Even though the place might not reflect it, the Oconto Falls High School girls cross-country runners ran a good race Friday at the Irish Invitational in Freedom.
Coach Lon Ludemann was pleased with the progress of his young team, which finished 13th out of 15 Division 1 schools. Times dropped significantly for several Panthers.
Junior Bailey Wolf ended up in 14th in D-1, and had a lot of support from her teammates.
“Our other girls really came around,” Ludemann said. “Some of them cut five minutes off from last week. It’s a lot different for them because they’re running a new distance.”
The WIAA this year increased the distance of girls races from 4,000 to 5,000 meters.
In addition to coping with the new distance, the runners Friday also faced tough conditions at Irish Waters Golf Course. Heavy rain created a wet, sloppy run.
Appleton North (22) had four of the top six runners and placed first in Division 1. Appleton West (99) was runner-up, followed by Luxemburg-Casco (124), Freedom (125) and Xavier (131). Oconto Falls came in with 353.
Wolf was 22nd overall in the two divisions with a time of 20:51.33. She got off to a fast pace in the first mile and found herself in eighth place at that point. However, Wolf was slowly passed by runners along the way.
“I think I went out a little too fast and I wasn’t able to keep up as well,” Wolf said. “I think with any race I need to change that and learn how to pace myself a little better.”
Jumping out to a 6:13 per mile pace is a little too quick.
“That is pretty quick,” Ludemann said. “If she gets a 6:25, maybe she gets a little less stress at the end.”
Wolf said she learned a great deal from Friday’s race.
“I think it was an eye-opener to see how everybody else around the area is doing,” Wolf said. “It made me think that I really need to start working if I want to make it somewhere at the end of the season.”
That “somewhere” Wolf referred to is the state meet.
“I don’t want to say it,” she said, laughing.
Wolf has competed in the state meet the first two years of her high school career.
Diane Moore (23:44.03) was the highest finisher after Wolf, placing 78th in Division 1. Fellow sophomore Megan Loberger (23:50.68) was 79th. Virginia Misco (24:42.85) was 90th, followed by Liza Leja (24:45.02) and Jaclyn Erickson (24:54.56), 92nd and 93rd, respectively. Sophomore Hannah Fontaine (25.52.27) was 102nd.
“I think every race they’re starting to improve a little bit more,” Wolf said about her teammates. “We’re learning to pace ourselves a little bit better instead of going out faster and slowing down after that.”
Ludemann would like to see his girls continue to run in a pack but gradually get closer to the front.
“From what I saw last week to this, it’s a big swing,” Ludemann said.
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