Baraboo girls 4x800 relay team turns belief into a school record in Verona

The Baraboo girls 4x800 relay team has a true sense of commitment and belief in one another which led to changing a wishful goal into a record-setting reality. The Thunderbirds went to the WIAA Division 1 Sectionals Track Meet in Verona on Friday, May 29, and delivered a historic performance, breaking a school record that had stood since 2004. With a time of 9:52.95, the relay team of Madilyn (Madi) Gilbert, McKenzie Dougherty, Sydney Dobush, and Taylor Sperl moved Baraboo into a new place in program history, edging past the previous mark of 9:53.59.

That accomplishment did not begin with bold predictions or public talk about records. Early in the season, the group of four was simply trying to measure up to the standard set by Baraboo's 4x800 relay team from last year. As the weeks passed, though, their progress became impossible to ignore. At the Baraboo Relays Home Invitational, the Thunderbirds ran 10:08, a breakthrough that sparked the first real sense that the school record might be within reach.

The belief only grew stronger a week later at the Heather Johnson Wisconsin Dells Invite. There, the team turned in a blazing 9:55.75, a result that sharpened both its confidence and its focus. From that point on, the chase became more than a hopeful idea. It became a shared target, one the runners were willing to organize around and pursue together through the final stretch of the season.

By the time the Sectionals meet arrived in Verona, everything lined up. The competition was high-level, the weather was favorable, and Baraboo's relay group carried a united feeling of commitment and solidarity into the race. That combination showed in the way the Thunderbirds performed when the stakes were highest. They did not just run well, they met the moment and made it their own, carving 1.64 seconds off a school standard that had lasted 21 years.

The record speaks to more than speed. It reflects the way this relay team grew together, trusted one another and raised its expectations as the season unfolded. From starting the season off with a 10:40, improving to a 10:08 at the Baraboo Relays and then 9:55.75 at Wisconsin Dells and peaking with a 9:52.95 in Verona, the progression tells the story of athletes who kept discovering a little more in themselves each week. For Baraboo, that school-record run now stands as a proud example of what belief, chemistry and steady work can produce.