Future looks bright for Eagles’ XC teams

It was arguably the busiest week of the season for coach Andy Sherman and Sauk Prairie’s cross country teams. But with the conference meet and postseason rapidly coming into view, the future is looking bright for the Eagles. Sauk Prairie’s boys’ varsity squad finished first at both the Baraboo Thunderbird Invitational on Sept. 24 and the Reedsburg Invitational last Saturday, while the girls’ varsity team placed third and fourth, respectively, in the two meets. “It was a great week for us,” Sherman said. “Regardless of the places and results, these two teams are so much fun to be around. They have been there to support each other through tragedy, disappointments and just life in general. “And of course they are encouraging each other day in and day out through all of our workouts and competitions. The culture of this team is very special and does not happen all the time. I am simply enjoying my time with this group. The seniors have been great ambassadors for our program and community, and I am just enjoying being with them while I still can.” At Reedsburg, the Sauk Prairie boys won their third team title of the season, placing first out of seven teams competing in the Large Schools division. The Eagles (36 points) outdistanced runner-up Madison East (49), Evansville (79) and conference rival Baraboo (91). East junior Riley Siltman covered the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 44 seconds to secure the individual title. Sauk Prairie seniors Hudson Haas (17:08) and Camden Desroches (17:23) finished second and third, respectively, as the Eagles placed all seven of their runners in the top 24. Senior Noah Wankerl (17:33) was eighth, freshman Jack Boerger (17:40) placed 10th and sophomore Dalton Zirbel (17:56) was 13th to round out the Eagles scoring. Junior Sam Beattie (18:16), who was 22nd, and senior Casey Vande Hey (18:20), who placed 24th, capped the rest of the varsity lineup. “I am very pleased with how they ran against a very good Madison East team,” Sherman said. “They were able to get us last year and the boys knew how good they still are. As another of the really good teams in our sectional, (the Eagles) wanted to compete with them and do what they could to run really well and see where it would lead. They competed very well.” Sauk Prairie finished with just a 48-second split from its first through fifth runners and 72 seconds for the varsity lineup. “The neat thing is, they aren’t trying to run as a pack,” Sherman said. “They were spread out a bit more during the middle portions of the race, and the guys three through seven closed really well. They understand that if we can keep the gap between one and seven fairly tight, we will be very tough in any meet we are in.” The Sauk Prairie boys JV also finished first, led by sophomore Carson Enge (18:40), who won the individual title. “I think the boys team has had confidence all season, knowing that they can compete and be successful against any team we race with,” Sherman said, noting that senior Hunter Kent dropped his (personal record) by 15 seconds and along with senior Owen Kolnik helped the JV team lock up its’ title. “This week gave them a little bigger boost to help with that even more.” Evansville won the girls race with 64 points followed by Baraboo (71), Madison East (94) and Sauk Prairie (95). Baraboo freshman Haylie Weyh won the individual title in a time of 20:55. The Eagles placed two runners in the top five with sophomore Kassia Marquardt coming in fourth in 21:39 and senior foreign exchange student Livia Jurt taking fifth in 21:39. Junior Cassie Radl (22:53) was 19th, sophomore Marissa Howard (23:04) placed 27th and junior Briar Lohr (24:26) was 40th to round out the Sauk Prairie scoring. Junior Mabel Schneller (24:26) was 41st to round out the Eagles’ varsity lineup. “They competed with teams within our conference and have shown great improvement,” Sherman said of the girls’ squad. “The girls did not have Emily Herbrand at Reedsburg as she was a late scratch due to a knee injury. Had she run where she has been this season, we would have closed the gap on Baraboo a bit more. “Our girls have improved greatly and now that we are starting to get some of them over the illnesses that have been flying around our team, I know they are going to keep getting better.” • Baraboo Invitational — Sauk Prairie’s boys team placed five runners in the top 10 and won the title with 28 points in the six-team meet at Baraboo on Sept. 24. Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln was runner-up (46) and Baraboo placed third (66). Hudson Haas won the individual title for the Eagles, finishing in 17:28. Camden Desroches placed third in 17:54, Noah Wankerl was sixth in 18:04, Dalton Zirbel took eighth in 18:16 and Jack Boerger finished 10th in 18:23. “Our strategy for the boys going in was simple,” Sherman said. “Run evenly, by not over-doing it and come out healthy on the other end. The strategy wasn’t necessarily to pack run, but it was clear from the start that if the boys ran their races, we were going to be successful.” Sam Beattie finished 14th in 18:45 and Casey Vande Hey placed 19th in 19:06 to round out the Eagles’ varsity lineup. Wisconsin Rapids won the girls team title with 30 points followed by Baraboo (86) and Sauk Prairie (93). Willow Sering of Wisconsin Rapids won the individual title, finishing in 21:07. Livia Jurt led Sauk Prairie with a seventh-place finish in 22:32. Due to a timing malfunction during the girls’ race, only the top 13 finishers have accurate final times. However, the places and team scores were accurate according to meet officials. Rounding out the scoring for Sauk Prairie were Kassia Marquardt (14th place), Marissa Howard (18th), Cassie Radl (24th) and junior Emily Herbrand (32nd). Briar Lohr (37th) and Mabel Schneller (38th) completed the varsity lineup. “I was very concerned about fatigue and some have been dealing with colds that make it hard to breathe,” Sherman said of the girls’ finish. “Again, we have been cautious with our teams and how life has been a bit chaotic with all the happenings last week. They came through well, improving their place from a year ago and many had better races this year.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie will race at the Platteville Invitational on Saturday at 9 a.m. Baraboo Thunderbird Invitational Tuesday, Sept. 24 BOYS Team scores: Sauk Prairie 28, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 46, Baraboo 66, Lodi 116, Mauston 136, Reedsburg 149. Top five finishers: 1, Hudson Haas, SP, 17:28; 2, Harrison Sullivan, WRL, 17:41; 3, Camden Desroches, SP, 17:54; 4, Zac Hamel, WRL, 17:58; 5, Garrett Exo, B, 18:00. Sauk Prairie scoring: 1, Haas, 17:28; 3, Desroches, 17:54; 6, Noah Wankerl, 18:04; 8, Dalton Zirbel, 18:16; 10, Jack Boerger, 18:23. Rest of team: 14, Sam Beattie, 18:45; 19, Casey Vande Hey, 19:06; 23, Carson Enge, 19:34; 26, Ritchie Wolff, 19:49; 31, Jonah Richard, 19:59; 37, Jay Dregney, 20:16; 44, Hunter Kent, 20:40; 49, Phillip Geiselman, 20:59; 50, Cameron Tucker, 21:00; 52, Owen Kolnik, 21:05; 56, Ryan Godwin, 21:21; 74, Luke Taylor, 23:37; 76, Kaleb O’Donnell, 24:04; 82, Evan Roberts, 24:42; 84, Ethan Sprotte, 25:03; 85, Julian McCann, 25:15; 93, Angel Galvan, 28:29. GIRLS Team scores: Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 30; Baraboo 86; Sauk Prairie 93; Mauston 97; Lodi 99; Reedsburg 104. Top five finishers: 1 Willow Sering, WRL, 21:07; 2, Faith Dix, WRL, 21:50; 3, Sarah Price, WRL, 22:03; 4, Haylie Weyh, B, 22:15; 5, Anna Boppart, M, 22:26. Sauk Prairie scoring: 7, Livia Jurt, 22:32; 14, Kassia Marquardt; 18, Marissa Howard; 24, Cassie Radl; 32, Emily Herbrand. Rest of team: 37, Briar Lohr; 38, Mabel Schneller; 48, Emily Caflisch; 54, Signe Begalske; 56, Emma Kopecky; 57, Trinity Doerre; 58, Abby Dovin; 59, Ella Drescher; 60, Claire Theide; 61, Natalie Curtis; 64, Alexsa Lemelin; 66, Taylor Bierstaker; 70, Grace Sibila-Ott; 72, Piper Finely; 73, Juliana Renly; 75, Caitlyn Kinnamon. Reedsburg Invitational Saturday, Sept. 28 BOYS Team scores: Sauk Prairie 36, Madison East 49, Evansville 79, Baraboo 91, Tomah 105, Reedsburg 162, Portage 181. Top five finishers: 1, Riley Siltman, E, 16:44; 2, Hudson Haas, SP, 17:08; 3, Camden Desroches, SP, 17:23; 4, Garrett Exo, B, 17:25; 5, Fin Hanson, ME, 17:29. Sauk Prairie varsity finishers: 2, Haas, 17:08; 3, Desroches, 17:23; 8, Noah Wankerl, 17:33; 10, Jack Boerger, 17:40; 13, Dalton Zirbel, 17:56; 22, Sam Beattie, 18:16; 24, Casey Vande Hey, 18:20. GIRLS Team scores: Evansville 64, Baraboo 71, Madison East 94, Sauk Prairie 95, Reedsburg 105, Portage 113, Tomah 116. Top five finishers: 1, Haylie Weyh, B, 20:55; 2, Hannah Wilcox-Borg, T, 20:56; 3, Jenna McBride, R, 21:19; 4, Kassia Marquardt, SP, 21:39; 5, Livia Jurt, SP, 21:39. Sauk Prairie varsity finishers: 4, Marquardt, 21:39; 5, Jurt, 21:39; 19, Cassie Radl, 22:53; 27, Marissa Howard, 23:04; 40, Briar Lohr, 24:26; 41, Mabel Schneller, 24:26.