Everything is starting to come together nicely for the Oconto Falls High School boys cross-country team.
In the next few weeks, the runners will look to peak for the conference and sectionals meets.
On Thursday at the Bremser Invitational in Mishicot, Oconto Falls used a fourth-place finish from Mike Friedman and top-31 finishes from four other runners to place third in the large school division.
“This puts us right on target because we’re getting better,” Oconto Falls coach Lon Ludemann said.
Freedom (54) ran away with the victory, with Two Rivers (62) coming in second. Rounding out the top five were Oconto Falls (78), Waupun (122) and De Pere (122).
Friedman wasn’t able to race at Mishicot last season as a junior because he was nursing an injury. This year, he was ready.
“This is one of my favorite courses,” Friedman said. “I’ve PRed here every year since my freshman and sophomore years. This race, I was about 10 seconds off my PR. I’ve got to keep working for the end of the season.”
Friedman finished in 16:24, which is the second best time of his career.
“He ran smart,” Ludemann said.
Friedman got off to a quick start and maintained his fourth-place position nearly the entire race.
“I don’t make many moves during races. I just go out as hard as I can and keep that for the whole race,” Friedman said. “I’m usually up there coming around the first turn and I like to keep that position.”
At the two-mile point, Ludemann hoped Friedman would be at 10:30. He clocked in at 10:20.
The top four runners in the race all stayed relatively close to one another, separated by just 27 seconds at the finish line. Freedom’s Sam Hinz easily won the race (15:57). Friedman had a good duel with Waupun’s Matt Kuik (16:09) and Two Rivers’ Sam Bianchi (16:12).
Friedman fed off the guys in front of him the entire race.
“They started kicking it with like 800 meters to go and I tried pumping my arms a little more,” Friedman said. “That’s what I’m working on—my third mile, because that tends to be the slowest one. I’ve got to work hard in practice to get my endurance up to finish hard in that third mile.”
Friedman’s supporting cast came through once again. The Panthers’ two through five runners have been running well in a pack. They finished between 14th and 31st place to gain valuable points for their team.
Michael Fifield placed 14th overall and 12th in the large school division. He edged out a Gibraltar runner at the finish line and came in at 17:38.
“He’s got that gear at the end. You tell him to go, he’ll go,” Ludemann said. “No matter what, he’ll do it.”
Evan Konitzer (17:52) was 26th overall and 19th against the large school runners. Liam Spillane (17:55) was next for the Panthers, coming in 28th overall, 21st in his division. Luke Vrooman (18:02) was 31st, 22nd in his division. Justan Konitzer (18:12) and Matt VerVelde (18:54) also ran well while finishing in the sixth and seventh slots.
“Those five guys need to be tight, and they were tight,” Ludemann said.
Friedman knows how important it is for his teammates to do well. Getting five runners under 18 minutes is key if the Panthers hope to make a strong postseason push for the second straight year.
“They’ve been working really hard and that’s what’s going to get us to state, hopefully,” Friedman said.
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