Hilltopper Track & Field Team Finishes 5th at State

Marquette University High School capped a standout season with a 5th-place finish at the WIAA Division 1 State Track & Field Championships at UW-La Crosse, competing against 92 teams at the state meet.

Senior Amillione Johnson led the way with a remarkable weekend, earning podium finishes in all three of his events. Johnson placed 5th in the long jump, 5th in the 100 meters and 2nd in the 200 meters, helping lead the Hilltoppers to one of the top team finishes in Wisconsin.

Johnson also broke his own school record twice in the 200 meters, running 21.59 in Friday’s prelims before lowering the record again with a 21.33 in Saturday’s final. He ends his MUHS career ranked No. 1 all-time in school history in both the 100 and 200 meters.

Senior Brendan Reardon also closed his Hilltoppers career with an outstanding performance. Reardon placed 2nd in the 3200 meters with a new school record time of 9:02.85. He returned later in the meet to run a personal best of 4:14.21 in the 1600 meters, finishing 9th and becoming the second-fastest 1600-meter runner in school history.

Senior Gianni Quintero delivered a record-setting performance in the wheelchair division, winning state championships in the 400 meters, 800 meters and 1600 meters, while also placing 3rd in the shot put. Quintero broke meet records in all three wheelchair races, including lowering two of his own meet records. He won the 400 meters in 56.92, the 800 meters in 1:54.75 and the 1600 meters in 3:52.27. 

In the process, Quintero become the most decorated wheelchair athlete in WIAA history with 11 state titles. The previous record of 10 wheelchair track titles was also held by a Hilltopper, Joe Schubert '17.

Marquette’s 4x800-meter relay team added another school record to the weekend, placing 5th in 7:48.43. The team of junior Eli North, junior Ezra Sanchez, senior Charlie Cary and sophomore Charlie Kwiatt broke the previous school record by nearly four seconds.

Marquette also had several additional state competitors contribute to the Hilltoppers’ strong weekend. Senior JJ Allen competed in the 400 meters, finishing 15th in prelims with a time of 50.00. Senior Logan Gaengel cleared 13-0 in the pole vault, tying for 16th. The 4x400-meter relay team of JJ Allen, sophomore Charlie Kwiatt, senior Charlie Cary and senior Jackson Myers also competed at state, finishing 17th in prelims with a time of 3:24.29.

The Hilltoppers are led by head coach Nicole Williams and a full coaching staff that included Mercy Ndon for sprints, Matthew Foster as sprints lead, Ethan Wright for jumps, Jordan Cosby for sprints/jumps, Jim Boston for distance, Matt Savage for vault, Jon Parsons for throws, Mouhamed Camara for sprints, Dan Baker for distance, Q Cartier for throws, Jack LoPresti for mid distance, Nolan Kosinski for distance, Traci Murphy for JV sprints, Anthony Mancinelli for wheelchair events, Chris McKinney for sprints/jumps and Wilson Lombard for mid distance.