Getting in one last tune-up before conference and sectional meets
THORP GILMAN CROSS COUNTRY
BY MATT FREY
SPORTS EDITOR
The Thorp-Gilman cross country team tested itself against some different faces last Thursday in its last tune-up before this weekend’s Cloverbelt Conference championships.
Competing for the second time in three days, the girls took fourth while the boys were fifth at the Eleva-Strum Invitational, which was won by both of Spring Valley’s varsity teams.
The girls scored 80 points to place higher than Alma Center Lincoln (111) and the incomplete teams from Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran and Eleva-Strum. Spring Valley edged Augusta 3946 to win it, while Black River Falls was third with 70 points.
Augusta, Spring Valley and Immanuel will be sectional opponents for Thorp-Gilman Oct. 26 in Boyceville.
Molly Milliren challenged the leaders and took third in the girls race in 22:40.18, 12.54 seconds ahead of fourth-place finisher Jordyn Briggs of Black River Falls. Bailey Peterson, a sophomore from Augusta, won in 21:14.38, while Spring Valley freshman Lydia Hannack was second in 22:26.63.
Brooke Webb was 14th out of 38 runners for Thorp-Gilman in 25:01.08, Kate Schraufnagel was 21st in 26:04.52, Mikayla Waichulis took 23rd in 27:11.04 and Abby Krug was right behind her in 27:20.03.
The boys finished with 120 points to beat Lincoln (157) and the incomplete team from Eleva-Strum.
Spring Valley just got by Augusta 37-43 to win it. Immanuel Lutheran (82) and Black River Falls (89) were third and fourth.
Freshman Sam Syryczuk led Thorp-Gilman with a 13th-place finish out of 62 runners in a time of 19:21.01. Senior Riley Raether was 17th in 19:45.19. Jacob Barth was 29th at 21:25.51, Braxton Stark was 38th in 22:26.25 and Wyatt Luzinski was 40th in 22:37.
Augusta sophomore Dalton Robinson won the race in 17:27.98, just ahead of Spring Valley sophomore Charlie Maier (17:30.98).
Thorp-Gilman’s Madelyn Windl won the girls middle school race in 11:06.42, 6.38 seconds ahead of Anna Phillips of Black River Falls. Luke Schraufnagel was the runner-up in the middle school boys race at 10:26.75, well behind Mondovi’s Landon Clark (9:43.57).
The Cloverbelt Conference meet will be held at Cadott’s Whispering Pines Golf Course this Saturday with the girls race kicking things off at 10 a.m.
