Season ends for Eagles’ runners

Andy Sherman was pulled in two different directions. And that made life trickier than usual for Sauk Prairie’s cross country coach last weekend. The Eagles’ teams competed in two different divisions — and in two different sectionals — for the first time in school history. And while Sauk Prairie performed admirable, it eventually fell short of sending anyone to this weekend’s state meet. The Eagles’ girls finished in sixth place at the 13-team WIAA Division 1 Verona Sectional last Saturday. Sauk Prairie’s boys were 10th at the 16-team WIAA Division 2 Deerfield/Cambridge Sectional last Friday. “We competed in two different sectional meets, in two different divisions, on two different days, on what could not have been two more opposite courses,” Sherman said. The Eagles’ boys moved to Division 2 this season due to the WIAA’s new competitive balance formula which moved several smaller schools into Division 1. And while the Eagles ran well, they didn’t have quite enough horsepower to reach the state tournament. Monroe (55 points) and Dodgeville/Mineral Point (66) were the two teams to earn state tournament berths. Sauk Prairie finished with 264 points. “This course traditionally runs extremely fast and it sure did for our boys,” Sherman said.  Junior Austin Smith led the Eagles with a new personal-best of 17 minutes, 36.42 seconds, which topped his previous best by 29 seconds. Smith’s big day helped him finish 35th overall. Senior Charlie Endres also set a new PR with a time of 17:54.39, bettering his previous best time by 42 seconds. Endres also finished 43rd overall. “I am so happy for Charlie,” Sherman said. “A four-year runner in our program, he never missed a day of summer or in-season training. His dedication is not common, but it paid off for him in his final race.” Junior Hunter Brensike was 54th overall in 18:05.08, bettering his previous fastest time by 34 seconds. Junior Jacob Wiegmann was 65th overall (18:26.75) and Austin Pontel was 67th (18:31.19), setting a new PR by 31 seconds. “Austin found out Friday afternoon that he would be running, stepped up for his team right away and took advantage of the opportunity,” Sherman said. “Having been injured for the first two-thirds of the season, Austin worked hard throughout the injury to stay in shape and get back as quickly as possible.” The Eagles improved throughout the season, and with a terrific core back next fall, Sherman is hoping for big things. “Our boys really improved during the second half of the season,” he said. “They trusted their training and learned to use strategy to keep moving up during races. With some leaders encouraging the boys to keep running throughout the year, I know this group can make even bigger jumps next season.” The Eagles’ girls were in one of the state’s toughest sectionals, but fared well at Verona’s Stewart’s Woods. Madison West won the title with just 43 points, while Waunakee (62) was second and also earned a trip to state. The Eagles were sixth with 160 points. “Any school that gets the opportunity to compete here would be envious of how great of a race and training course this is,” Sherman said.  Sophomores Aaliyah Bermudo and Evie Bahe led the Eagles. Bermudo was 23rd overall in 21:09.3 and Bahe was 24th in 21:09.4. “Evie had the race of her career, staying steady and strong and moving up through the entire race,” Sherman said.  Sophomore Savannah Liegel was 31st (21:28.9) and freshman Maya Dischler was 34th (21:45.8). “Maya had a great season and gained a lot of valuable experience that she will use in the future,” Sherman said.  And junior Kylie Hutchins was 48th in 22:28.7. “Our girls return all seven of our sectional runners, which provides another opportunity for our program to continue to be successful,” Sherman said. “Like the boys, with some dedicated training throughout the year and using the experience our runners have gained over the past couple of years, this team could be scary good next year.”