Individuals & Teams Earn State Cross Country Championships
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. – Teams and individuals earned titles in three divisions at the 2023 Boys & Girls State Cross Country Championships at The Ridges Golf Course Saturday.
Stevens Point raced to the boys Division 1 team championship for the second straight season and for the 13th time in program history. The Panthers finished with a five-runner score of 36 points, the fewest points compiled by a team in Division 1 since Appleton East scored 33 in 1972. Hudson finished second in the team standings with 75 points.
Junior Manny Putz of Onalaska earned the individual medalist honors for the second year in a row after placing seventh in 2021. He completed the 5-kilometer course in 15:05.8, which is the third-fastest time in State Meet history. Senior Aloysius Franzen of Stevens Point second with a time of 15:09.7 after placing third a year ago.
Slinger was the Division 1 girls team champion with a five-runner score of 78 to record the program’s first State championship after placing runner-up last season. Neenah finished second with 114 points.
Sophomore Ella Anschutz Muskego won the girls individual championship in Division 1, finishing the race in 18:00.3 on the 5-kilometer course after finishing sixth last year. Her time ranks tied for sixth on the all-time Division 1 State Meet performance list. Sophomore Olivia Chellevold of Middleton was runner-up with a time of 18:15.2 following a ninth-place finish in 2022.
Lakeside Lutheran won its first State boys team championship, capturing the Division 2 team title with 112 points after a runner-up finish last year. Winneconne finished four points behind the Warriors in second with 116 points.
Senior Joseph Noah Kuhn of Edgewood ran to the Division 2 boys individual championship, improving on his seventh-place effort last year with a time of 15:50.5. Senior Max Voss of Amherst jumped up from 42nd-place a year ago to finish runner-up with a time of 16:00.2 this season.
Xavier captured its second straight Division 2 girls team championship after winning the program’s first title last year. The Hawks finished with 75 points, and runner-up Bloomer compiled 116 points.
Senior Nora Gremban of Northland Pines outpaced the remainder of the field in Division 2 to win the girls individual championship with a time of 17:46.7, improving on her runner-up finish last year and third-place standing in 2021. Her time ties for the second-swiftest Division 2 time in State Meet history. Senior Abigail Sadler of Mount Horeb came in second with a time of 18:09.3 after placing sixth a year ago.
In Division 3, Kohler won its second consecutive boys team championship with a five-runner score of 109 after earning the program’s first boys State team championship in 2022. Solon Springs/Northwood finished in second place with 114 points.
Senior Charlie Vater of Iola-Scandinavia ran to the boys Division 3 individual championship with a time of 15:49.7 after finishing 11th last year and 17th in 2021. His time ranks fourth-best on the all-time list for a State Meet in Division 3 history. Junior Taylor Karcz of Crandon was second with a time of 16:01.8 following a 24th-place finish last season.
Lancaster won the Division 3 girls team championship with a score of 92 to win the program’s third State team title. Phillips ran to a runner-up finish in the team standings with 138 points.
Senior Autumn Michalski of Chequamegon earned individual medalist honors by winning in a time of 18:02.0, which is the fastest-recorded Division 3 time in girls State Meet history, eclipsing the previous standard by more than 50 seconds. Freshman Maggie Behler of Kohler was runner-up with a time of 18:55.4.
Girls
Division 1 Results
Division 2 Results
Division 3 Results
Boys
Division 1 Results
Division 2 Results
Division 3 Results
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
