Press Release
Tomahawk opened their Cross Country season on Thursday at the 14-team Ashland Invitational, held at the Chequamegon Bay Golf Course on the West side of Ashland. The boys placed four scorers in the top 16, with a sub-30 second split, but with their fifth and sixth nearly a minute back they were unable to defend their title from last year. Chequamegon and Ashland placed 1-2 to take the boys title. The girls placed fourth, behind Chequamegon, Superior and Hayward.
Senior Alex Johnson was the lone medalist for Tomahawk as he finished 10th in 19:20 over the hilly and challenging course. He was followed closely by: Evan Ploeckelman (14th-19:29), Mason Webster (15th-19:36), Cayton Scholz (16th-19:44), Lucas Tjugum (30th-20:31), Justin Jarvensivu (33rd-20:34) and Erik Zedler (36th-20:44). Others finishing for the boys included: Josh Wick (42nd), Keegan Karlen (43rd), Matt Johnson (45th), Luke Olson (58th), Brett Gerber (65th), Parker Johnson (70th), Sam VonSchrader (75th), Keaton Jed (76th), Anthony Ierulli (79th), Carl Theiler (103rd), Reed Zedler (109th), Jerett Flynn (112th), Grant Alvey (120th), and Jared Leverance (123rd) in the 132 runner field.
Boys Team Scores: Chequamegon-60, Ashland-76, Tomahawk-83, Wakefield-95, Superior-113, Solon Springs-162, Ironwood-172, Drummond-214, Hayward-251, Hurley-261, Barron-282, South Shore-Inc, Mellen-Inc, Washburn-Inc.
Freshman Haley-Voermans-Dean led the Hatchet women with her fifth place medalist effort in a time of 23:06 over the 5000 meter course. Teammates Rylie Swan (18th-25:02), Lauren Bauman (19th-25:03), Maggee Renn (23rd-25:30), Olivia Weber (29th-26:00), Meagan Berg (36th-27:13), and Kate Krueger (40th-27:44) were top finishers for the fourth place Hatchets.
Other Lady Hatchet finisher: Natalia Robinson (43rd), Morgan Waye (47th), Tehya Street (55th), Jackie Wick (56th), Corinn Genelin (58th), Arianna Schreiner (60th), Rylie Flohr (61st ), Brittany Jashinsky (83rd), Jenny Zheng (89th) in the 105 runner field.
Girls Team Scores: Chequamegon-44, Superior-60, Hayward-83, Tomahawk-88, Ashland-103, Hurley-173, Barron-188, Washburn-219, South Shore-Inc, Solon Springs-Inc, Ironwood-Inc, Drummond-Inc, Mellen-Inc, Wakefield-Inc.
Next week the Hatchets travel to the Marathon Invitational on Thursday for a 4:30 outing at 9-mile forest.
Quotes: “Humidity and windy conditions greeted the athletes and added to the already present challenges that the course had to offer. The athletes that went out a bit more conservatively and kept something in the tank for the last half of the course were the ones that improved their position throughout the race. We had some cramping effect a couple of our scorers, which definitely hurt us. As much as we had prepared for the heat and humidity, coupled with the hills it was tough for a lot of the athletes.”
“Alex and the top four boys had solid early season performances and will continue to improve. Haley, for a freshman competed like a veteran as she established her position early and did a nice job to maintain her pacing for the entire race. For our Co-Eds our other scorers are basically veterans and experience will show as the season progresses. Our camp at Bond Falls was a bit more physically challenging than previous years and we may have still been feeling the effects of it along with the early season high mileage. We told the athletes that if we can be this competitive tired, imagine what we can do when we are fresh and rested.”
AOW: Girls-Haley Voermans-Dean… “her experience in our middle level program really showed and her transition to high school was seamless… she knows how to run in the lead pack and works hard to maintain her pacing… This race helped her gain confidence in her racing ability as a high schooler and with that she will continue to improve. To earn medalist honors in your first multi-team high school invitational is quite an accomplishment for any freshman.”
Boys-Alex Johnson… “Alex is very ‘team-oriented’ and worked hard through-out the race to keep our pack together. It wasn’t until the last 400 meters that he created separation from his teammates and finished strong passing a couple of opposing athletes to earn a medal. His leadership has been instrumental in many of our early season workouts and activities.”
For full results, click here.