only girl from Mauston competing in the championship event.
On the boys’ side, Eli Boppert also competed for Mauston this year, finishing sixth in the 1600m Division 2 final.
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