October 24, 2011 at 8:40 a.m.
Dodge-Point girls XC are SWEET 16; boys also make return trip to state
"This is the second year in a row for both teams to capture that honor. It was such an exciting day," said Dodge-Point coach Denny McGraw. "The team decided to put Don't Mess with Tradition as the slogan on the back of their t-shirts this year. They are proud of what previous runners have done and want to carry on that tradition."
The girls will be making their 16th straight trip as a team to the state meet while the boys are making a return trip.
The girls are the defending D2 champs while the boys finished in the runner-up spot last year.
Saturday at Monroe's sectional race the girls team had the individual winner in senior Molly Hanson, who posted a time of 14:37 and outlasted her freshman teammate, Hannah Owens, who finished 20 seconds behind her in 14:57. Sophomore Anna Eisenzimmer took third in 15:13 while another sophomore, Mairin Cahill, was sixth in 15:25. Senior Abby Philipps rounded out the team scoring, finishing 13th in 16:02.
Freshman Emily Philipps took 24th in 16:42 while senior Macy McConnell was 26th in 16:47 as the final two D-P runners.
They won with 26 team points to runner-up Madison Edgewood's 69.
Edgewood senior, Michele Lee was her team's highest place winner, taking fifth in 15:45.
The Dodge-Point and Edgewood teams will be going to state. Individuals who will make the trip to state are: McFarland senior Liz Smits 3rd in 15:03, McFarland junior Jamie Shannon 9th in 15:32, Platteville senior Tricia Serres 10th in 15:37, Evansville freshman Brielle Greenleaf 11th in 15:45 and Mount Horeb freshman Sara Viner 12th in 15:52.
Serres was the state runner-up in D2 last year.
The rest of the team scores were: McFarland 71, Platteville 147, River Valley 190, Mount Horeb 192, New Glarus/Monticello 202, Monroe 234, Lodi 252, Evansville 261, Brodhead/Juda 343, Parkview 359, Prairie du Chien 366, Turner 372, Iowa-Grant/Highland 373, Southwestern 369, Richland Center/Ithaca 427.
"Senior Molly Hanson was the talk of the day as she really stepped it up and won the sectional meet in 14:37," McGraw pointed out. "She ran such a smart race, it was incredible. Freshmen Hannah Owens placed second and she is coming into her own at just the right time. She is gaining confidence with each race. Sophomore Anna Eisenzim-mer is back. She was injured last year for the sectional and state meets, and it is great to see her run. She is a key component to the success of this team. Sophomore Mairin Cahill runs effortlessly. She seems to just be able to run with ease and confidence. Senior Abby Philipps will be making her fourth trip to state. She has really improved her race technique this year and has been a key to the success of the team. Freshmen Emily Philipps and Senior Macy McConnell both ran solid races to help the team to a state berth. Mary Hanson, Megan Hottmann and Kylie Greenheck will be the alternates for the state team."
River Valley results
Kelsi Wermuth 15th 16:21, Taylor Bettinger 31st 16:56, Kayla Fleming 38th 17:16, Nikki Rasmussen 50th 17:41, Madeline Miller 56th 17:55, Kin Knoll 58th 17:58, Nicole Alt 82nd 18:40.
Iowa-Grant/Highland results
Grace Enloe 57th 17:57, Shania Sarbacker 59th 18:00, Veronica Shaefer 71st 18:25, Chakayla Stanek 89th 19:16, Elizabeth Buckhaus 99th 19:45, Christine Melby 103rd 19:58, Molly Lee 107th 20:41.
The Dodge-Point boys team scored 49 points to top Monroe's 76 as the two teams advancing to state.
Trevor Wunnicke finished third individually in 16:10 and topped teammate Brett Hottmann, who was fourth in 16:35.
Ian Ewers came in sixth in 16:56 with Josef Frank 15th in 17:27 and Mark Schmitz 21st in 17:37 to make up their scorers.
Their other two runners were: Matt Dougherty 40th in 18:19 and Greg Hanson 54th in 18:42.
New Glarus/Monticello's Ryan McCoy won the race in 15:41 and was the first individual qualifier. Edgewood's Joe McKenna was second in 16:06 and will also run at state.
They will be joined individually by: Platteville's Adam Niehaus who was 7th in 16:58, Mount Horeb's Christian Setser 9th in 17:04 and Brodhead/Juda's Tate Harnack who was 10th in 17:07.
The rest of the team scores were: New Glarus/Monticello 88, Madison Edgewood 111, Platteville 114, Mount Horeb 203, McFarland 204, Turner 230, River Valley 246, Lodi 271, Brodhead/Juda 303, Wisconsin Heights 304, Iowa-Grant/Highland 355, Southwestern 388, Evansville 391, Parkview 396, Prairie du Chien 431.
"Junior Trevor Wunnicke was our top boys' runner as he has been all year. He finished 3rd in a very competition field that shows he is top-notch," McGraw said. Senior Brett Hottmann continues to run so well...and we look forward to his showing what he can do at state. Junior Ian Ewers has been such a great addition to the program this year. He is a key component to the team doing so well. Junior Joe Frank is getting stronger each race and knows how to get the job done. Senior Mark Schmitz has been improving all year long and will continue to be an important part of the team. Seniors Matt Dougherty and Greg Hanson both ran very well to help the team advance to state. The alternates for the boys on the state team will be Alex Trollop and Tyler Wunnicke."
"We really appreciated the great fan support at the sectional meet in Monroe," McGraw added. Hearing the cheering all along the course really helped the runners stay focused and run their best. We hope that we will see a big fan base on Saturday at the state meet."
The girls run at 11:40, the boys at 1:40 at the Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. Their are shuttle busses from various locations to the Golf Course. More information can be found at wiaawi.org.
River Valley results
Quinn Thompson 18th 17:33, Tim Knoll 44th 18:26, Alec Bass 49th 18:31, Anders Wermuth 67th 19:03, Joseph Brognano 68th 19:04, Nick Lechnir 97th 20:19, Tony Bahr 105th 20:29.
Iowa-Grant/Highland results
Jordan Jenks 16th 17:29, Kyle Bomkamp 73rd 19:13, Cody Wall 85th 19:51, Tad Spurley 88th 19:55, Micah Bomkamp 93rd 20:05, Alex Pillow 99th 20:20, Shaun Soman 103rd 20:27.
