Sports Roundup: Stenzel State Finish and Gibraltar Volleyball

Stenzel Will Use State Finish as Motivation

Disappointing outcome. Encouraging motivation.

That would be the best way to describe Sevastopol junior Olivia Stenzel’s experience at Saturday’s Division 3 state cross-country meet as she finished in 53rd place with a time of 21 minutes, 7 seconds. She finished 21st and 20th during her freshman and sophomore years, respectively.

“It was just a really hard race for me,” said Stenzel. “I think my nerves might have got the best of me.”

Stenzel will return for the spring track season after finishing seventh in the 800-meter dash at last year’s Division 3 state meet. Stenzel, Zoe Kuehn, Lizzy Fiscus and Mya Ploor will all return to the 3,200-meter relay team, which placed second.

“I am going to use [the state cross-country meet] as motivation for the track season,” Stenzel said. “Having a bad race put into perspective how much training and work I have to do.”

Gibraltar Volleyball

Green Bay NEW Lutheran High School downed Gibraltar 25-22, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19 in the Division 4 girls volleyball sectional semifinal Oct. 31. The Vikings, who won their second consecutive regional title (and only the third in the school’s history), finished 15-12. 

Head coach Woody Heidler said, “This season was full of ups and downs, injuries, as well as massive strides as individual athletes and as a team. Sadly, the season came to a close when we were not able to overcome being down two sets in the sectional semifinal. Overall, this season was a major success, and I cannot thank the seniors enough for their hard work and dedication to the program over the last four years. You will be missed!”