Runners battle for a conference title
By Casey Krautkramer
Stratford senior cross country runner Cree DeFoe took second place at Thursday’s Marawood Conference championship race for the second straight year.
Last year, DeFoe broke Stratford’s school record at the conference championship race at Frey Field in Spencer. Stratford head coach Kevin “Tiny” Michalski said DeFoe has broken his own school record multiple times this season and his new personal record is 16 minutes, 25 seconds. He finished Thursday’s Marawood Conference championship race in 17 minutes, 22.8 seconds that was hosted by Rib Lake/Prentice at Camp Forest Springs in Westboro.
Cross country runners who place in first through eighth places in the Marawood Conference championship race are awarded first team all-conference. Runners who place in ninth through 16th places are awarded second team all-conference and runners who place in 16th through 24th places receive honorable mention all-conference.
DeFoe has achieved first team all-Marawood Conference honors two years in a row. He was second team all-conference as a sophomore and honorable mention all-conference as a freshman.
Stratford senior Ethan Heeg took sixth place in 18:04 at Thursday’s conference championship race to achieve first team all-conference for the first time. Heeg received honorable mention all-conference both as a junior and sophomore and second team all-conference as a freshman.
Edgar junior Cade Koch placed seventh in 18:05 in the conference race to achieve first team all-conference for the first time. Koch was second team all-conference as a sophomore last season.
Marathon sophomore Brady Annis took 10th place in 18:16.1 to earn second team all-conference this season. Athens freshman Ben Hartwig placed 12th in 18:20 to also receive second team all-conference. Marathon sophomore Logan Peters placed 16th in 18:37.7 to earn second team allconference this season after receiving honorable mention all-conference last year.
Stratford sophomore Christopher Stuttgen placed 18th to earn honorable mention all-conference. Edgar junior Dillan Sondelski took 22nd place to achieve honorable mention all-conference. Stratford freshman Jayden DeFoe finished 23rd to also earn honorable mention all-conference.
The Rib Lake/Prentice boys won the team conference championship with a low score of 44 points, followed by Phillips in second place with 47. Stratford took third place with 72 points and Marathon was fourth with 107. Edgar placed sixth among eight full teams competing. Athens didn’t have a full team and thus couldn’t score any team points.
Sheahan third at conference
Athens senior Brianna Sheahan took third place to be first team all-conference in 20:42.7 at Thursday’s conference championship race at Camp Forest Springs. She also earned first team all-conference as a junior and second team all-conference as both a sophomore and freshman.
Stratford senior Kayla Casperson placed fourth in 20:49.6 in the conference race to achieve first team all-conference for the second year in a row. She earned second team all-conference as a freshman.
Marathon senior Shilo Blake took seventh place in 21:25.2 to achieve first team all-conference for the second straight season. She received honorable mention in both her sophomore and freshman seasons.
Stratford senior Breleigh Skaya placed 13th in 22:14.6 to achieve second team all-conference this season. She earned first team all-conference as a sophomore. Athens sophomore Ellis Baer finished 15th in 22:15.9 to earn second team allconference this season. The Wisconsin Rapids Assumption girls won the conference championship with a low team score of 43 points. Stratford took fifth place with 112 points, followed by Marathon in sixth with 147 and Edgar in seventh with 175. Athens didn’t have a complete team and thus couldn’t earn any team points.
COMPETING WITH FALL HUES IN THE BACKDROP - Local high school varsity runners competed in Thursday’s Marawood Conference championship races at the picturesque Camp Forest Springs in Westboro. Pictured are Marathon sophomore Logan Peters (441), Edgar junior Cade Koch (426) and Marathon sophomore Brady Annis (435) running beside each other during the boys conference race.
SN PHOTOS/MATT FREY
LOCAL SENIOR GIRLS COMPETE - Marathon senior Shilo Blake (344) and Stratford senior Breleigh Skaya (291) run at the start of Thursday’s Marawood Conference championship race at Camp Forest Springs.
