Harriers hold their own against top teams
The Colby girls and the Colby/Abbotsford boys cross-country teams got a taste of the big stage over the weekend when they trekked to Wausau for the 65th annual Smiley Invitational.
It was an excellent measuring stick for both teams, with some of the best teams from across the state, competing at one of the biggest meets in all of Wisconsin.
However, one shouldn’t read too much into the results, as both teams were without some of their best runners. The girls were missing Willow Oehmichen, among others. The boys lacked nearly half their varsity runners, with Carter Roth, Braxton Smith and Bryan Camargo absent.
The meet combined both Division 2 and Division 3 runners, and the Colby girls placed seventh out of 14 D-2 teams with 177 points.
Senior Daisy Feiten carried the banner for the Colby girls, finishing 18th in a season best time of 21:31. Senior Trinity Severson was the second Hornet to cross the finish line, taking 30th overall in a season best time of 22:11.
Senior Mercedes Sarkkinen was third through for Colby, placing 41st overall on the hot and sunny day in 22:48. Freshman Pearl Feiten blaster her old personal record by 1:31 to finish fourth on the team in 23:21 for 49th overall.
Reagan Schraufnagel and Ella Halopka were the fifth and sixth for Colby, taking 57th and 61st in 23:41 and 24:04. Both were season bests for Schraufnagel and Halopka, with Schraufnagel just twelve seconds from tying her personal best from last year’s sub-sectional.
Elizabeth Winters and Allie Robida represented the Colby girls in the junior varsity race. Winters placed 28th overall in 28:05, and Robida was 39th in a time of 32:39, just ten seconds away from a new personal best.
The Colby/Abbotsford boys team was down to just six runners on Saturday, but still finished eighth out of 14 teams in D-2 with a score of 210.
Talon Severson and Matt Mateer set the tone for the boys squad. Severson ran his typical gutsy race, taking 27th overall with a time of 18:54 in the sweltering conditions. Mateer took 44th overall in 19:55, his second time this season under 20 minutes for a 3.1 mile race.
Sophomore Max Adams competed at Smiley’s for the first time, after COVID- 19 forced the cancellation of last years’ event. Adams broke through the finish line in 48th place in 20:05 - just nine seconds shy of a new personal record.
Senior Richard Streveler was close behind Adams, taking 52nd in a new season best time of 20:15. Freshman Braylon Schoelzel was the final scoring runner for the Colby/Abby boys, taking 64th with a new PR of 21:36.
Josiah Bridger rounded things out for the boys team, placing 70th overall with a new season best time of 23:32.
The teams will be in more familiar surroundings this Thursday, taking a short trip to Frey Field for the Spencer Invite, a meet they won in 2020. Both teams are hoping to repeat those results. The boys race starts at 5 p.m. The girls’ race begins at 5:45 p.m.
