October 25, 2013 at 4:18 p.m.
D-P Girls XC wins conference, boys second
With a perfect score being 15, the D-P girls came in with a total of 18, taking six of the first seven places - the only blemish being a 3rd place finish by Lancaster junior Sydney Wagner (16:04).
Dodge-Point junior Hannah Owens won the race in 15:17 with senior Anna Eisenzimmer a distant runner-up in 15:52. Eisenzimmer is still coming back to form due to an injury.
Juniors Mary Hanson and Mikaela Bakker took the next two scoring spots at fourth and fifth in 16:13 and 16:15 with sophomore Kennedy Stumpf rounding out the scoring in sixth at 16:20.
The girls weren't finished yet as junior Megan Hottmann filled the next spot at seventh in 16:21.
Freshman MacKenzie Hall finished their placing with a 12th in 16:31.
Dodge-Point coach Denny McGraw talked about his girls varsity saying, "The Varsity girls won the conference meet scoring an outstanding 18 points to runner-up Platteville, who scored 72 points. It was great to see so many Dodge Point runners leading the race.
"Junior Hannah Owens earned her second individual conference title by dominating the field at the conference race, outdistancing her nearest competitor by 35 seconds. She has been our top runner all year long and it is exciting to see her do so well.
"Senior Anna Eisenzimmer was second with a strong performance that shows she is really coming back after her injuries. She is looking to continue to improve as she regains her confidence after not being able to run a lot of the season.
"Junior Mary Hanson finished fourth and is starting to look healthy again as she runs. Her battle with pneumonia set her back for a while, but now she is really coming on at the right time.
"Junior Mikaela Bakker finished fifth and has been a steady varsity runner this year - she is learning that she can push herself more than she ever realized.
"Sophomore Kennedy Stumpf finished sixth place with a powerful sprint at the end of the race. She paced herself well and finished very well.
"Junior Megan Hottmann finished in seventh place with one of her best races of the season.
"Freshmen MacKenzie Hall finished 12th and rounded out the varsity team with a great effort."
The coach(es) also talked about the senior runners saying, "We want to thank the senior girls that have helped to make this year such a fun and successful year: Anna Eisenzimmer, Mairin Cahill, Kylie Greenheck, Tessa Solberg, Mikalah Enright, Debbie Heth, Megan Zoet, Tara Bender, Melissa Seman, Ludmilla Ney, and Sarah Lawinger,
"Congratulations to the First Team All-Conference Runners: Hannah Owens, Anna Eisenzimmer, Mary Hanson, Mikaela Bakker, Kennedy Stumpf, Megan Hottmann and Congratulations to the Second Team All-Conference Runner: MacKen-zie Hall.
Platteville finished a far distant second in team scoring with 72 points followed by Lancaster 100, Richland Center/Ithaca 107, River Valley 109 and Prairie du Chien 135.
River Valley placings were: Nikkie Rasmussen 16th 16:54, Abby Miller 18th 17:13, Taylor Bettinger 21st 17:26, Tiffany Limmex 25th 17:45, Madeline Miller 29th 18:24, Katlin Schwartz 31st 18:37, Grace Conway 39th 19:22.
Dodge-Point swept the JV race, taking the first seven spots, with Maria Zoet winning in 16:50, followed by Kylie Greenheck in 16:59, Emily Philipps in 17:08, Brittany Rhyner in 17:11, Claire Baldus in 17:20, Shianne Carroll in 17:24 and Tessa Solberg in 17:35.
The rest of the D-P finishes were: Jorie Driscoll 11th in 17:47, Brittany Walczak 13th in 17:53, Alexis Bauer 14th in 17:53, Mikalah Enright 15th in 18:02, Katie Dochnahl 18th in 18:32, Dani Wetter 19th in 18:38, Megan Zoet 22nd in 18:51, Drew Sandstrom 25th in 19:06, Tara Bender 26th in 19:07, Melissa Seman 27th in 19:13, Courtney Miess 35th in 19:45, Ludmilla Ney 41st in 20:19, Jackie Frank 43rd in 20:23, Ashley Chitwood 52nd in 21:33, Sarah Lawinger 53rd in 21:40, Josie Jewell 59th in 24:18 and Diana Dochnahl 62nd in 26:34.
Only three schools fielded JV teams with Dodge-Point scoring a perfect 15 to Platteville's 50 and River Valley's 85.
"The JV girls scored a perfect 15 points, to runner-up Platteville's 50 points," McGraw pointed out. "We had the top seven runners in the JV race with Mariah Zoet, Kylie Greenheck, Emily Philipps, Brittany Rhyner, Claire Baldus, Shianne Carroll, and Tessa Solberg."
In the boys race, Platteville's Cullen Bryla and Vince Momot took 1-2 in 16:31 and 16:33, followed by River Valley's Alec Bass in 16:33+ and Dodge-Point's Tyler Wunnicke in 17:02.
Platteville won with 24 points to Dodge-Point's 57. Prairie had 93, followed by Lancaster 103, River Valley 106 and Richland Center/Ithaca 157.
Finishing after Wunnicke, a junior, for Dodge-Point were: sophomore Jack Schickel 10th in 17:50, senior Tannler Ames 13th in 18:04, freshman Tanner Cullen 14th in 18:05 and freshman Luke Davis 16th in 18:17. Their final two runners were sophomore Brandon Forseth 18th in 18:19 and senior Cory Fitzsimmons 27th in 19:03.
"The Varsity Boys took second place in the conference scoring 57 points to champions, Platteville, who scored 24," McGraw said.
"Junior Tyler Wunnicke was fourth overall and ran a great race. He is a strong runner who is very fun to watch and we know he will continue to give his best at each race.
"Sophomore Jack Schickel was 10th and broke 18 minutes which was one of his best time of the year. He is just starting to realize what he can do.
"Senior Tannler Ames finished 13th and had his best race of the year.
"Freshman Tanner Cullen finished 14th and improved all year to have such a great conference race.
"Freshman Luke Davis finished 16th and is another young man who has shown that he will have great potential.
"Sophomore Brandon Forseth was 18th and has been a consistent varsity runner all year long.
"Senior Cory Fitzsimmons finished 27th and had one of his best races to score as a varsity runner.
"The Varsity Boys are a young team that has a lot of potential. We look forward to seeing them give a run at sectional, and continue to improve for next year."
McGraw taked about the senior bays saying, "We want to thank the senior boys that were out for cross country this year: Tannler Ames, Cory Fitzsimmons, Henry Schickel, Preston Phillips, Chanler Leonard, Caleb Byers, Chance Whitlatch, Nolan Pfaff, Reid Suddeth, and Brenyan Schmit.
"Congratulations to the First Team All-Conference Runner: Tyler Wunnicke and Congratulations to the Second Team All-Conference Runners: Jack Schickel, Tannler Ames, and Tanner Cullen.
Following Bass for RV were: Dustin Hatfield 9th in 17:48 Deryk Clary 25th in 18:50, Jack Meixelsperger 33rd in 19:31, Chris Sullivan 36th in 19:48, Joe Meinholz 39th in 20:32 and Austin Genthe 40th in 21:59.
Platteville also had the top JV runners in Mike Donovan in 18:25 and Tanner Ames in 18:32.
Then came Dodge-Point's Stewart Thompson in 19:16.
Also for D-P, Ty Driscoll was 6th in 19:22, Preston Phillips 7th in 19:29, Henry Schickel 10th in 19:48, Chanler Leonard 12th in 20:02, Caleb Byers 13th in 20:07, Nathan Eisenzimmer 14th in 20:16, Hunter Blalock 20th in 20:31, Micah Sprain 23rd in 20:47, Hayden Phillips 27th in 20:53, Chance Whitlatch 34th in 21:13, Nolan Pfaff 38th in 21:37, Trevor Ross 42nd in 21:56, Bobby McNeill 45th in 22:26, John Davis 47th in 22:48, Reid Suddeth 52nd in 22:58, Tristan Wilkins 53rd in 23:26, Conner Trocke 57th in 26:09, Aaron Ramthun 58th in 26:15.
"The JV Boys took second place scoring 38 points to champions, Platteville, who scored 20," McGraw said. "They had a strong showing led by Sophomore Stewart Thompson placing 3rd in the JV race. The other JV scorers were Ty Driscoll, Preston Phillips, Henry Schickel, Chanler Leonard, Caleb Byers, and Nathan Eisenzimmer."
Team scores were: Platteville 20, Dodge-Point 38 and Prairie du Chien 81.
