Runners prepare for conference

SPORTS

Athens Invite always a good test for athletes

By Casey Krautkramer

Local high school varsity cross country runners on Thursday descended upon Erbach Park for the annual Athens Invitational.

Stratford junior Cree Defoe was the top local boy runner with a fifth-place finish in 17 minutes, 14 seconds. He loves competing on the Athens course at Erbach Park each year.

“It’s pretty nice,” Defoe said. “It’s one of the best courses you can get. This is cross country so you don’t want a course that is super flat, you want a course like this in Athens that has hills, grass and trails.”

Defoe earned first team all-Marawood Conference last season and he also ran on the WIAA Division 3 state tournament course at The Ridges in Wisconsin Rapids. He’s hoping to repeat, if not improve upon, the success he achieved last season. He admitted that he wasn’t ready to run in his inaugural state championship race last season, but now that he has a year of experience at state under his belt, he believes that he’ll run faster at state should he qualify again this year.

Athens junior Nicholas Pittman keeps improving as he ran to an eighth-place finish in 17:48 at his home invite. Marathon senior Jacob Smith took 11th place in 17:51, followed by Athens senior Andrew Schaer in 12th in 18:02 and Stratford junior Ethan Heeg in 13th in 18:04.

Smith helped the Marathon boys take third place with 136 points behind Rib Lake/Prentice with 90 and team champion Phillips with 74. Stratford placed fourth with 143 points, followed by Wisconsin Rapids Assumption in fifth with 177 and Athens in sixth with 179.

Marathon freshman Logan Peters took 22nd place in 18:57. Athens se- nior Drew Haines placed 26th in 19:08. Marathon sophomore Gavin Matthiae placed 29th in 19:15 and his teammate, senior Derek Vesely, was 31st in 19:18.

Stratford freshman Christoper Stuttgen took 38th place in 19:30 and his teammate, junior Derek Wiese, was 39th in 19:31. Marathon freshman Matthew Kindlarski placed 43rd in 19:38, Athens sophomore Eli Paul was 46th in 19:49 and Stratford sophomore Mathias Kaiser was 48th in 19:55.

Marathon senior Brandon Gitzlaff placed 59th in 20:27 and his teammate, sophomore Brayden Pinter, was 71st in 20:56. Stratford sophomore Calvin Rasmussen placed 72nd in 20:59, Marathon sophomore Ethan Huebsch was 82nd in 21:42, Stratford freshman Cooper Bosman was 90th in 22:03, Athens sophomore Brandon Krause was 108th in 23:22 and Athens senior Garrett Knott was 110th in 23:32.

Casperson is top local girl

Stratford junior Kayla Casperson was the top local girl runner with a fifth-place finish in 20:24. She helped the Tiger girls take second place with 74 points behind team champion Phillips with 66.

Marathon junior Shilo Blake took seventh place in 20:40 to help the Red Raiders to a fourth-place finish with 127 points behind Chequamegon with 98. Stratford junior Breleigh Skaya placed eighth in 20:53. Athens junior Brianna Sheahan placed ninth in 20:54 to help the Bluejays take eighth place with 207 points.

Stratford senior Kressa Wenzel took 13th place in 21:33, Marathon junior Calyse Fieri was 20th in 22:24, Stratford junior Samantha Mielke was 23rd in 22:30 and Marathon freshman Aubrey Fieri was 26th in 22:45. Stratford sophomore Kaylie McHugh placed 31st in 23:01, Athens freshman Terah Schreiner was 33rd in 23:04 and Stratford freshman Jaela Jochimsen was 35th in 23:11.

Tigers freshman Avery Skaya placed 37th in 23:22 and her teammate, freshman Kassedey Downey, was 38th in 23:32. Marathon sophomore Mya Yach placed 39th in 23:33, Stratford sophomore Lily Dabbert was 41st in 23:36, Marathon junior Jayden Henrichs was 47th in 23:54, Athens freshman Ellis Baer was 53rd in 24:30, Marathon freshman Greenly Treankler was 57th in 24:37, Athens junior Aleah Frahm was 62nd in 25:16 and Stratford sophomore Hailey Fecker was 57th in 26:01.

Stratford sophomore Hayden Fecker took 77th place in 26:57, Marathon senior Celia Ferreira was 78th in 27:03 and Marathon junior Katie Cliver was 79th in 27:07. Marathon freshman Brooke Lang placed 84th in 27:34, Stratford freshman Montana Mielke was 92nd in 28:01, Athens sophomore Isabella Zastrow was 93rd in 28:06, Stratford freshman Julia Buck was 94th in 28:53, Stratford freshman Ava Wenzel was 96th in 29:21, Marathon junior Alexandria Matthiae was 98th in 30:08, Marathon junior Kennedy Blake was 104th in 30:59 and Stratford freshman Savanna Schulte was 106th in 31:09.

‘Cats in Nightfall Classic

The Edgar varsity boys and girls cross country runners competed in Friday’s Nightfall Classic 608 on the Lake Mills Golf Course.

Sophomore Cade Koch was the top Edgar boy finisher with a 31st-place finish in 18:45.97. Sophomore Dillan Sondelski placed 77th in 20:11.98.

Edgar sophomore Sam Schmidt paced the Wildcat girls with a 47thplace finish in 23:07.35. Senior Natalie Thompson took 96th place in 24:54.11, freshman Samantha Schneider was 99th in 25:04.99 and senior Rebecca Werner was 108th in 25:32.37.

Championships to be won

The Marawood Conference boys and girls cross country championship races are at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12, at Frey Field on CTH C in rural Spencer.

Sectionals are at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, at Colby High School. The state championship race is on Saturday, Oct. 28, at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.