STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Team and individual champions in both genders won championships in three divisions at the 2020 State Cross Country Championships held at three different locations Saturday.
Kaukauna won its first girls cross country State championship in program history, compiling a five-runner score of 79 on the 5-kilomenter course at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wis. Whitefish Bay moved up from seventh last year to place second with a score of 86, and last year’s runner-up Onalaska was third with 99 points.
Senior Kora Malecek of Onalaska successfully defended her title to win the championship for the second consecutive year. She paced the field with a winning time of 17:52.8. The four-time qualifier also ran to a fifth-place finish in 2018, and she was 11th in 2017. Senior Brooke Edwardson of Kimberly was runner-up in a time of 18:00.3 after placing sixth last season, and senior Leane Willemse of Homestead finished third with a time of 18:12.5 after coming in 11th in 2019.
Oconomowoc captured the boys team championship in Division 1 with a score of 109, to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish. The Raccoons win their first boys cross country team title. Marquette raced to a second-place finish with a score of 129, and Whitefish Bay was third at 130.
Senior Joshua Truchon of West Allis Hale won the boys Division 1 individual championship in a time of 15:18.3 to improve on a fourth-place finish in 2019. He finished almost 20 seconds ahead of senior Cael Grotenhuis of Slinger, who finished runner-up for the second year in a row. He covered the course in a time of 15:38.0. Junior Austin Henderson of Neenah was third, finishing in 15:48.7.
Led by four returning runners from a team that placed sixth last season, Winneconne raced to the school’s first girls cross country team championship, winning the Division 2 title with a score of 76. The meet was held at Colby High School. Osceola finished second for the second straight season, compiling a score of 119. Kewaskum moved up 12 positions to finish third with a score 122 after placing 15th in 2019.
Junior Kayci Martensen of Southwestern/Benton/Cuba City won the girls Division 2 individual title for the second year in a row to go with a third-place finish in 2018. She completed the 5-kilometer course in 18:09.29, almost 28 seconds faster than the next competitor. A pair of Two Rivers runners finished second and third. Sophomore Mikaela Helling was runner-up with a time of 18:36.87, and junior teammate Anna Gallagher was third with a time of 18:41.61 after placing runner-up last season and fifth in 2018.
Aquinas moved up a division to capture the Division 2 boys team championship with five returning runners from last season’s squad that won the Division 3 title for the second straight year. The Blugolds won the school’s fourth title overall, conquering the rest of the field with a score of 96. Kiel was second with a score of 108, and Freedom placed third for the second straight season, finishing with 112.
Senior Leo Richardson of Edgewood, who was runner-up last year, won medalist honors with a time of 15:47.05. Senior Hunter Krepline of Brillion was second with a time of 16:31.15 after placing third in Division 3 last year, and junior Drew Stevens of the University School of Milwaukee was third, crossing the finish line in 16:35.94 after placing 17th in 2019.
Lancaster ran to its second girls Division 3 team championship in the past three seasons and improved on last season’s fifth-place finish. The Arrows returned six runners from that team to score 93 points, which is 10 points fewer than runner-up Ozaukee with 103. The Kickapoo/La Farge co-op finished third with 125 points.
Junior Brooklyn Luebke of Manitowoc Lutheran ran to the girls individual gold medal in Division 3. after finishing fourth in 2019, covering the 5-kilometer course in 18:55.53. Freshman Halle Van Horn of Random Lake was second with a time of 19:04.04. Junior Anelise Egge of Kickapoo/La Farge placed third with a time of 19:17.48 after finishing sixth last season and eighth in 2018. Junior Abby Bartel of Weyauwega-Fremont, last year’s champion, was eighth.
Sheboygan Lutheran won the Division 3 boys team title for the fourth time in program history and for the first time since its run of three championships from 2004-06. The Crusaders compiled 56 points, and Brookwood finished a distant second with 121 points. Pacelli came in third with its score of 138 after placing fifth a year ago.
Junior Parker Schneider of Durand won the Division 3 boys crown with a time of 16:05.78 after placing seventh last season. Senior Jarret Carpenter of Cashton raced to a second-place finish in 16:07.41 after placing ninth last year, and senior Nick Connolly of Iowa-Grant, who was 14th last year, was third with a time of 16:22.83.
The Division 3 State championships were hosted by Maple Grove Venues in West Salem, Wis.
A revised race format was designed during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were three sessions including team and individual participants for each gender. Times from each session was combined to determine the overall placements.
Division 1 Results
Boys Results
Girls Results
Division 2 Results
Boys Results
Girls Results
Division 3 Results
Boys Results
Girls Results