A Reedsville High School athlete was welcomed back after his trip to State Track and Field.
The sound of emergency service crews rolled up to Reedsville High School with Hunter Taddy and Coach Shawn Eckstein riding in the cabs of the trucks.
After getting inside the gym, speeches were given by Eckstein and Taddy about the season and what happened at state.
Taddy finished 5th at the state track meet in LaCrosse in the Boys 800-meter run.
But he told a crowd of supporters yesterday that it might not have happened at all.
“I almost got disqualified at the start,” he said. “On the on your mark I came up to the line and my foot came over the line before the gun went off and I pulled it back.”
Although the race didn’t quite go his way, he says he still left it all out on the track yesterday.
Taddy was also very thankful for everyone’s support.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out for the support,” he stated. “Thank you for the parade, that was very cool. When I got off the fire truck, I said I wasn’t a state champion, but you guys made me feel like a state champ.”
Coach Ekstein also had some words about going to state with Taddy.
“He didn’t go there because of me,” he explained. “He’s the one who put in all the hard work from cross (country). We all knew what he had to do to qualify for state in cross. He put in the time and dedication all winter and early spring, and I stepped in at the last minute.”
Taddy finished with a time of 1:56 and earned 4 points.
He will continue his cross-country career up in Alaska at the University of Alaska Anchorage while pursing a degree in Real Estate and Property Management.
