Cross-Country: Shawano teams take fourth in division at own invitational

SHAWANO — The Shawano and Bonduel boys and girls cross-country teams all placed in the top four in their divisions at the Shawano Hawk Invitational on Saturday.

Competing in Division 2, Shawano’s girls and boys team each came in fourth, with scores of 90 and 131, respectively. The Bonduel girls posted a score of 75 to finish third in Division 3, while the boys took fourth with a mark of 75.

All the varsity girls and boys runners ran at the same time to earn an overall place and team score before being broken down into one of three divisions, where another overall place and team score was given.

Rain the couple days leading up to invitational forced the race course to be adjusted from previous years, but the hosting Hawks still turned in strong times.

Sophomore Odessa Arce was the top runner for the Shawano girls, placing 12th overall and eighth among the Division 2 girls with a time of 20 minutes, 48.3 seconds. Sophomore Grace Beyer landed in 13th in the division with a mark of 21:25.5.

“Running on a different course than in the past years was definitely a mental obstacle, but as a team we talked it over and it really helped us put things back into perspective that it was just a course and everyone had to run it,” said Beyer. “The experience today was quite different, however, always being able to run against big schools shows us as a team where we are at and where we need to get to.”

Junior Lydia Beyer finished 14th with a time of 21:25.8. Junior Claire Guenther (22:32.9) and junior Rachael Warax (23:34) placed 24th and 36th to round out the team score.

The Shawano boys were led by freshman Alec White, who took 16th overall and fifth in Division 2 with a time of 17:29.4.

“I learn a lot every day and every single meet. But from today, I learned to not worry about the other teams and my opponents and focus on what I need to do,” said White.

Senior Johnny Dillenburg (18:37.6) took 24th in the division, while junior Ethan Chelberg (18:57.4), senior Karsten Anderson (19:03.2) and freshman Aidan Preston (19:12.1) placed 34th, 35th and 38th, respectively, to round out the team score.

The Bonduel girls third-place finish was led by junior Kara Troxel, who took 22nd overall and third in the division with a time of 21:22.6.

“I was happy with how I finished the race today. I was able to kick it in and not let anyone pass me in the last stretch of the race. I was also able to medal in my division,” said Troxel. “However, my time isn’t where it’s supposed to be. I ran faster than the last meet, but that still isn’t good enough for the big race at the end of the season.”

Junior Kalleigh Schroeder (23:16.5) landed in 15th place in the division for the Bears, while junior Madison Kurey (24:24.1) was 20th. Freshman Kendra Troxel (24:35.1) and senior Alexia Folkman (24:39.8) capped the team score, taking 23rd and 24th, respectively.

The Bonduel boys were paced by senior Carter Kurey, who took 36th overall and fifth in the division with a time of 18:00.4.

Sophomore Cooper Uelmen (19:02.3) placed 14th, while senior William Beaumier (19:29.7) was 20th. Junior Jack Johnson (19:36.6) and freshman Karter Schroeder (21:11.1) took 22nd and 26th, respectively to wrap up the team score.

Menominee Indian freshman Emma Komanekin turned in her second straight strong finish, taking 19th overall and second in the division with a time of 21:07.2. Junior Mimi Beaulieu-Morgan (23:51.8) also ran for the Eagles, taking 17th.

For the Menominee Indian boys, four runners competed, with freshman Isaiah Moss (18:27.8) taking 10th in the division to lead the way.

Moss enjoyed the experience of facing runners from bigger schools and hopes to lead the Eagles and be able to compete with those schools someday. “I want to improve my time, I want to raise the bar for our cross-country program at Menominee Indian.”

Junior Ashton Corn (19:29.3), sophomore Joshua Besaw (21:47.5) and freshman Lloyd Reevis (22:18.8) also competed for the Menominee Indian boys, taking 19th, 36th and 38th, respectively.

Gresham/Bowler had a total of six runners compete, but like Menominee Indian, didn’t have enough athletes to qualify for a team score.

Senior Levi Schick (19:50.4) led the Gresham/Bowler boys, placing 25th in Division 3. Senior Austin Slater (24:36.7), sophomore Isaiah Bestul (24:41.4) and junior Andrew Galland (26:06.3) also ran for the boys.

Sophomore Ireland Jensen (27:57.4) and junior Maya Thiex (34:12) represented the girls co-op.

Marion had seven athletes compete at the invitational.

Senior Ethan Pockat (21:11.7) led the Marion boys, while sophomore Isaiah Gueths (21:16.1) and freshman Jaden Stuhr (22:54.8) also ran.

Freshmen Nora Wiesman (27:41), Kelsey Zillmer (28:38.5) and Haiyle Larson (32:02.7) and sophomore Hannah Krueger (33:53.1) ran for the Marion girls.

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