News

Stevens Point won its state-record tying 16th Division 1 boys’ title and fifth straight, while Neenah captured its third straight Division 1 girls’ crown to lead six team champions at the 114th annual state cross country championships on Oct. 31 in Wisconsin Rapids.

Stevens Point cruised to its record title with 90 points for a 50-point win over runner-up Menomonee Falls. The Panthers were led by Fisher Carroll with a fifth place finish in 15:34. All five of Stevens Point’s titles have been by at least 40-point margins. The Panthers are the first team to win five straight Division 1 titles since South Milwaukee from 1937-41.

Individually, junior Logan Zeise of Milwaukee King won the Division 1 title in 15:02, becoming the first Milwaukee City Conference athlete to win the boys’ title since Jerry Liebenberg of Milwaukee Marshall in 1966. He outdueled Will Pongonis of Eau Claire Memorial, who placed second in 15:12. Nathan Schwoerer of Madison West was third in 15:19.

Campbellsport claimed its first Division 2 boys’ state title since 1972 and also had its first-ever individual boys’ champion in senior Garrett Pickering, who posted a time of 15:31. The Cougars totaled 102 team points with McFarland placing second with 132 points. Junior Kaleb Mroz of Somerset was the individual runner-up in 15:42 and junior Evan Berra of West Salem was third in 15:43.

Marathon captured its first state championship in Division 3 in its 15th appearance at the state meet. The Red Raiders had been fourth place three times, including last season. Their top finisher was Logan Peters at 13th place in 16:37. Marathon totaled 102 points with Brookwood placing second with 108 points.

Individually, senior Nolan Waltz of Three Lakes/Phelps became his school’s first individual champion, taking the Division 3 title in 15:58 after placing runner-up as a junior and fourth as a sophomore. Junior Marcus Benjamin of Weyauwega-Fremont was second in 16:02 and senior Oliver Gariepy of Unity was third in 16:08.

Neenah held off Mount Horeb by two points to take the Division 1 girls’ title. It was the sixth state championship for the Rockets, who also won three consecutive titles from 1981-83. Neenah was led by Sam Zilm, who placed fourth in 17:46. Mount Horeb was the defending Division 2 state champion.

Bloomer senior Aliyah Hartman set a state meet 5K record to win the Division 1 individual title in a blistering pace of 17:01, breaking the previous mark from last year by 25 seconds. Hartman, who is Bloomer’s first individual girls’ champion, pulled away during the last mile from Whitefish Bay sophomore Karsten McCabe, who finished second in 17:34. Hartman’s triplet sisters Ciara placed third in 17:44 and Briella placed 13th overall in 18:27 to help the Blackhawks place fourth in the team standings.

New Berlin Eisenhower won its first girls’ state title with 87 points in Division 2 to get past Kettle Moraine Lutheran, which totaled 99 points. The Lions were led by Charlotte Bartelak, who placed seventh in 18:44. Junior Macie Boe of Amery won the individual title in 18:20, sprinting ahead of senior Krya Dix of Prescott in the final stretch for a two-second victory margin. Boe placed fifth at last year’s state meet. Defending Division 3 state champion senior Maggie Behler of Kohler placed third in 18:26.

In Division 3, Southwestern captured its first state title since 1997 when it won as a co-op with Cuba City. The Wildcats also had the individual champion as sophomore Mackenzie Knuckey improved upon her fourth place finish from last season with a time of 18:49. Southwestern totaled 112 points for an eight-point win over runner-up Phillips.

Junior Paxtyn Duellman of Cochrane-Fountain City was the individual runner-up with a time of 18:54 and sophomore Jaycie Oberle of Boyceville was third in 18:56.

Final Results

Division 3:  Girls | Boys
Division 2:  Girls | Boys
Division 1:  Girls | Boys