THE MEET: The 102nd running of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Cross Country Championships and the 42nd Annual Girls Cross Country Championships will take place Saturday, Nov. 1, at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. Ticket price for the meet is $6.
RACE INFORMATION: The boys and girls will run a 5,000-meter course. It’s the first year the girls will be racing at that distance. The following is a listing of the times for each race:
Boys
11:30 a.m. Division 3
12:10 p.m. Division 2
12:50 p.m. Division 1
Girls
1:30 p.m. Division 3
2:10 p.m. Division 2
2:50 p.m. Division 1
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: There are 20 teams contending for the State championship in Division 1 for boys and girls, and 16 teams competing for the boys and girls Divisions 2 and 3 team titles. Teams competing for the titles qualified last weekend at their respective sectional meets. The top two teams in each of the 10 Division 1 sectionals and the top two teams from each of the eight Divisions 2 and 3 sectionals advanced. In addition to the qualifying teams, the first five individual finishers at their respective sectionals, who are not a member of a qualifying team, also qualified for the State meet.
LAST YEAR-GIRLS: Arrowhead won its third straight Division 1 team title by scoring 84 points. Whitefish Bay finished second with 122 points. Edgewood won the Division 2 championship with 84 points. Notre Dame placed second for the second straight season compiling 96 points. Lourdes Academy claimed the Division 3 team championship by compiling 45 points. Runner-up Cedar Grove-Belgium finished with 83. Elizabeth Flatley of Brookfield Central won the Division 1 individual championship, completing the 4,000-meter course with a time of 14:11.11. In Division 2, Morgan Florsheim of Shorewood ran to the individual title with a time of 14:29.10, and Delaney Sinnen of Random Lake posted the best time in Division 3 at 14.22.55 to capture the individual crown.
LAST YEAR-BOYS: Stevens Point won the Division 1 team championship with 83 points, 41 places ahead of runner-up Madison West with 124 points. Wisconsin Lutheran captured the Division 2 crown with 63 points, 32 points fewer than runner-up Monroe with 95 points. Darlington won the Division 3 team championship for the third straight season by scoring 87 points. Chequamegon finished runner-up just two points behind at 89 points. Olin Hacker of Madison West won the individual title in Division 1 with a time of 15:46.19. Ethan Moehn of Monroe captured the Division 2 individual crown with a time of 15:58.93, and Tyson Miehe of Darlington became only the fifth runner to claim three individual championships in a prep career, winning the Division 3 individual championship with a time of 15:57.49.
BOYS TEAM NOTES: This year’s Division 1 field contains teams that comprised eight of last year’s top 10 finishers, including defending champion Stevens Point, which attempts to defend its title and win its 11th team title with four returning runners. Other teams returning from last year’s top 10 include runner-up Madison West with five returning runners; La Crosse Logan, which placed fourth; Madison La Follette fifth; West Bend West sixth; Port Washington seventh; Green Bay Preble eighth; and Kimberly in ninth place. Four of the teams finishing in the top 10 in Division 2 last year return to challenge for the team title, including defending champion Wisconsin Lutheran, which returns four runners back from last year’s State meet. Shorewood, a perennial challenger for the State title, has also qualified with four returning runners. The Greyhounds are seeking their eighth team crown after placing third last season. The other teams finishing in the top 10 in 2013 are Notre Dame, which finished seventh and Catholic Memorial, which was eighth. Darlington returns to defend its title in Division 3. The Redbirds return five runners from the meet a year ago. Among the other six teams finishing in the top 10 in 2013 and returning for another run at the title are Chequamegon, who returns four runners after finishing second last season; Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran, which placed third; Marathon fourth; McDonell Central fifth; Sheboygan Lutheran eighth; and Brookwood ninth.
BOYS INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Defending champion Olin Hacker, a senior from Madison West, returns to defend his individual championship from a year ago. Senior Ryan Nameth of Verona placed runner-up to Hacker last year and is expected to be among the top challengers for the individual title. Other competitors returning to this year’s field from last season’s top 10 are seniors Will Simons of Arrowhead, who placed seventh; Daniel LaLuzerne of Green Bay Preble, who was ninth; and Scott Seymour of Kenosha Bradford, who was 10th. Other possible contenders based on their sectional finishes or experience in previous State Meets are seniors Derek Cruz and Evan Hatton of Stevens Point, Patrick Treacy of Eau Claire Memorial, Joshua Janusiak of South Milwaukee and Nick Michalowski of Port Washington; and junior Nicholas Rink of Kimberly. In Division 2, senior Eric Brown II of Wisconsin Lutheran is the top returning individual after racing to third place last season. He’ll compete with several experienced runners returning from top-10 finishes last year. Among them are seniors Ben Eidenschink of Nekoosa/Port Edwards, who placed sixth; Brown’s teammate Kyler Lueck, who was seventh; and junior Sam Kuhlmann of Shorewood, who was eighth. Other potential contenders based on past State experience and sectional performances are seniors Morgan O’Flahrity of Edgewood and Sam Hinz of Freedom; juniors Daniel Pederson of Spooner, Robert Wagner of Pewaukee and Luke Sampson of Little Chute; and sophomore Luke Bailey of Xavier. In Division 3, junior Dakota Kauffman of Boscobel is the top returning runner from last year’s race, having placed fifth. Two other qualifiers that placed in the top 10 last year are juniors Jaden Komprood of Darlington and Kevin Koski of Chequamegon, who placed ninth and 10th, respectively. Other possible challengers for the individual crown after racing to sectional titles are seniors Aidan Manley of Spring Valley and John David Ford of Kenosha St. Joseph; juniors Weber Lucas of Lourdes Academy and Spencer Oftedahl of Westby; and sophomore Alec Potter of Laconia.
GIRLS TEAM NOTES: Eight of last year’s top 10 teams return to the Division 1 field this year. Three-time defending champion Arrowhead is back with four of its runners returning from the 2013 title team. Whitefish Bay returns four runners from the team that finished runner-up. Other programs placing in the top 10 a year ago that return teams this year are Neenah, which placed third; Brookfield Central, which was fifth; Eau Claire Memorial sixth; Sun Prairie seventh; Stevens Point eighth; and Waukesha West ninth. The Division 2 field features seven of the teams finishing in the top 10 last year. Notre Dame, which placed runner-up last year, is the top returning team. The Tritons return four runners that ran in the State Meet last year. Other top-10 teams last year qualifying this year are Two Rivers, which was third; Shorewood, which was fourth; Wisconsin Lutheran fifth; Dodgeville/Mineral Point sixth; Pewaukee ninth and Mauston 10th. In addition, Cedar Grove/Belgium moves up a division to qualify after finishing runner-up in Division 3 last season. In Division 3, defending champion Lourdes Academy is back to attempt to defend its title with four returning runners. Four other teams that placed in the top 10 last season have qualified again this season, including Brookfield Academy, which placed fifth; Poynette, which finished sixth; Phillips seventh and Chequamegon ninth.
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Sophomore Camille Davre of Whitefish Bay is the top returning individual from last year’s Division 1 meet, placing third as a freshman. Other returning runners among the leaders last year include juniors Katie Hietpas of Sun Prairie, who finished fifth last year after a sixth-place finish in 2012; and Aubrey Roberts of Eau Claire Memorial, who was sixth last year after a runner-up finish in 2012; and Marlie Houston of Oconomowoc, who placed 10th last year after placing 11th in 2012. Other potential challengers based on sectional performances are seniors Megan Ludke of West Bend East, Amanda Johnson of Racine Park, Kailyn Jessel of Pulaski, Annie Frisbie of River Falls and Brenda Hernandez of Beloit Memorial; juniors Delaney Eigenberger of Madison Memorial and Lauren Farina of Appleton North; sophomore Annie Hughes of Arrowhead; and freshmen teammates Abby Mauermann and Leah Neustedter of Brookfield Central. In Division 2, junior Morgan Florsheim of Shorewood is the defending champion. She returns to defend her title. Florsheim should expect a tough challenge from senior Amy Davis of Edgewood, who finished runner-up the last two seasons. A number of other top-10 finishers last year are also back to challenge for the title, including senior Hannah Owens of Dodgeville/Mineral Point, who placed fifth last year after finishing eighth in 2012 and seventh in 2011. Senior Kristy Terp of Two Rivers and sophomore Audrey Janik of Wisconsin Lutheran qualify again this season after finishing sixth and seventh last year, respectively. In addition, senior Lauren Peters of Freedom was the 10th finisher last year. Other contenders that may possibly challenge for the individual championship based on sectional results are seniors Julia Kaster of Clinton and Lily Paul of Cedar Grove-Belgium, who placed ninth in Division 3 last season; junior Alicia Monson of Amery; and sophomores Monica Jaled of Wisconsin Dells and Lauren Schilling of Lakeland. Senior Nora Keller of Lourdes Academy placed second last season and is the top returning runner from last year’s meet in Division 3. A number of other individuals are back following positions in the top 10 a year ago. Seniors Whitney Ebert of Algoma and Liz Bohn of St. Mary’s Springs return after placing fourth and fifth last year, respectively. Junior Alyssa Niggermann of Amherst is back in the meet after placing sixth in 2013. Others who could be in contention for the titles based on their State experience or their sectional performances are seniors Jennifer Lichter of Aquinas, Emily Jaeger of Fall Creek, Becca Van Thiel of Brillion and Keely Foley of Boscobel, who placed 13th last year; and juniors Sophie Klein of St. Croix Falls, Mady Scopp of Kenosha St. Joseph and Ellie Lochner of Phillips, who finished 12th a year ago.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS?: All rosters and qualifiers are available on the boys and girls cross country Tournament Information pages on the the WIAA website.
NEED RESULTS?: The most efficient way to get results will be to access the WIAA website at: www.wiaawi.org and choose the cross country home page.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Cross Country Championships on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaaxc. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.
STATE MEET HIGHLIGHT SHOW: A 30-minute highlight show of both the State Boys and Girls Cross Country Meets will be aired on FS Wisconsin on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Check your local cable listings for the channel number in your area.