No shame in second

MOUNT HOREB — The plan was in place, and Sauk Prairie’s girls cross country team gave it their best shot at dethroning defending Badger Small Conference champion Mount Horeb at the Norsk Golf Club last Saturday morning. But the Eagles’ bid to snatch the title away from their conference rivals fell short. Mount Horeb defended its Badger Small Conference title, finishing with 35 points to outdistance runner-up Sauk Prairie (68 points) for the second year in a row. “We know they’re good,” Sauk Prairie coach Andy Sherman said of host Mount Horeb, which was ranked seventh in the latest Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Division 2 state poll. “We had a plan. We were hoping we could get some help.  “McFarland was there to help us out. (Mount Horeb’s) four and five ran well, and this is why I told (Vikings’ coach) Dave (Chancellor) before the season, they have as good a shot of winning Division 2 as anyone else. They ran really, well today, and we just came up a little bit short.” Sauk Prairie was led by sophomore Aaliyah Bermudo, who finished fourth in a time of 20 minutes, 38.14 seconds. “It feels good,” said Bermudo, who improved from her seventh-place finish of a year ago to earn her second straight all-conference first-team award. “I was just trying to get in front of (Mount Horeb’s third runner) Julia (Straka). I was able to do that.” The top eight runners earned first-team all-conference honors, while the ninth through 16th-place finishers were accorded second-team honors. Sauk Prairie sophomore Savannah Liegel was a repeat second team all-conference selection after placing 14th in 21:19.6. Junior teammate Clarissa Brickl was 15th in 21:20.6 and earned all-conference recognition for the third year in a row. “We wanted to get our top five runners in front of Mount Horeb’s third,” Liegel said. “But we didn’t make it. We had quite the pack. Hopefully, we’ll get them next year.” Rounding out the top five scoring finishers for Sauk Prairie were junior Charlotte Gregg, who was 17th in 21:23.0; and freshman Maya Dischler, who was 18th in 21:25.9. “We ran well as a team,” Brickl said. “There were a lot of season bests or PRs. We were all coming together. It was a hard race because (Mount Horeb) is really, fast. But we just tried to put it all out there.” Mount Horeb sophomore Willa Vigliotta covered the 5,000-meter course in a time of 19 minutes, 51.8 seconds to take individual honors. Vikings’ freshman Mia Caygill was second in 20:11.7 as Mount Horeb placed its top five runners in the top-16, earning them each all-conference honors. Sherman said that one-two finish for the Vikings was expected. “Certainly, that helps a lot,” Sherman said of Mount Horeb’s leaders of the pack. “We wanted to key off their third runner, Julia (Straka). Our goal was to have all five of our girls run with her.  “We practiced this all week long. We had Ziah Been, who’s a senior and can’t run varsity and won the JV by a lot. She was Julia (Straka) all week long, and we just stayed with her.” Sherman said the Eagles did the best they could to follow his strategy, but they were hampered by the downhill start. “Today, the way the race started it started out fast which sort of threw our girls,” Sherman said. “We have no hills in town, so we can’t simulate running downhill. We got a little separated early. “Aaliyah was able to get back up there but the rest of our girls got strung out a little bit. So, we were unable to get to where we were hoping they would be in order to have a shot to win.  We knew it was a stretch. I’m happy with how we did. We had to give it a shot.” Rounding out the close pack for the Eagles were: sophomore Evelyn Bahe, who was 18th in 21:39.3; junior Kylie Hutchins, who was 24th in 22:05.3; and senior Lainey Dillon, who placed 30th in 23:10.2. In the boys race, juniors Jacob Wiegmann and Austin Smith accomplished their goal of earning all-conference recognition when they finished 15th and 16th, respectively, to pace Sauk Prairie to a tie for fourth place. Baraboo won the boys team title with 42 points with Stoughton finishing second with 70 points. McFarland’s Isaac Ewing won the individual title in a time of 16:25.9. “I’m real happy with my finish today,” said Wiegmann, who finished in 18:11.6, just ahead of Smith, who finished in 18:14.9. “It was a tough race, and I was able to kick for it and get to second team (all-conference). That was our goal, and we got it.” Rounding out the five scoring runners for Sauk Prairie were senior Charlie Endres, who was 23rd in 18:36.3; junior Hunter Brensike, who placed 24th in 18:39.0; and junior Carson Tucker, who was 41st in 19:25.2; Smith said he was also happy with his finish. “I thought we all did well,” he said. “The team chemistry is so good. We all have a good connection. That’s what I like about cross country, the team aspect. That’s why I run.” The Eagles and Reedsburg tied for fourth place with 119 points, but the Beavers won the tie-breaker that was based on whose sixth-place runner performed better. “I’m real happy with the guys. It came down to the sixth-place runner to beat,” Sherman said. “Our goal is always, if we can’t win, we want to be in that top half. We tied Reedsburg for fourth, and they got us with their sixth guy. “Our guys ran really well, and I was happy to see Jacob and Austin, who have run together all year long, finish in the top 16. I joke that they hold hands because they’re so tight when they run. To see them both make that all-conference team was awesome.” Overall, Sherman said it was a great day for the Eagles. “I’m happy with the JV kids and the way they ran, too,” Sherman said. “We ran as well as we could run. But we’re just a little bit behind the Mount Horeb (girls).” • On deck: The Sauk Prairie boys will compete at the Deerfield/Cambridge Division 2 sectional on Friday, while the girls, who are in Division 1, will race at Verona on Saturday morning. The top two teams and top five individuals not on one of the two qualifying teams advance to the state meet.   Oct. 19 Badger Small Conference Meet GIRLS Team scoring: 1, Mount Horeb, 35; 2, Sauk Prairie, 68; 3, McFarland, 77; 4, Baraboo, 99; 5, Madison Edgewood, 133; 6, Stoughton, 134; 7, Portage, 189; 8, Reedsburg, 215.    Top 16 individuals: 1, Willa Vigliotta, MH, 19:51.8; 2, Mia Caygill, MH, 20:11.7; 3, Erin Schauer, ME, 20:22.5; 4, Aaliyah Bermudo, SP, 20:38.2; 5, Brooke DeShong, McF, 20:46.9; 6, Hannah Kirch, McF, 20:52.6; 7, Julia Straka, MH, 20:55.3; 8, Taylor Sperl, B, 20:56.7; 9, Ellie Larson, MH, 20:58.4; 10, Ada Geiger, McF, 21:00.5; 11, Bailey Wagner, McF, 21:00.7; 12, Emelia Hopper, Sto, 21:06.9; 13, Sydney Dobush, B, 21:16.1; 14, Savannah Liegel, SP, 21:19.6; 15, Clarissa Brickl, SP, 21:20.6; 16, Maeve True, MH, 21:21.6.   Sauk Prairie finishers: 4, Aaliyah Bermudo, 20:38.2; 14, Savannah Liegel, 21:19.6; 15, Clarissa Brickl, 21:20.6; 17, Charlotte Gregg, 21:23.0; 18, Maya Dischler, 21:25.9; 19, Evelyn Bahe, 21:39.3; 24, Kylie Hutchins, 22:05.3; 30, Lainey Dillon, 23:10.2.   BOYS Team scoring: 1, Baraboo, 42; 2, Stoughton, 70; 3, McFarland, 73; 4, Reedsburg, 119; 5, Sauk Prairie, 119; 6, Mount Horeb, 129; 7, Madison Edgewood, 159; 8, Portage, 249.    Top 16 individuals: 1, Isaac Ewing, Mc, 16:25.9; 2, Elijah Judd, Sto, 16:32.0; 3, Henry Piec, McF, 16:41.6; 4, Brody Bjorklund, Baraboo, 17:00.4; 5, Will Boettcher, Baraboo, 17:08.5; 6, Ethan Zywicki, Sto, 17:17.7; 7, Alex Smith, St, 17:25.0;  8, Victor Martinez, R, 17:29.7; 9, Dylan Davies, B, 17:30.4; 10, Jesse Dunse, R, 17:42.6; 11, Keinan Jones, B, 17:50.0; 12, Blake Doolan, McF, 18:00.7; 13, Enoch Hyzer, B, 18:00.9; 14, Joe Korthals, B, 18:08.1; 15, Jacob Wiegmann, SP, 18:11.6; 16, Austin Smith, SP, 18:14.9   Sauk Prairie finishers: 15, Jacob Wiegmann, SP, 18:11.6; 16, Austin Smith, SP, 18:14.9; 23, Charlie Endres, 18:36.3; 24, Hunter Brensike, 18:39.0; 41, Carson Tucker, 19:25.2; 47, John Fabian, 19:41.1; 52, Micah Boerger, 20:03.8; 55, Aaron Clement, 20:56.6.