Taylor Wardall, Appleton East
Taylor Wardall, a senior runner on the Appleton East boys Track & Field team earned this week's WSN Splash of the Week after an outstanding performance at the Al Vandenberg Invitational Thursday in Ashwaubenon. 
Wardall smashed the previous season-best times in the 800- and 1600-meter races at the meet held at Goelz Field. The senior was clocked at 1:55.75 in the 800, surpassing Hamilton's Marcus Paulson's 1:57.10 and Will Casey's 1:57.91 times set at the Charger Invitational just one day earlier. That mark is arguably within striking distance of the state record time of 1:50.17, set by Watertown's Andrew Perkins in 2007.
In the 1600-meter event at the very same meet, Wardell knocked two seconds off the state's season-best time by recording a mark of 4:12.42, bettering his own record of 4:14.46 set at the W-TFA State Indoor Championships held in early April. Wardall actually boasts the top three times in the event, as the next-best time posted by someone not named Taylor Wardall came from Madison East's Gabe Heck, whose 4:17.48 time was also set at the W-TFA State Indoor.
Wardall also currently owns the second-best time in the 3200-meter run, with a time of 9:30.82 set back at a quad in Neenah. Only Hamilton's Paulson has proven faster, as his 9:25.55 mark in Germantown Friday was enough to overtake the top position in that event.
Honorable Mention
Algoma Softball: The Wolves earned a tough a quartet of victories last week, kicked off by sneaking past Sevastopol 9-8, thanks to a 4-run sixth inning. Freshman pitcher Tanika Jorgenson gave up just three hits and struck out two to upset Luxemburg-Casco--the #4-ranked team in Division 2-- 4-1 Tuesday. Thursday and Friday, the Wolves cruised to a pair of 15-0 and 7-2 victories over league rival Gibraltar and Denmark to improve to 8-0 overall and top the Packerland Conference with a 6-0 mark. Algoma's road sure won't get any easier this week, as it will battle a strong Sturgeon Bay squad Tuesday and perennial powerhouse Southern Door Thursday, which the Wolves beat 4-3 in its season opener.
Casey Plemon, Chequamegon Baseball: Plemon recorded the first reported Perfect Game Friday against Marawood North foe Prentice, in which the Screaming Eagles earned a 5-inning, 16-0 victory. Plemon struck out 13 of the 15 batters he faced, while also going 1-for-3 from the plate and scoring twice. Chequamegon, ranked #9 in the latest WBCA poll, is currently 7-3 on the season and 3-0 in league play.
Angela Boushea, Monona Grove girls Track & Field: Boushea had an outstanding week as the Silver Eagles' top thrower, setting a pair of season records in the state last week. At the Catholic Memorial Crusader Invitational on April 17, Boushea launched the shot put a record 46'5.5" inches bettering a 45-foot indoor effort from Eau Claire Memorial's Tina DeLakis from late March. Tuesday, Boushea launched the discus 136'1" at a dual in Monroe to take the top spot in that event as well.
Abby Starker, Whitefish Bay girls Soccer: Starker recorded two assists in a North Shore victory over Germantown Tuesday, before recording back-to-back five-point games against Slinger and Hononegah, Ill., Wednesday and Friday. With two goals and an assist in each of the week's final two games, Starker currently leads the state with 44 total points on the season and her Blue Dukes have jumped to an 8-0-0 overall record and #4 ranking in the latest WisSports.net Coaches Poll.
The Splash of the Week is sponsored by PlayInTheDells.com. It highlights the player, coach or team that has "made a splash" in the world of high school sports. Coming out of nowhere to do something great, going above and beyond the call of duty, etc. Basically making something big happen and having the ripples of the accomplishment resonate throughout your sport. Please contact us to nominate your hometown heroes today!
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