The Hatchet varsity cross country team traveled to Waupaca for the 14-team Comet Invitational. The boys had their top four scorers all grouped within 18 seconds along with one of their best scoring splits of the season (at 50 seconds) to win their second invitational of the season. The boys (95 points) finished just ahead of Seymour (99 points) and Fox Valley Lutheran (107 points) for the team title.
The boys were led by medalists Mason Webster (10th -18:46) and Evan Ploeckelman (14th -18:56). Cayton Scholz (19th -19:03), Alex Johnson (20th -19:08), Justin Jarvensivu (32nd -19:36), Parker Johnson (36th – 19:38), and Matt Johnson (43rd -19:57) completed the Hatchet championship effort.
The girls varsity had one of their best team races to date as they placed 4th with 134 points, behind state-ranked teams from Peshtigo (93 points) and Fox Valley Lutheran (105 points). Winneconnie placed 3rd with 111 points. The Hatchets were led by freshman medalist Haley Voermans-Dean. She covered the 5,000-meter course in 21:22 to place 9th overall. Maggie Renn (19th -22:40), Meagan Berg (34th -24:10), Rylie Swan (35th -24:13), Morgan Waye (37th -24:15), Gillian Buckwalter (46th -24:53), and Lauren Bauman (47th -24:54) rounded out the results for the Hatchet harriers.
Quotes/AOW
(Waupaca) “It was great for our athletes to get the opportunity to pre-race our Sectional site at Waupaca this week, as only 2-3 of our varsity athletes had raced there as freshmen so it was relatively new to the team. This course is challenging and unique so it was a good adaptation in the schedule for us. It was a bonus for our boy’s to top the field in the 14-team event and should give them added confidence for Sectionals.
“What propelled us to the team title was we went out a bit more conservatively and were one of the few teams able to keep our scoring pack together through the first hilly part of the course. The guys also ran an awesome second mile, passing several runners. This had been an area of weakness for us in recent weeks so we were pleased with that positive change today!
“The girls ran one of their best races of the season as well. Haley got our strong and ran with the lead pack and our other runners were not as spread out from #2-#7 as they had been in previous races. Many of the young ladies ran times within 20 seconds of their seasonal bests or PR’s on a much tougher course. We felt that they generally competed better this race as well.”
(Edgar) “The athletes like racing at Nine-Mile in Wausau. It is a course that produces fast times. This invite was no exception. For spectators the conditions were terrible (50 degrees and a light rain), bu t for the runners those conditions are actually ideal and the result was numerous seasonal best and a few PR’s.
“Both JV squads won titles convincingly and our top JV boys (mostly seniors) competed on the varsity level and did well finishing mid-pack. Medford boys and girls looked good in their respective wins. They will be another team to respect at GNC and Sectionals.
(General) “Homecoming week is always challenging with all of the evening activities and distractions for the athletes. I thought they handled that, coupled with the three meets in six days, well and are transitioning into the last third of the season where we would like to be. It will be good to race at ho me at Edgewater this coming weekend.”
Maggie Renn… “Maggie has had a couple of solid races this week, shoring up our #2 spot and creeping ‘ever so close’ to her PR. She is running with a lot of confidence and making us stronger as a team. Her attitude is infectious as well, and the rest of the girls are responding similarly. The senior leadership we are seeing from our girls both in practice and out has been outstanding and Maggee has been an integral part of this!”
Cayton Scholz… “Cayton is sort of our unsung ‘hero’, as he is a ‘key’ part of our scoring pack every meet. He works hard in practice and is an intelligent meet day racer, helping position our pack where it can do the most damage at meets. A lot of the younger athletes on the team look up to Cayton, he is a great role model for them not only on the athletic venue but also in the classroom.
Tomahawk will continue their tradition of bringing in the game ball tonight for homecoming as they travel from the direction of Prentice-Rib Lake. Next meet for Tomahawk is the Hatchet Invitational as Tomahawk will host their annual event at Edgewater. The meet gets underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8.
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