The Varsity Girls cross country team nabbed a strong second-place finish at the Irish Invitational in Freedom last Friday despite missing a prominent athlete from the squad.
Junior Macy Egan was not present on the varsity roster. During the first race of the season in Appleton West invite on August 27, she was appearing at the Waupaca County Fair. She abided by team policies and ran the JV race, resulting in a first place personal finish.
Egan outran Appleton North’s Anna Batley by 58 seconds with a finishing time of 16:24. “I felt like it wasn’t as intense,” Egan said about her JV debut, mentioning that the new runners created a different atmosphere. The Irish Invitational being her first race of the season, Egan felt nervous beforehand and resisted holding back while running in order to increase the gap between her and Batley.
Fortunately, Egan does not need to regret her late seasonal start due to showcasing her cows in Weyauwega during the Appleton West meet. Her JV time in Freedom’s varsity race would not have bumped New London up enough to outperform Chilton’s winning team. The winning time she achieved slipped her back onto next race’s varsity roster as the number-two runner.
Strong winds, highs in the low 60’s and a brief downpour created a dismal experience to competitors and spectators.
“I wasn’t as motivated as I usually am to run in that kind of weather,” senior Kayla Raschke said. Few crowds were present on the back stretches to block the chilly gusts. “The wind was right at your face.”
Coach Ron DuVernay was greatly pleased with the second-place plaque the girls earned as well as everybody’s achievements despite the tough drafts. “We had 14 PRs (personal records),” DuVernay said. “Everybody on the Boys’ Varsity either held their position or improved their position in the last half of the race.
“The varsity squads ran significantly improved times compared to last year at this meet.”
The Girls’ Varsity team placed second out of 21 teams, while Boys’ Varsity claimed eighth out of 20 teams. Four varsity runners received special recognition for their finishes: Michael Heise, 4th; Scott Bellile, 19th; Annalise Schroeder, 5th; and Bridget Pethke, 18th.
The Bulldogs compete next at Colburn Park in Green Bay on Thursday, September 9 at 4:00 PM. Another meet at Shawano High School follows on Saturday, September 11 at 9:00 AM.
Varsity Boys 5K (of 139 runners)
4 Michael Heise – 16:58
19 Scott Bellile – 17:30
50 Ian Wetzel – 18:36
64 Andrew Philippon – 18:53
67 Andrew Schlais – 18:57
79 Daniel Bosquez – 19:13
86 Kevin Urban – 19:25
JV Boys 5K (of 153 runners)
26 Christopher Steingraber – 20:14
32 Andrew Moser – 20:36
38 Brandon Stibb – 20:47
43 Brock Herzfeldt – 20:59
49 Karl White – 21:09
50 Alex Elliott – 21:14
56 Luke Listle – 21:24
65 Andy Hidde – 21:37
73 Dan Bessette – 21:52
79 Drew Phillips – 22:07
125 Brad Binder – 24:13
Varsity Girls 4K (of 136 runners)
5 Annalise Schroeder – 15:54
18 Bridget Pethke – 16:37
26 Brenna Heise – 16:48
34 Anna Staudenmaier – 16:54
60 Amber Pethke – 17:46
72 Cassandra Philippon – 18:10
75 Madison Cooley – 18:20
JV Girls 4K (of 138 runners)
1 Macy Egan – 16:24
12 Anna Malueg – 18:57
14 Kara Hoier – 19:03
20 Samantha Christian – 19:23
24 Kayla Raschke – 19:28
28 Coral Managan – 19:40
46 Hannah Cross – 20:12
54 Emilee Kerscher – 20:33
56 Victoria Philippon – 20:35
119 Victoria Zahn – 23:25