October 24, 2014 at 10:14 a.m.
Owens, Dodge-Point girls top XC field
Owens was timed in 19:36 with teammate Mary Hanson a distant second in 20:23.
Lancaster's Brooke Elliott snuck into the third spot in 20:55, but Dodge-Point took the next three spots to total 18 points in the win.
Mikaela Bakker, Brittany Rhyner and MacKenzie Hall finished in respective times of 21:16, 21:28 and 21:46 to round out the placewinners.
The varsity team also had Megan Hottmann taking eighth in 22:00 and Emily Philipps in 11th at 22:18.
"The girls team claimed another conference title by scoring 18 points to runner-up Platteville at 63," said Dodge-Point coach Denny McGraw.
"Senior Hannah Owens led the way claiming her third individual conference title. She has been a top runner all year and is exciting to watch.
"Senior Mary Hanson placed second. She continues to do a wonderful job as she runs right with the best in the conference.
"Senior Mikaela Bakker placed fourth and is so focused that she is improving each race, which helps the team tremendously.
"Junior Brittany Rhyner placed fifth, always giving her best effort and shows that she is a runner that you can count on down the stretch.
"Sophomore MacKenzie Hall placed sixth. She continues to improve and gain confidence with each race.
"Senior Megan Hottmann placed eighth. She ran hard and smart to do so well.
"Senior Emily Phillips placed eleventh and is determined to do well for the team.
"Junior Mariah Zoet will be the alternate for the sectional team.
"Congratulations to the following girls: First team all-conference: Hannah Owens, Mary Hanson, Mikaela Bakker, Brittany Rhyner, MacKenzie Hall; Second team all-conference: Megan Hottmann, Emily Phillips, Mariah Zoet, Drew Sandstrom."
The next closest team to Dodge-Point was Platteville with 63 points, followed by Lancaster's 67, River Valley with 116, Richland Center/Ithaca with 137 and Prairie du Chien at 151.
River Valley finishes were: Tiffany Limmex 10th 22:14, Megan Volkmann 12th 22:26, Sydney Wagner 16th 23:00, Maddie Hampton 19th 23:26, Felicia Holmes 22nd 23:47, Anne Elben 30th 25:50.
The Dodge-Point JV did perfect score the rest of the field as they took the top five places scoring 15 points.
Mariah Zoet was the top runner in 22:22, followed by Drew Sandstrom in 22:32, Alexis Bauer in 23:01, Kennedy Stumpf in 23:14 and Claire Baldus in 23:37.
The remainder of the JV finishes were: Abby Thompson 9th in 24:26, Jorie Driscoll 10th in 25:03, Shianne Carroll 11th in 25:10, Brittany Walczak 12th in 25:15, Dani Wetter 15th in 26:08, Jackie Frank 19th in 26:24, Alyssa Sullivan 21st in 27:00, Ashley Chitwood 32nd in 29:40, Diana Dochnahl 40th in 35:13 and Hannah Sigg 41st in 35:57.
"The JV team scored a perfect 15 points by having the first five runners come in," McGraw said. "All the girls have pushed each other to make this a successful team."
Wunnicke, boys both 3rd
The Dodge-Point boys team captured third with 58 team points, one behind runner-up Lancaster with Platteville winning at 32 points.
Rounding out the team scores were Prairie du Chien at 101 and River Valley with 106.
D-P senior Tyler Wunnicke took third overall in 17:20.
Platteville's Vince Memot won in 16:47, followed by River Valley's Dustin Hatfield in 17:05.
The rest of the Dodge-Point scorers were: Juan Navarro 5th in 17:45, Luke Davis 17th in 18:46, Chapin Orr 18th in 19:02 and Jordan May 20th in 19:37.
Then came Brandon Forseth 21st in 19:43 and Isaac Grunow 25th in 19:53.
"The boys Dodge Point Cross Country team placed 3rd. They raced hard and know they have all the tools to do well at the sectional meet," McGraw said.
"Senior Tyler Wunnicke continued to be our top boys' runner by finishing third. It has been great seeing him improve all year as he gained confidence in his running abilities.
"Freshmen Juan Navarro finished 5th in conference. He is a tremendous runner who will continue to be an asset to the team as we move forward.
"Sophomore Luke Davis finished 12th and is coming on at the right time of the year and has grown a lot as a runner this year.
"Senior Chapin Orr finished 18th. This was Chapin's first year out for cross country and he has been a great addition to the team.
"Freshmen Jordan May finished 20th. What a determined young man who has got better and better all season.
"Junior Brandon Forseth finished 21st. He was very brave to finish this race and has the utmost respect of his teammates and coaches.
"Freshmen Issac Grunow finished 25th. His goal was to make varsity and he ran hard to make it on the sectional team.
"Sophomore Tanner Cullen will be running on the sectional team, with Junior Nate Eisenzimmer as the alternate.
"Congratulations to the following boys: First team all-conference: Tyler Wunnicke, Juan Navarro; Second team all-conference: Luke Davis; Honorable mention: Tanner Cullen."
River Valley's other finishes were: Chris Sullivan 23rd 19:49, Austin Genthe 26th 20:01, Deryk Clary 27th 20:12, Gavin Wipperfurth 28th 20:25, Zach Licht 34th 21:09 and Calvin Concha 35th 21:34.
Platteville's JV topped Dodge-Point 19-45 with Prairie du Chien the only other school to field a complete JV team and they scored 72 points.
The Hillmen took the top three spots with Ben Wilson winning in 19:49, followed by Logan Henry at 19:58 and Jackson Gormley in 19:59.
Dodge-Point's Nathan Eisenzim-mer took fourth in 20:17 with Stewart Thompson fifth in 20:19, Ty Driscoll eighth in 20:31, John Phelan 13th in 21:53 and John Davis 15th in 22:01.
The rest of the D-P JV was: Conner Trocke 17th in 22:22, Tanner Cullen 18th in 22:33, Trevor Ross 29th in 23;05 and Patrick Husom 30th in 23:22.
"The JV boys team took second place," McGraw pointed out. "We are pleased with how hard all the boys worked this year."
River Valley's Michael Orcutt was their lone runner, taking 16th in 21:49.
Dodge-Point coach McGraw talked about his seniors saying, "We want to thank the senior boys - Tyler Wunnicke, Chapin Orr and Patrick Husom; and the senior girls - Hannah Owens, Mary Hanson, Mikaela Bakker, Megan Hottmann, Emily Philipps, Shianne Carroll, Brittany Walczak, Dani Wetter, Diana Dochnahl, Hannah Sigg and Claire Binsfeld for their leadership this year. We have been very fortunate to have such a strong group of leaders. They have been very supportive and positive in their roles this year."
The Sectional Race will be held at the Platteville Country Club on Saturday, October 25 with the boys race at 3:15, followed by the girls at 4:00. Awards at 5:00.
"We hope to have a nice size crowd cheering on our runners at this important meet," McGraw concluded.
