Cross-Country: Bonduel girls win CWC title, make history

MARION — The Bonduel High School girls cross-country team made history on Thursday, winning its first-ever Central Wisconsin Conference Meet.

The Bears finished with a team score of 46, edging out Weyauwega-Fremont (51), Rosholt (58) and Amherst (62).

“Being a part of history again with my team is just an amazing feeling,” said Kara Troxel, who led the Bears with a second-place finish in 21 minutes, 26.1 seconds. “We’ve all been working really hard this season as a whole. We’ve all overcome major obstacles throughout the season. Tonight just goes to show that hard work pays off.”

Kalleigh Schroeder also finished in the top 10, taking ninth in 23:03. Madison Kurey (23:37.2), Kendra Troxel (24:13.2) and Jessica Ewing (24:17.6) filled out the team score, placing 15th, 19th and 20th, respectively.

“Going into tonight’s race, we knew that we had a chance to be conference champions, so I pushed myself to help my team achieve that goal,” said Kurey. “Winning tonight is a great confidence booster going into next weekend’s sectional.”

“For me, being a part of the history that we made (Thursday) is unbelievable. I am so proud of our team and how we all work together and stay strong as a whole and push ourselves to become better,” said Kendra Troxel.

The Wittenberg-Birnamwood boys came up just short of a CWC title. The Chargers score of 61 trailed only Pacelli (52).

Wyatt Dickman was the top finisher for the team, completing the course in 18:18.5 to take third place as an individual.

Cole Schairer (18:27.6) wasn’t far behind, placing sixth. Brendan Resch (19:16.2), Tommy Bruski (19:45.2) and Ian Resch (19:51.3) filled out the team score, finishing 13th, 18th and 21st, respectively.

"I know as a team we ran as hard as we could," said Dickman. "Winning conference was our main goal, and since we fell just short, we want to go out with a bang at sectionals."

Three Witt-Birn girls competed in the meet, with each runner placing in the top 15.

Jenna Stone (22:38.2) took sixth, Ruby Nowinsky (23:13.3) 10th and Annika Resch (23:24.6) 12th.

The Bonduel boys came in third with a score of 82. Carter Kurey (18:22.1) placed fourth to lead the team.

Jack Johnson (19:24.5), Cooper Uelmen (19:40.5), William Beaumier (19:45.6) and Ayden Dunst (20:27.6) capped the team score, finishing 15th, 16th, 19th and 29th, respectively.

The Menominee Indian boys took sixth with a score of 191.

Isaiah Moss (18:51.8) and Ashton Corn (19:23.3) paced the Eagles, taking 11th and 14th, respectively. Lloyd Reevis (22:25.5), Joshua Besaw (22:28.8) and Jamison Besaw (23:00.8) rounded out the team.

Emma Komanekin was the only Menominee Indian girls runner competing, placing seventh in 22:41.6.

The Marion girls placed fifth, while the boys came in 10th.

Nora Wiesman (27:25.6), Claire Dow (28:50.4), Kelsey Zillmer (29:14.4), Haiyle Larson (29:24.9) and Hannah Krueger (31:37.8) were the top-five runners for the girls.

Ethan Pockat (20:59), Isaiah Gueths (21:01), Jaden Stuhr (21:48.1), Gavin James (23:55.3) and Jack VanKooy (27:09.6) ran for the boys.

Gresham/Bowler had six total runners in action, but didn’t qualify for a boys or girls team score.

Levi Schick (19:55.1) led the boys team with a 22nd-place finish, while Ireland Jensen (27:07.9) placed 36th for the girls.

Austin Slater (24:40.8), Isaiah Bestul (24:49.1) and Donnie Edwards (25:05.5) also ran for the boys, while Maya Thiex (29:28.1) was the other girls runner.

The top-seven finishers earned first team all-conference honors, while runners placing eighth through 14th made the second team.

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