Saturday, December 15, 2018

Six Teams & Individuals Win State Cross Country Championships

Team and individual champions in three boys and girls divisions were crowned at the 2018 State Cross Country Championships Saturday at The Rivers Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

Boys

Neenah won the Division 1 State championship with a five-runner score of 122 points. It’s the program’s third State team title. Former defending champion Middleton was runner-up with 131 points, and Germantown was third with 162. Senior Drew Bosley of Homestead won the individual championship for the second straight season. He finished the 5,000-meter course with a time of 15:20.1. Bosley also has two other top-seven finishes in his career with a runner-up result in 2016 and placing seventh in 2015. Senior Rowen Ellenberg of Kimberly placed second with a time of 15:30.9 after finishing third a year ago.

Valders won its second consecutive team title in Division 2 and its fourth overall with 98 points. Notre Dame was second with 114 points after a fourth-place finish last season, and East Troy finished third with 138. Senior Henry Chapman of East Troy was the individual champion with a time of 15:59.3. Senior Andrew Pahnke of McFarland was runner-up with a time of 16:11.7 after finishing 12th in 2017.

Aquinas won its second State team title by capturing the Division 3 crown with 90 points. Rosholt was runner-up with 111 points after placing third last season, and Brillion placed third with 140 points. Senior David Vannucchi of Luther became only the sixth boy to win three individual State titles, racing to victory in a time of 15:43.9. Senior Adam Rzentkowski of Rosholt was a distant second with a time of 16:15.2. It’s the second year in a row he has finished runner-up following fourth-place finish in 2016.

Girls

Muskego ran to its first girls State team championship by scoring 48 points after a runner-up finish in 2017. Sun Prairie, last year’s champion, placed second with 103 points, and Onalaska was third with 112. Genevieve Nashold of Madison West ran to the title in a time of 18:10.0 on the 5,000-meter course, becoming the first freshman to win in Division 1 since 2010. Sophomore Kate Sperka of Muskego finished runner-up for the second consecutive season by covering the course in 18:26.5

Medford gained possession of the gold trophy in Division 2 after scoring 106 points in the program’s first State team appearance. Former defending champion Freedom came in second with 115 points, and Notre Dame was third with 118. Senior Leah Kralovetz of Denmark finished with a time of 17:46.7 to earn the individual championship after placing fifth last year. Senior Dana Feyen of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau fell short in her bid to win a third straight individual title, finishing second with a time of 18.19.2.

Lancaster won the program’s first championship by winning the Division 3 title with a team score of 74 after finishing runner-up last season. Auburndale was second with 91 points after finishing fourth in 2017, and former defending champion Dodgeland came in a distant third with 147 points. Junior Marissa Ellenbecker of Edgar successfully defended her title by racing to a win in a time of 19:06.4. Senior Megan Benzing of Dodgeland was runner-up in a time of 19:12.5 after finishing sixth last year and fourth in 2016.