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Bulldog trio runs at state

New London’s Michael Heise, Annalise Schroeder and Macy Egan all crossed the finish line winded but clearly full of life at the state cross country meet at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids last Saturday.

Michael Heise finished 78th out of 190 runners with a time of 17:10 in the Division 1 Boys’ 5K. Macy Egan and Annalise Schroeder completed the Division 1 Girls’ 4K within the top half as well. Egan crossed 89th and Schroeder 91st. Both ended on a 15:57 final time with only a half-second in difference.

“(Annalise and Michael) ran faster than their previous times at state,” coach Ron DuVernay said. He noted that Heise’s final kick moved him up multiple places within the last 100 meters uphill. DuVernay also found Egan and Schroeder’s mutual finish remarkable.

Thrilled to be competing together, Schroeder and Egan shopped together for matching scrunchies to wear in their hair for good luck, Annalise’s blue and Macy’s pink. They also displayed a pair of matching dragon socks before and after the race. Perhaps the good luck scrunchie worked better for Egan due to a loose shoe at the beginning of Schroeder’s race.

“It fell off my foot when someone stepped on my heel,” Schroeder said. After the first turn, the shoe was on halfway, but by 400 meters in it was fully off and abandoned on the course. “It was really slippery. I had no traction.”

Michael Heise faced a foot problem of his own during the boys’ race. He has had issues with one of his big toes bleeding throughout the season, but other matters on his mind caused him to forget to wrap it beforehand. As Heise returned to the team’s tent after finishing, teammates noticed the bleeding surfaced to the outside of his shoe.

“I would have liked to run a little faster, but it was all right,” he said about his race. The toe was a post-race matter; he thought little about it during the competition.

Juniors Annalise Schroeder and Macy Egan will both compete for another shot at state next season. Meanwhile, Michael Heise wrapped up his senior cross country season with the state meet, but it’s far from his last meet.

“I plan to run in college,” Heise said. He recently joined the St. Norbert cross country team for practice and attended college classes on a recruiting trip. St. Norbert and St. Cloud in Minnesota are two possible candidates for the university where he will run next year. He is looking at schools throughout the Midwest.

Is Heise experiencing the traditional end-of-the-road sadness cross country seniors face every year?

“It really hasn’t hit me yet that it’s over,” he said. Within a short time, he assures, it certainly will.

State tradition

continues

Most Bulldogs may not know it, but the New London cross country team has held a consistent streak of appearances at state over the past decade. This year’s group is notable – New London hasn’t sent three qualifiers to state since the trio that advanced in 2004.

2010: Annalise Schroeder, Macy Egan, and Michael Heise

2009: Annalise Schroeder

2008: Michael Heise

2007: Daniel Uphoff and Amanda Meagher

2006: Amanda Meagher

2005: Nick Schaefer and Daniel Uphoff

2004: Chris Rombough, Malachi Cate, and Nick Schaefer

2003: Chris Rombough and Nick Schaefer

2002: MEN’S TEAM: Chris Rombough, Ben Uphoff, Malachi Cate, Charlie Bowen, Fred Bowen, Al Northouse, Ben Kiefer, Kyle Bender

2001: Ashley Flease

2000: Ashley Flease

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