By Mike Moore
Sports Correspondent
Turns out Burlington wheelchair athlete Leah Joslyn didn’t have to beat the boys. Conquering her nerves was tough enough.
The freshman won a state title in the girls shot put wheelchair event Friday at the WIAA State Track and Field Championships in La Crosse. Only, at first, she didn’t realize it.
Despite easily outdistancing the other girls with a best toss of 9 feet, 2 inches, Joslyn had resigned herself to a fourth-place finish. That’s because the competition was conducted jointly, with three boys throwing in the same group as the girls.
Then she learned separate medals would be handed out. Instead of leaving with nothing, she brought back a gold medal.
“It actually came as a huge shock,” Joslyn said.
Her best throw was her last. So dominant was she among the three girls in the shot put that, between the preliminary and final rounds, five of her six throws would have won the gold.
Joslyn added a silver medal in the girls 100-meter wheelchair dash on Saturday. That came after she spent several hours waiting at a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse dormitory, while thunderstorms passing through the area delayed the competition.
She set a personal best with a time of 37.39 seconds in the 100. That left her less than three seconds behind winner Andi Minster of Franklin.
Trent Tonn, who coaches the Demons’ throwers in addition to his role as boys head coach, said Joslyn had a great start in that race and held the lead until the 70-meter mark. He pointed out that the other girls benefited from specially-built race chairs that glided more smoothly once they built up momentum.
Competing against all upperclassmen, she felt nervous going into the meet at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
“Once I got through that and tried my hardest, it got better,” she said.
Born with spina bifida, she has limited movement in her legs. Joslyn said Burlington teammates welcomed her from the start.
“They’re all really supportive,” she said. “They all really accepted me right away.”
Where other freshmen have fizzled in front of thousands of fans, Tonn said Joslyn dealt with the atmosphere just fine. She has her eye on the state shot put record of 12 feet, 7 ½ inches — not out of the question, Tonn said, considering she has three years left and already boosted her distance by 50 percent in the past year.
Two other Demons athletes competed in the state pole vault events. Brittany Ehlen finished 14th, matching her personal best by clearing the opening height of 10 feet. Faced with an even taller task, Lucas Shenkenberg didn’t clear the first bar at 13 feet.
“He would’ve had to set a (personal record) by a foot just to make that opening height,” said Tonn, who estimated the junior leapt well enough to make 12.5 feet.
Each team will lose a handful of impending graduates, including sectional qualifiers Cody Mather and Austin Epping on the boys’ side. But the coaches look forward to an infusion of new talent.
“I’m hoping we have a big freshman class in next year,” Tonn said.
All three of the state competitors are expected to return.
Joslyn mentioned she might even have one of those sleek racing chairs when next season arrives.
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