Fond du Lac’s Andrew Stone wins state shot put title, teammate Colton Wasieleski is sixth

LA CROSSE – A year ago, Fond du Lac’s Andrew Stone came into the WIAA state track and field meet as the top seed in the Division 1 shot put and a favorite to win the competition.

He left with a second-place medal. It was a disappointing day for the massive Stone, and something he wasn’t going to let happen again.

“It motivated me big time. I had a chip on my shoulder this year,” Stone said. “So this year, I had to get in there and win it.” That’s exactly what he did.

Stone unleashed a throw of 63 feet, 10 inches in the final round to finish more than 4 feet ahead of the rest of the competitors and claim the state title Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium. “It feels amazing,” Stone said. “I wanted to come in and throw a little bit farther, but state champ isn’t too bad. I wanted to hit that big 65-footer again, but it just didn’t happen.”

Stone was one of two Fond du Lac shot putters to walk away with a medal Friday.

Senior Colton Wasieleski also earned a spot on the awards podium by placing sixth among the 24 competitors. Wasieleski’s best throw was 53 feet, 4¼ inches which came on the second of six attempts.

“It was enough to get on the podium, so I’m happy with it,” Wasieleski said. “That was the goal the whole season and it feels really nice.”

It was a fitting way for the two throwers to end the season, considering they placed 1-2 at many meets and pushed each other all season long.

“Sometimes when we’re competing it feels like winning the consolation bracket when we go 1-2. It’s OK, but there’s a 10-foot gap,” Wasieleski said. “We both encourage each other so much. We came here to both podium and that’s what we did.”

Added Stone: “Every single practice, ‘Was’ is always pushing me, I’m pushing him. We came in here with the goal in mind to both be on the podium and we got it done. It was perfect.”

Stone’s day didn’t get off to the best start as he fouled on his first attempt.

But he took the lead with a 63-foot, 4¾-inch heave on his second try and boosted that mark by 4 inches on his third attempt to take the lead heading into the finals. He got his winning throw on his first attempt in the finals.

“It does get a few extra nerves (when you foul on first try) but you have five left,” Stone said. “You just have to go after it like any other throw.”

Stone has the chance to walk away with two medals for the second straight year. He is the fifth seed in the discus, which will be held Saturday, and placed sixth in the event a year ago.

Plus he has Friday’s win in the shot put to give him a little boost.

“It’s motivation like crazy and a confidence boost for sure,” Stone said. “I’m going to go in there and try to PR again and if I do PR, I could possibly get first or second.”

Discus

2nd     Andrew Stone, Fond du Lac, 178-9.

3,200 relay

24th   Fond du Lac (Ben Schmitz, Evan Bloedorn, Isaac Hayes, Kiernan Koepke), 8:28.38.

1,600-meter relay

8th  Fond du Lac (Luke Curran, Ben Schmitz, Hunter Kollmann, Zach Schmit), 3:24.68.

Team scores

1, Kimberly 74; 5, Neenah 30; 8, D.C. Everest 24;  10, Fond du Lac 22; 12, Stevens Point 20; 17, Green Bay Preble 16; 19, Oshkosh North 11; 25, Plymouth 8; 30, De Pere 6; 35, Shawano 5; 40, Sheboygan South 4.5; 48, Green Bay East 3; 48, Appleton North 3; 58, Merrill 1; 58, Notre Dame 1.