Eagles’ runners named all-league

Cross country is different from other sports when it comes to all-conference recognition. There is no voting or lobbying by the coaches. It comes down to one race — the conference meet — that determines if you earn all-conference or not. Sauk Prairie’s runners shined at the Badger Small meet this year and earned spots on the all-conference team. Sophomore Aaliyah Bermudo earned first-team all-conference for the girls. Sophomore Savannah Liegel and junior Clarissa Brickl were both named second-team all-conference. And on the boys’ side, juniors Jacob Wiegmann and Austin Smith were named second-team all-league. Bermudo finished fourth individually at the conference meet in a time of 20:38. The top eight runners receive first-team all-conference honors and the second eight are named second-team all-league. “Aaliyah ran a great race, building from a slow-ish start to keep passing runner after runner in the second half of the race,” Eagles coach Andy Sherman said. “She is very talented and moved up from a year ago, when she was also first-team all-conference.” Liegel was 14th at the conference meet in 21:19 and Brickl was 15th in 21:20. “Savannah is a very strong runner,” Sherman said. “She stayed steady throughout the whole race and fought through a challenging course to finish as a second-team all-conference (runner) for the second year. “This is Clarissa’s third straight second-team all-conference honor. Clarissa is a very consistent performer. She works hard and that hard work pays off for her in our biggest races.” Wiegmann was named all-conference for the first time, after finishing in 15th place in the boys’ race in 18:11. “Jacob worked very hard this offseason to prepare for this moment,” Sherman said. “He finished as our No. 2 overall runner for the year and I look forward to seeing what he does for us next year as a senior.” Smith was 16th at conference in 18:14, then dropped his P.R. to 17:36 at sectionals the following week. “Austin had a great season making the goal of earning an all-conference honor his No. 1 priority,” Sherman said. “He learned a lot and … I am excited to see him continue to keep getting better.”   All-Badger Small Conference Girls Cross Country          First Team Name School Yr. Willa Vigliotta Mount Horeb 10 Mia Caygill Mount Horeb 9 Erin Schauer Madison Edgewood 12 Aaliyah Bermudo Sauk Prairie 10 Brooke DeShong McFarland 10 Hannah Kirch McFarland 11 Julia Steraka Mount Horeb 10 Taylor Sperl Baraboo 10 Runner of the Year — Willa Vigliotta, Mount Horeb Coach of the Year — Dave Chancellor, Mount Horeb     Second Team Name School Yr. Ellie Larson Mount Horeb 12 Ada Geiger McFarland 10 Bailey Wagner McFarland 11 Emelia Hopper Stoughton 12 Sydney Dobush Baraboo 10 Savannah Liegel Sauk Prairie 10 Clarissa Brickl Sauk Prairie 11 Maeve True Mount Horeb 10   All-Badger Small Conference Boys Cross Country          First Team Name School Yr. Isaac Ewing McFarland 12 Elijah Judd Stoughton 11 Henry Piec McFarland 11 Brody Bjorklund Baraboo 10 Will Boettcher Baraboo 10 Ethan Zywicki Stoughton 11 Alex Smith Stoughton 10 Victor Martinez Reedsburg 11 Runner of the Year — Isaac Ewing, McFarland Coach of the Year — Jacob Boll, Baraboo     Second Team Name School Yr. Dylan Davies Baraboo 10 Jesse Dunse Reedsburg 12 Keinan Jones Baraboo 12 Blake Doolan McFarland 10 Enoch Hyzer Baraboo 11 Joe Korthals Baraboo 10 Jacob Wiegmann Sauk Prairie 11 Austin Smith Sauk Prairie 11