WAUWATOSA, Wis. — Several Wauwatosa East High School track and field athletes are headed to Nike Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, to compete at Hayward Field on Thursday.
The Red Raiders will send a mixed 4x400 relay team and junior Ethan Mattek in the 5K — a trip that came together in just eight days after the team received an invitation following the state meet.
"After state, I was a little bummed that my high school career was done," senior Oliver Beutler said.
But the season wasn't over.
Watch: Wauwatosa East track athletes headed to Nike Nationals in Eugene to compete at Hayward Field
"Then we get this email, and we're like, oh, we have eight days to make this happen," senior Lyndia Kalumbula laughed.
Those eight days meant fundraising and preparing for one of the nation's biggest high school track meets — all at the same time.
"Just being there is gonna be an experience all in itself," Beutler said.
The mixed 4x400 relay is not a race typically seen in Wisconsin competition, but each member of the relay team knows their role.
Senior Legend Locklear-Pace will run the first leg.
"I'm getting myself in a mindset; it's just another meet because I'm not there just to be there. I want to compete; I want to be a top finisher there," Locklear-Pace said.
Sophomore Mia Templer is focused on running the second leg.
"I'm really just gonna try to hold on and try — if there's someone in front of me — try to beat them to the line," Templer said.
Beutler described his approach as the third leg of the relay.
"I mostly try and make up as much ground as I can on the person in front of me, and really just set up the anchor for success," Beutler said.
Kalumbula, running the anchor leg, said the responsibility is clear.
"My teammates are giving it their all throughout the entire race, so my role and my responsibility is to just finish as hard as I can," Kalumbula said.
Mattek, who will compete in the 5K, said his strategy centers on the middle miles.
"The majority of the race isn't how you finish; it's how you race in the middle of it, so just try to lock in a pace and get with the right group to stay with till the end of the race," Mattek said.
Both events are scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Hayward Field.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
