Cross-Country: Gillett boys, girls qualify for state

Peterson, Hansen pace Tigers
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

Updated: 12:30 a.m., 10/28

WESTFIELD — The Gillett High School boys and girls cross-country teams each qualified for the state meet after first-place finishes at the Division 3 Westfield Sectional on Saturday.

The boys team posted a score of 37, while the girls tallied a 36. Bonduel finished second in both races, with the boys team finishing with a score of 72 and the girls an 80.

Alex Peterson paced the Gillett boys team, while Sylvia Hansen led the girls. Peterson finished second as an individual with a time of 17 minutes, 34.43 seconds, while Hansen came in third in 20:50.44.

Gillett’s Derek Hanson was the next finisher after Peterson, claiming third place with a mark of 18:00.09. Ryann Wagner finished the course in 20:54.06 to take fourth in the girls race.

"Being able to qualify for state with my team means a lot to me," said Hanson. "I’ve trained and been with my team in both the bad times and the good, so seeing us come together and win sectionals was truly something special."

Evan Peterson and Connor Hanson also earned top-10 finishes for the boys team, completing the race in 18:32.85 for ninth place and 18:35.78 for 10th, respectively.

Riley Engebretsen capped the boys team score with a 15th-place finish in 19:01.61.

"To qualify for state means a lot for me, the team and the whole school because it gives us a sense of accomplishment knowing that we accomplished something that has not been done in a long time," said Evan Peterson. "It also brings positivity to our team and helps bring our team closer together than we already are."

The last time the Gillett boys qualified for state was in 2010. It will be the eighth time ever that the Gillett boys team competes at state. The Gillett girls have only qualified for state one time before (2004).

Kasey Hansen took ninth in the girls race with a time of 21:50.49.

Angela Mosconi and Cheyenne Krueger just missed placing in the top 10 to cap the girls team score. Mosconi (22:08.33) finished 11th, while Krueger (22:13.44) was 12th.

Gillett will compete in the State Cross-Country Championships at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday.

Junior Derek Hanson will run at state for a second straight year. He placed 43rd as a sophomore.

Junior Sylvia Hansen will be running for the third time at state. Competing as an individual, she took third as a freshman and 27th as a sophomore.

Wagner, a sophomore, ran at state for Suring in 2018, taking 41st.

All of Gillett's other runners will be making their first state appearances.

"Having been at state before, I have knowledge of the course and a good feel of how the meet itself runs," said Derek Hanson. "I can share these insights with my team to ensure we’re ready to perform at our best next Saturday."

"I think our goals and expectations for state are to have everyone go out there and show that we can be dedicated and willing to work for it just like we’ve been doing at every meet since the start," said Kasey Hansen.

The Division 3 girls race is scheduled for 1:20 p.m., while the D3 boys race will be run at 3:10 p.m.

Suring and the Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Academy co-op also competed at the sectional.

Suring only had a girls team running, and the team placed 11th with a score of 289. Olivia Noack led the way with a 15th-place finish in 22:51.11.

Hailey Thomson (24:51.6), Chantelle VandenElzen (27:07.85), Madison Vandevelde (27:24.19) and Carley Geniesse (27:32.44) filled out the team.

The Lena/STAA boys took ninth with a score of 234, while the girls came in 15th with a mark of 378.

Leading the boys team was Kadin Baxter (19:39.31), who placed 28th. Kennedy Marquardt (25:17.4) led the girls team.

Cody Dellise (20:07.54), Dylan Comins (20:46.39), Norman Aguilar (21:06.92) and Max Beyer (21:26.89) filled out the team score for the boys.

Alexis Misco (26:36.38), Megan Shallow (27:09.73), Ciara Urbanek (32:53.54) and Samara VanArk (32:57.97) filled out the girls team.

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Full results from the sectional can be found at www.wiaawi.org/Sports/Fall/Girls-Cross-Country/Tournament.