A long drive to a sectional meet turned out to be worthwhile for a pair of area cross country teams and an individual runner.
Shawano and Wittenberg-Birnamwood joined several other teams Oct. 24 at a Division 2 sectional meet in Merrill. Both programs will be well represented at the upcoming WIAA State Cross Country Championships, as Shawano will send its boys and girls teams and Wittenberg-Birnamwood will bring its girls program after all three placed first or second.
Menominee Nation’s Bryant Waupoose III also qualified as an individual.
Meanwhile, four top-10 finishes for Pulaski at a Division 1 sectional in Green Bay on Oct. 25 means the Red Raiders will send those four runners — two boys and two girls — to the state meet, set for Saturday, Nov. 1, at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.
Merrill Sectional
Shawano’s long string of team trips to state dating back to 1954 got longer after the boys and girls both placed second at the Merrill Recreation Center.
Lakeland won the boys championship with 45 points, followed by Shawano (70), Rhinelander (77), Mosinee (152), Oconto Falls and Tomahawk (176), Medford (196), Antigo (212), Northland Pines (240), Colby/Abbotsford (269), Marinette (274), Merrill (292), Menominee Nation (299), Wittenberg-Birnamwood (344) and Clintonville (407).
Shawano only had one finisher in the top 10, as Josiah Kuehl placed fifth in 17:25.6. Other finishers for the Hawks included Aloysius Frechette (13th, 17:52.42), Teagan Harkey (15th, 18:06.2), Quinten Harkey (17th, 18:13.9), Beckett Hendricks (20th, 18:29.3) and Brayden Fish (22nd, 18:36.6).
Bailey Hendricks led the Shawano girls by placing eighth in 19:51.1. Other finishers for the Hawks included Tela Hopfensperger (13th, 20:34.8), Maci Beyer (17th, 20:45), Mikelah Powers (19th, 21:01.4), Jai Bisterfeldt (30th, 21:58.2), Anabelle Schroeder (32nd, 22:01) and Emma Nielson (45th, 22:35.1).
Wittenberg-Birnamwood edged the Hawks by four points and Oconto Falls by seven to win the girls championship to advance to state for the second year in a row.
The Chargers finished with 73 points, followed by Shawano (77), Oconto Falls (80), Tomahawk (109), Medford (114), Peshtigo (140), Clintonville and Rhinelander (185), Marinette (255), Merrill (268), Antigo (289) and Mosinee (308).
Rory Salvesen finished seventh in 19:48.8 to lead the Chargers. Other places and times included Harper Krull (14th, 20:39.6), Nora Bushman (15th, 20:44.2), Delilah Schairer (22nd, 21:14.4), Gabrielle Timm (25th, 21:33.3), Lilyana Groh (35th, 22:10.6) and Harper Rogowski (43rd, 22:30.8).
Oconto Falls had a pair of top-10 runners in Emma Meissner (ninth, 19:51.1) and Lily Meissner (10th, 20:04). Other places and times for the Panthers included Sydney Braund (16th, 20:44.6), Alexandria Braund (26th, 21:39.7), Ava Holtz (29th, 21:51.6), Mackenzie Lotto (34th, 22:08.2) and Katie Moody (78th, 25:35.8).
Urijah Reevis competed as an individual for Menominee Nation and placed 62nd in 23:30.9.
Oconto Falls, Menominee Nation and Wittenberg-Birnamwood also fielded full teams for the boys race.
Oconto Falls’ runners included Isaiah Holtz (11th, 17:45.7), Ethan Zielinski (27th, 18:46.2), Landon Timm (33rd, 18:52.6), Sage Mendolla (51st, 19:36.9), Mason Lotto (54th, 19:38), Cason Weenig (78th, 21:02.4) and Braxton Rajkovich (79th, 21:06.8).
Waupoose led Menominee Nation to place second overall in 16:52.9, seven seconds behind race winner Avrom Barr, of Rhinelander.
Other times and places for the Eagles included Cashius Reevis (62nd, 19:53.8), Michael Peters III (65th, 19:59.8), Kai Wayka (74th, 20:26.1) and Christopher Waubanascum (96th, 24:25.1).
Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s runners included Jonas Bushman (56th, 19:41), Marty Nowinsky (57th, 19:41.4), Dalton Fletcher (70th, 20:11.1), Milo Salvesen (76th, 20:45.2), Colten Mueller (85th, 21:40.1), Teagon Stewart (87th, 21:42.8) and Monty Salvesen (91st, 22:17).
De Pere Sectional
Pulaski’s Parker Marshall, Arden Gillen, Maggie Gerth and Emerson Fabry advanced out of the De Pere Sectional, held at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Marshall and Gillen placed fifth in 16:33.6 and ninth in 16:38.7, respectively, in the boys race to help the Red Raiders place fifth as a team.
Other runners for Pulaski in the boys race included Grayden Gossen (22nd, 17:17.5), Dayne Groth (33rd, 17:49.4), Mitchell Pilon (39th, 17:55.8), Ben Augustine (57th, 18:46.3) and Thomas Murphy (70th, 19:46.9).
Gerth and Fabry finished third in 18:48.4 and fourth in 18:59.5, respectively, in the girls race to help Pulaski place fourth as a team.
The Red Raiders’ other runners included Addie Bruckert (16th, 20:11.9), Cameran Reiss (36th, 21:21.8), Ellie Murphy (54th, 22:15) and Estella Vieaux (68th, 24:58.6).
De Pere won the boys championship with 46 points, followed by Green Bay Preble and Kimberly (86), Appleton North (103), Pulaski (108), Kaukauna (112), Ashwaubenon (207), Bay Port (209), West De Pere (216), Appleton East (240), Green Bay Southwest (325) and Green Bay East (391).
Appleton North won the girls championship with 50 points, followed by Kimberly (71), Green Bay Preble (106), Pulaski (113), Bay Port (114), De Pere (120), Kaukauna (149), Appleton East (229), Ashwaubenon (230), West De Pere (268), Green Bay East (337) and Green Bay Southwest (343).
