Girls keep stranglehold on trophy; boys a solid 2nd in GNC
GNC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Half of Medford’s eight varsity runners were new to Great Northern Conference competition, but the results were nothing new Saturday on the home course with the Raiders handily earning the program’s sixth straight championship trophy.
With four runners in the top 10 and seven in the top 19, there was no doubt the title would be staying in Medford another year. With the solid youth that exists in the current lineup, it may not be going anywhere for awhile.
“It’s very exciting to know that after we’re gone, there’s no drop off,” junior Ella Daniels said.
“It’s nice knowing after I’m leaving that there are four freshmen that are taking spots,” senior Brooke Rudolph said.
As for the present, Medford totaled just 41 points to easily outscore Tomahawk (74), the only GNC team the Raiders had not competed against at some point during the regular season.
Lakeland was three points behind the Hatchets, while Rhinelander (118), Mosinee (122), Antigo (139) and Northland Pines (156) rounded out the field on a chilly late morning. The conditions were much different than they were for the Sept. 29 Medford Invitational when there was sunshine and temperatures in the 60s. It might not have hit 40 Saturday with a northerly breeze and there were snow flakes falling before the meet.
But the cooler temperatures seemed to help some runners as seven of 13 girls who ran at either the varsity or JV levels set season-best times.
Medford’s boys exceeded expectations by placing second with 56 points, 16 ahead of Tomahawk and 2021 champion Rhinelander. They didn’t quite have enough to overtake Lakeland, who claimed its first title since 2017 with 40 points. Northland Pines compiled 95 points while Antigo and Mosinee were incomplete.
“It was a really fast course today and we got some PRs again today,” head coach Sherry Meyer said after the meet. Meyer, wrapping up her first season in the head position, was named the GNC’s Girls Coach of the Year.
Junior Meredith Richter was one of the few Raiders who didn’t quite have her best stuff in the cold weather, but it was easily good enough to claim second place in the girls race in a time of 19:57.3. Northland Pines superstar, junior Nora Gremban was all by herself while winning in 18:36.6, but Richter also had plenty of space, finishing 37 seconds ahead of Mosinee’s Britt Fitzgerald.
Daniels got the last first-team All-GNC spot with a seventh-place time of 21:08.4, a personal-best by two seconds. Rudolph continued her late-season surge by finishing in 21:21.4, a tenth of a second ahead of her Sept. 29 run on the course, and Bjorg Risa, the team’s exchange student from Norway, used a strong finish to grab 10th place in a field of 50 runners with a time of 21:27.6, which was not far off her best time. Rudolph and Risa earned All-GNC second-team awards.
Sophomore Ella Dassow was Medford’s fifth scorer, taking 13th in a personal-best 21:36.1. Freshmen Mallory Richter (21:38.2) and Morgan Liske (21:47.7) earned All-GNC honorable mention by placing 15th and 19th. Freshman Lindsay Kahn was 37th in 24:07.5.
“I feel like we did really good,” Rudolph said. “We pushed each other. We stuck together as a pack.”
“We hadn’t raced against Tomahawk yet so we didn’t really know what they had to offer,” Meyer said. “You look at athletic.net and you can kind of see their times. We knew they might have a couple girls up there and they were. But our girls know how to race. They know how to hold steady and strong and push it through to the finish line.”
The girls added a team victory in the JV race, by nudging past Tomahawk 3235. Rhinelander was third with 53 points. Esmeralda Anderson was second in 22:50.8, 6.5 seconds behind winner Kambyl Mattke of Tomahawk. Riley Clark was third in 23:21.7, Lillie Gleichauf was fourth at 23:32 and Kaelynn Balciar was 10th in 24:43.4. All of those were seasonbest times. Kylie Potvin closed out the team victory by placing 13th in 25:31.4.
Strong day for boys
The boys push for a title started with its top two runners all season long, Tanner Hraby and Josh Clark, who finished second and fourth in a field of 43 runners.
Lakeland’s Owen Clark was the oddson favorite to win the Runner of the Year award and he did just that in a time of 16:57.4, but Hraby was comfortably ahead of everyone else while finishing in 17:20.1 and Josh Clark’s fourth-place finish in 17:35, right at his personal best mark, was big as he got key points by beating Ashton Bremer of Lakeland (17:42.8) and Greyson Gremban (17:53.7) and Cody Ruetz (17:56.7) of Rhinelander. Antigo’s Logan Higgins was third in 17:28.4.
“I figured I’d stick with Owen as long as I could, just to see,” Hraby said. “After the mile he kind of pulled away from me and then I just held my spot. That was the plan and that’s what I did.”
“I figured I’d have to stick with the Lakeland and the Rhinelander boys,” Clark said. “I figured they’d be fighting for that third place. I beat the two of them but the kid from Antigo came in. He did that at the Antigo meet too. He got me. But I’m happy with how I ran. I felt it was a good race. Last year I just barely scraped into the honorable mention so to be able to jump up that much, I’m pretty stoked about it.”
“I’m pretty stoked about that second place (team finish),” Hraby said. “I’m happy. We were expecting second or third. We gave it our best shot for first. We really did. Lucas ran great. Nick and Logan both gained two or three spots at the end.”
Logan Gubser posted one of his best times of the year and took 15th in 19:10. Nick Steliga picked up a couple of places late to finish 18th in 19:24.5, not far off his best time. Both got All-GNC honorable mention awards.
Senior Lucas Borman’s incredible improvement continued as he finished 23rd in 19:36.1 and reached his season-long goal of breaking the 20-minute barrier. He sealed it with a big final kick that allowed him to catch one Rhinelander runner (Brody Kowieski, 19:36.8) and almost one more (Gavin Denis, 19:35.7).
“I wish I would’ve got that last guy at the end. I still wouldn’t have gotten that little piece of paper,” Borman said, referring to finishing two spots away from an honorable mention spot. “I would’ve preferred being 22nd over being 23rd. But (Denis) got me.”
“That’s amazing to get a 40-second PR,” Clark said of Borman.
“It’s great to see Lucas, as a senior, come from where he had started to where he was today, it really tears me up. It’s really something,” Meyer said.
Not to be outdone, Medford’s sixth man, sophomore Brandon Curtis lowered his personal-best time by 11 seconds with a time of 21:20.2 that was good for 38th and Evan Pagel was 42nd in 22:29.4.
“Lucas really stepped up today,” assistant coach Stephen Reynolds said. “Every one of those guys was really good.”
In the JV race, senior Ervin Ulrich finished fourth in a personal-best 21:42.5 and Cullen Jones was 13th in 23:25.4.
Sectional is next
Next up for Medford’s varsity group is the season’s most important meet to date, the WIAA Division 2 sectional to be hosted Saturday by Black River Falls at Skyline Golf Course. The girls race is set for 11 a.m., followed by the boys race at noon. The top two teams and the top five individuals from non-qualifying teams in each race will advance to the Oct. 29 state championships in Wisconsin Rapids.
The girls are gunning for a fourth straight championship in Division 2 sectionals. The Raiders were bumped up to Division 1 in 2020. Hraby is seeking a second straight individual state berth if the boys don’t advance as a team. Clark may have an outside shot too.
“We’ll run our race,” Hraby said. “It’s not looking great for the team, but there’s always a chance. Maybe we can all PR.”
“I’ll have to shave off about 20 seconds and pass about 15 kids if I want to make it,” Clark said. “There’s a chance so, I’m looking forward to it. If we don’t make it, it’s our last race together.”
The girls edged West Salem by three points to win the Black River Falls Invitational on Oct. 4 and the Panthers figure to be their top competition again Saturday. The Raiders won that meet despite not getting a chance to walk the course beforehand due to an unintended late arrival. They believe this race will be better.
While some Raiders will be competing in a sectional for the first time, Meredith Richter said she knows her teammates will be ready.
“I think it’s an experience you just learn from once you have to go through it,” she said. “We still stick together as a team and work through it all. It’s a different experience for the freshmen but it’ll be good for them.”
“The boys are always going in saying we feel the best we’ve felt,” Meyer said. “The ladies are ready to rip it up. They really want to go (to state) again. West Salem is going to show up wanting to win too. The girls aren’t going to get handed the trophy. They want to work for that too.”
Medford’s girls cross country team added another trophy to the program’s collection Saturday, winning the GNC championship meet they hosted. It’s the sixth straight year Medford has won the girls title. Head coach Sherry Meyer (lower right) was named the GNC Girls Coach of the Year. Team runners include (front l. to r.) Ella Daniels, Brooke Rudolph, Bryn Fronk, Riley Clark, (back) Natasha Butt, Kaelynn Balciar, Esmeralda Anderson, Lindsay Kahn, Ella Dassow, Meredith Richter, Morgan Liske, Mallory Richter, Kylie Potvin, Lillie Gleichauf and Bjorg Risa.MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
