Bears’ O’Brien, Chargers’ Salvesen 1st at Eagle Cross-Country Invitational

Bonduel’s Ben O’Brien and Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Rory Salvesen turned in first-place individual finishes at the Eagle Invitational on Sept. 20 in Middle Village.

While O’Brien won the boys race for the Bears, it was the Bonduel girls team that placed first at the invitational. The same thing was true on the girls side, with Witt-Birn’s Salvesen taking the girls race but the Chargers’ boys team claiming a title.

There was plenty of other top finishes from area runners.

Bonduel

O’Brien was simply dominant on his way to placing first.

He completed the course in 18 minutes, 20.1 seconds, over 1½ minutes faster than any other boys runner. He grabbed the lead early on and continued to widen it until he crossed the finish line.

“I just pushed as hard as I could and just ran my best,” said O’Brien after the race.

O’Brien noted he wanted to place first this year after taking second behind only teammate Cooper Uelmen last year.

“This year, I’ve been setting goals to get times and I’ve been getting them,” said O’Brien. “I’ve been really happy with my performance this year.”

The Bonduel boys ended up placing third with a score of 58.

Race Anvelink had a strong finish to his race to grab third place in 20:07.5. Ayden Dunst was also in the top 10, taking ninth in 20:56.3.

Griffin Uelmen (23:31.9) and Ben Reisner (24:16) capped the team score by placing 31st and 35th, respectively.

The Bonduel girls turned in a team score of 28, comfortably ahead of Oconto and Manawa, which each placed second with marks of 75.

Mariah Wondra led the Bears, only finishing behind Salvesen. Wondra had a time of 21:56.8.

“I tried to go up the hills fast and then just tried to keep a good pace after the hills because a lot of people slow down after they get up the hills,” said Wondra.

With Wondra and Salvesen both only freshmen, the battle between them the next few years should be a fun one. After Salvesen won the race, it gave Wondra a little extra motivation for the rest of this season.

“It’s a really good motivator because I was nowhere near her last year (in middle school races), so hopefully I’ll be able to keep cutting time between us,” said Wondra.

All five of Bonduel’s scoring runners placed in the top 10. Teagan Engel was the next Bear across the finish line, coming in fourth in 22:22.8.

Ashlyn Kurey (23:03.2) and Kendra Troxel (23:11.9) placed sixth and seventh, respectively, while Cierra Schnell (23:53.1) claimed ninth.

Witt-Birn

Salvesen turned in a time of 21:42.7 to win the girls race. Like O’Brien, she got out to a lead early on and never gave it up.

“Actually, this race was one of the harder races I’ve ran. It was really hilly,” said Salvesen. “I just kept going hard, and then in my head, I just kind of think strength the whole time and try to push through it when your legs are trying to scream out and give out.”

With another strong finish to add to an impressive freshman season, Salvesen is focused on what’s ahead of her.

“I work hard in practice, I have people that push me in practice and our coaches are great. They always help us out, giving you different workouts to try, different things to improve and work on getting better,” said Salvesen. “It’s great to have someone to push you and someone to see your potential and try to make you a better person and runner.”

Danica Tomson was the next Witt-Birn girls runner across the finish line, placing 10th in 24:14.4.

Jayden Zeinert (28:18.9), Annika Resch (28:57.4) and Ava Hegewald (32:15.6) placed 20th, 24th and 38th, respectively, to cap the team score.

The Witt-Birn girls placed fifth with a mark of 85.

On the boys side, the team earned a score of 45 to grab first. Oconto was second with a score of 53. The top-five boys runners for the Chargers placed 11th through 15th.

Craig Wendel led the way with a time of 21:08.7. Ian Salvesen was next across in 21:11.

Mason Meverden turned in a time of 21:13.8, while Jonas Bushman posted a mark of 21:14.4. Owen Schultz finished the race in 21:15.4.

Suring

The Suring girls were the only other area team to qualify for a team score. The Eagles had a mark of 82 to claim fourth.

Olivia Noack led the team with a fifth-place finish in 22:31.9.

Georgia Gerndt came in 11th in 24:47.4. Allyson Seibert (28:32.1) placed 22nd, Hailey Thomson (28:42.8) was 23rd and Morgan Suring (29:51) claimed 27th to cap the team score.

Menominee Indian

A total of six Menominee Indian runners competed in the team’s home invitational.

Isaiah Moss placed second in the boys race with a time of 20:04.9.

“I kind of just got my body warmed up and kind of just had a strong mentality,” said Moss of how he was able to work his way past some runners to take second. “I kept my eyes forward, keeping up with the person in front of me, and as soon as I caught them, thought to myself to stay in front, keep my eyes ahead and keep my arms moving.”

Lloyd Reevis also placed in the top 10 for the boys, claiming fifth in 20:29.1.

Barron Waupoose (21:35.9) and Francis Delabrau (22:17.2) also ran in the boys race, placing 17th and 21st, respectively.

Urijah Reevis placed 13th in the girls race in 25:12.9. Mariah Fish claimed 21st in 28:30.1

Lena/STAA

The Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Academy co-op had six runners in action, with three in each race.

Mason Belongia had the top finish, coming in 10th in the boys race in 20:56.9. Eric Kosch (22:38.9) placed 26th, while Reed Hosking (23:08.8) was 29th.

Haley Van Ark was the top-finishing girls runner, finishing 28th in 30:15.9. Chaela Rabas (30:15.9) took 36th, while Kali Fischer (33:53.5) was 44th.

Gresham/Bowler

Bryson Nelson was the lone Gresham/Bowler runner in action, but he represented the co-op well.

Nelson placed seventh in the boys race, finishing with a time of 20:43.2.

Marion

Marion had two boys and two girls competing at the invitational.

Tristan Herro placed 34th in the boys race with a time of 24:09. Jesse Trebus took 42nd in 26:39.

Bridget Much claimed 42nd in the girls race in 33:28.7. Peytra Bailey placed 45th in 34:04.5.

Full results from the invitational can be found at www.pttiming.com.

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