Gillett boys, Bonduel girls win cross-country invitational titles

Several area individuals shine at big meet
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

Several area cross-country runners turned in strong performances at a loaded Shawano Invitational on Sept. 10 at Shawano Community High School.

All boys and girls runners ran together before being broken down into three divisions. The Gillett boys and Bonduel girls each placed first in the Division 3 field.

Shawano and Oconto Falls each competed in Division 2, while Suring, Marion, Menominee Indian, Gresham/Bowler and Wolf River Lutheran joined Bonduel and Gillett in Division 3.

Shawano

The Shawano boys placed third in Division 2, while the girls came in fourth.

Ethan Onesti and Will Chelberg paced the boys’ team with seventh- and ninth-place overall finishes, respectively. Onesti completed the course in 16 minutes, 19.1 seconds, while Chelberg had a time of 16:31.3.

“It was great to have a lot of teams at Shawano to compete with today,” said Onesti. “My race went better than what I was playing through my head over and over again.

“What I did well to get seventh place was to stick with the pack of boys in front of me to help keep my tempo up with them, so I wouldn’t slow down.”

Andon Chelberg and Connor Chelberg were the next two boys runners across the finish line. Andon Chelberg placed 40th in 17:59.2, while Connor Chelberg was 51st in 18:25.2.

Jaymin Boivin capped the team score, placing 74th in 19:14.2.

“After the meet was over, the boys team and I have learned that if we want to make it back to state again, then we have to push each other in practice in order to get closer to pack running,” said Onesti.

Lily Guenther and Bailey Hendricks raced pretty much side-by-side the entire race. They placed sixth and seventh, respectively, to lead the Shawano girls team. Guenther posted a time of 20:00.1, while Hendricks clocked in at 20:03.2.

“My teammate Bailey was with me the whole time, and that really helped,” said Guenther, of her sixth-place finish. “Since she never backed down, neither could I. She pushed me all the way to the finish, and we ended up sixth and seventh.”

Maci Beyer was the next Hawk across the finish line, coming in 39th in 21:28. Adalyn Barkley claimed 53rd in 21:59.6, while Anabelle Schroeder rounded out the team score by taking 62nd in 22:22.1.

“The whole girls’ team all used each other to excel as a team,” said Guenther. “We paced off each other and held each other accountable for reaching our goals. We learned to never get discouraged, because today showed that we are all getting stronger — thanks to our coaches and team.”

Gillett

The Gillett boys team won its D3 title on the legs of Alex and Evan Peterson.

Alex Peterson led the team with a fifth-place overall finish (first place among D3 runners) in 15:56.6. Evan Peterson took 12th overall in 16:47.5.

Braydin Wendorf came in third on the team and 25th overall with a time of 17:33.1.

Nash Stange (19:00.3) and Scott Herroux (19:37.1) capped the team score with 66th- and 84th-place finishes, respectively.

“I think the main thing that the guys learned today was that we can all run better and faster than we think,” said Alex Peterson, who added that while the competition was tough, he was able to stay mentally strong for his strong individual finish. “This will definitely help us have increased confidence in our future races, especially postseason time.”

The Gillett girls were led by Carleigh Kaczmarek. The senior turned in a time of 20:30.3 to finish 16th overall and be the first D3 girls runner in the race.

Sophia Limberg came in 61st in 22:21.3, while Cheyenne Krueger claimed 90th in 23:27.1. Laney DeBauch (23:38.4) and Lily Hansen (23:55.7) weren’t far behind Krueger, taking 93rd and 98th, respectively.

The girls team placed second in Division 3.

Bonduel

Along with the girls team’s top finish, the Bonduel boys placed third in D3.

Mariah Wondra paced the girls team with a 19th-place finish in 20:42.4. Teagan Engel placed 44th in 21:36.6, while Ashlyn Kurey took 54th in 22:00.2.

Cierra Schnell (22:41.9) and Joselyn Bohm (22:48.6) capped the team score and placed 71st and 74th, respectively.

Ben O’Brien finished 24th overall to lead the boys team. He posted a time of 17:24.7.

Race Anvelink was next across the finish line, taking 83rd in 19:33.9. Ayden Dunst placed 101st in 20:26.2. Griffin Uelmen (21:58) and Ben Reisner (22:15.6) capped the team score, placing 119th and 122nd, respectively.

“At a meet like today, my team and I learned that we just need to run the best we can,” said O’Brien. “We also learned that everyone should be preparing for the season for the best results. Everyone ran a good race today, and we just have to keep practicing to get better and succeed through the rest of the season and stay healthy and injury free.”

Oconto Falls

The Oconto Falls boys and girls team each placed fifth in Division 2.

Brooke Hodkiewicz and Hannah Ludemann ran alongside each other on their way to 30th- and 31st-place overall finishes to lead the girls team. Hodkiewicz had a time of 21:05, while Ludemann clocked in at 21:05.2

“Hannah and I run together all the time in practice and in meets,” said Hodkiewicz. “We’ll point out things that we noticed, and we’ll encourage each other, too. It’s really nice knowing that she will always have my back running and I will always have hers.”

Hailey Delzer wasn’t far behind the duo of Hodkiewicz and Ludemann, coming in 42nd in 21:32.9.

Maddy Przybylski and Josie Holtz also ran together for the Panthers. Przybylski took 59th in 22:20.8, while Holtz was 60th in 22:21.

Ben Adams led the Oconto Falls boys team with a 21st-place finish in 17:24.3.

Griffin Kopke claimed 52nd in 18:25.8, while Evan Yuma took 76th in 19:21.5. Emerson Rice placed 81st in 19:32.7, while Brant Laluzerne was 91st in 19:54.1.

Suring

Suring had seven girls compete at the invitational, with the team placing third in Division 3.

Olivia Noack led the team with a 35th-place finish in 21:19.4.

“For my team, we went into this race with a strong and positive mindset. Although we were all tired from all of the hard work we have been putting in (at practice), we put those thoughts aside and went and ran our race,” said Noack.

“I know that this race definitely helped many of us girls to understand how to find our marks throughout the race. Going forward, we now know what things we can do to better ourselves as individuals and a team reaching towards our goals for the end of the season.”

Georgia Gerndt was the second Eagle across the finish line, placing 76th in 22:55.

Hailey Thomson placed 106th in 24:27.3, while Samantha Seibert claimed 119th in 25:31.5. Ginger Gerndt was the fifth team member to finish, taking 120th in 25:32.8.

Marion

Marion had four individual runners in competition.

Tristan Herro led a trio of boys runners with a 128th-place finish in 24:23.9. Jesse Trebus claimed 129th in 24:36.9, while Jackson Krohn placed 132nd in 26:46.2.

Bridget Much represented the Marion girls team, taking 128th in 28:49.8.

Menominee Indian

Three boys and two girls from Menominee Indian competed at the invitational.

Urijah Reevis had the top individual finish, placing 72nd in the girls race in 22:43.2. Mariah Fish also ran for the girls, taking 113th in 25:02.3.

Isaiah Moss led the boys team with a 73rd-place finish in 19:12.1. Maech Corn (20:04.5) and Francis Delabrau (20:36.6) placed 93rd and 105th, respectively.

Gresham/Bowler

Three Gresham/Bowler boys competed, with Bryson Nelson leading the way with a 99th-place finish in 20:23.4.

Kevin Miller (24:16) grabbed 127th place, while Kobe Miller (26:42.5) claimed 131st.

Wolf River Lutheran

Wolf River Lutheran was represented by James Lange, who competed in the boys race.

Lange placed 125th with a time of 22:57.6.

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