Five individuals represented five area schools Oct. 31 at the WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Wisconsin Rapids.
Among the local runners heading to The Ridges Golf Course were Pulaski’s Maggie Gerth (Division 1); Shawano’s Josiah Kuehl, Menominee Nation’s Bryant Waupoose III and Oconto Falls’ Lily Meissner (Division 2); and Suring’s Natalie Seibert (Division 3).
Division 1
Gerth, a junior, placed 41st with a time of 19:14.7 . She returned to state for a second straight year after placing 20th as a sophomore.
Division 2
Kuehl, a senior, wrapped up his cross country career with the Hawks by placing 68th in 17:25.2. He competed at state as an individual as a sophomore and with the boys team as a freshman and junior.
Waupoose, a junior in his third trip to state, had the highest finish among local individual runners, as he placed 23rd in 16:36. He placed 46th as a sophomore last year and 74th as a freshman in 2024.
Meissner, a sophomore, finished 90th in 21:08.3 in her first trip to state.
Division 3
Seibert, a senior, placed 71st in 21:31.8 in her first trip to state.
Stevens Point, Campbellsport and Marathon won boys team championships in divisions 1-3, respectively, while the top girls team finishers in each division were Neenah, New Berlin Eisenhower and Southwestern.
