PLATTEVILLE - New Glarus-Monticello cross country runner Ryan McCoy crossed the finish line at Saturday's Platteville Invite in first place with a course-record time of 15 minutes, 29 seconds.
Forty-seven seconds later, Darlington's Tyson Miehe crossed in third place. (See story on Page B1 of today's edition.)
The two runners, widely regarded as two of the best runners in the state, have repeated the scene numerous times.
The roles are sometimes switched, with Miehe finishing in front of McCoy, but the two usually finish at the front of the pack.
That, in and of itself, is impressive. The fact that they're also from the same area makes them a rarity.
That was never more evident than last fall when, competing in different divisions, McCoy and Miehe both captured the ultimate individual goal for a high school cross country runner: a state championship.
On Oct. 29, 2011, McCoy won the Division 2 individual state title, with a time of 15 minutes, 38.27 seconds - the second-fastest time in Division 2 history - and Miehe won the Division 3 title, with a time of 16 minutes, 2.14 seconds. Miehe's performance also helped Darlington win the team title.
There were only three individual boys state champions crowned that day in Wisconsin Rapids, and two of them drove home to houses mere miles apart.
And even though they run for two different teams, in two different divisions and in two different conferences, McCoy, a senior, and Miehe, a junior, are very familiar with one another.
Over the course of their high school careers, and even some time before, the two have developed a friendship centered on a mutual respect for one another and a shared love of competition.
So much so that after Miehe finished his run at the state meet last year, before he and his teammates loaded up on the bus to celebrate on the ride home, he went back to watch McCoy finish.
"I got to see Ryan finish, and I went up and congratulated him," Miehe said "and he congratulated me."
The day was the culmination of a rapport that had started three years prior, when Miehe was in seventh grade and McCoy was in eighth grade.
Miehe remembers the first day he noticed McCoy's ability.
"The first time I ever raced against him was the junior high meet in River Valley," Miehe said. "He took two wrong turns in the race, and he still ended up beating everybody. I was impressed by him."
A few years later, McCoy and Miehe got the chance to race against each other on the high school level.
That was when McCoy began to take notice of the new competitor.
"His freshman year, he just came in right off the bat," McCoy said. "He was beating me when he was a freshman, and I was a sophomore. I definitely knew right away he was a solid competitor."
The two raced each other four times that season. In total, Miehe estimates they've raced each other 10 times during high school.
That's plenty of time to learn each other's running styles, and they have.
"We're very similar," McCoy said. "We both try to set a fast pace and try to maintain that throughout the whole race. We're always going hard; we're never going easy at the beginning. When the gun goes off, the race is on with both of us."
Miehe also recognizes their similar styles.
"(Ryan) likes to go out and have an even pace, and in the middle of the race make a move. I'm kind of like that as well," Miehe said. "Our running styles are similar, so it makes for good races."
The two seem cut from the same cloth, elite runners who are equally well-spoken and polite. And when asked why they like racing each other, they give similar answers.
"We both look forward to racing each other, but at the same time we want to beat each other," McCoy said. "If we're not racing each other, we want each other to do well. When we're together, it's fierce when we're competing."
Miehe echoes that sentiment.
"When we race against each other, we're obviously trying to beat each other," he said. "We always talk to each other after the races. We just have that mutual respect for each other. We like to compete."
But the era of head-to-head competitions between the two came to a tentative end Saturday, as McCoy and Miehe now begin to wind down their regular seasons and set their sights on repeating as state champions.
Still, they met again after Saturday's race and did what they usually do.
"We talked after the race and congratulated each other," Miehe said. "(We said) 'Good luck with the rest of the season.'"
Both runners are confident in where they're at physically at this point in the season, and both have high hopes of repeating as state champions.
"My season has been going really well," McCoy said. "I've ran faster in every meet this year than I did last year. I think we both know that it's a new year, and we can't take anything for granted. You gotta be on top of your game."
Miehe, although a little disappointed with his run Saturday, is just as focused and confident going into the end of the season.
"I just gotta step back and analyze what I'm doing," he said. "I gotta stay confident and keep thinking about what the ultimate goal is - winning state."
And after the state meet is over, the high school chapter of their friendly rivalry will officially be closed. McCoy will go off to college, and Miehe will stay for his senior season.
It's only a tentative end, though, because they haven't ruled out racing in college. However, that is all dependent on where they choose to go to school. Miehe said he wants to stay in the Midwest, and McCoy has not yet made a decision on which school he is going to attend.
Regardless, it's safe to say that they'll be running at whichever schools they choose. And if they happen to run at competing schools?
"That would be a lot of fun," McCoy said. "That would be really cool."
"Hopefully we have that chance," Miehe said.
Whether or not they step on to the same course again, Miehe said he has enjoyed the unique competition he has had in McCoy and McCoy has had in him.
"Me and my dad were talking about it today," he said. "How many people get to race against the state champion every single week, or good competition? There might be good competition coming (next year) ... just not as often."
Will he miss racing against McCoy?
"Absolutely," he said.
Forty-seven seconds later, Darlington's Tyson Miehe crossed in third place. (See story on Page B1 of today's edition.)
The two runners, widely regarded as two of the best runners in the state, have repeated the scene numerous times.
The roles are sometimes switched, with Miehe finishing in front of McCoy, but the two usually finish at the front of the pack.
That, in and of itself, is impressive. The fact that they're also from the same area makes them a rarity.
That was never more evident than last fall when, competing in different divisions, McCoy and Miehe both captured the ultimate individual goal for a high school cross country runner: a state championship.
On Oct. 29, 2011, McCoy won the Division 2 individual state title, with a time of 15 minutes, 38.27 seconds - the second-fastest time in Division 2 history - and Miehe won the Division 3 title, with a time of 16 minutes, 2.14 seconds. Miehe's performance also helped Darlington win the team title.
There were only three individual boys state champions crowned that day in Wisconsin Rapids, and two of them drove home to houses mere miles apart.
And even though they run for two different teams, in two different divisions and in two different conferences, McCoy, a senior, and Miehe, a junior, are very familiar with one another.
Over the course of their high school careers, and even some time before, the two have developed a friendship centered on a mutual respect for one another and a shared love of competition.
So much so that after Miehe finished his run at the state meet last year, before he and his teammates loaded up on the bus to celebrate on the ride home, he went back to watch McCoy finish.
"I got to see Ryan finish, and I went up and congratulated him," Miehe said "and he congratulated me."
The day was the culmination of a rapport that had started three years prior, when Miehe was in seventh grade and McCoy was in eighth grade.
Miehe remembers the first day he noticed McCoy's ability.
"The first time I ever raced against him was the junior high meet in River Valley," Miehe said. "He took two wrong turns in the race, and he still ended up beating everybody. I was impressed by him."
A few years later, McCoy and Miehe got the chance to race against each other on the high school level.
That was when McCoy began to take notice of the new competitor.
"His freshman year, he just came in right off the bat," McCoy said. "He was beating me when he was a freshman, and I was a sophomore. I definitely knew right away he was a solid competitor."
The two raced each other four times that season. In total, Miehe estimates they've raced each other 10 times during high school.
That's plenty of time to learn each other's running styles, and they have.
"We're very similar," McCoy said. "We both try to set a fast pace and try to maintain that throughout the whole race. We're always going hard; we're never going easy at the beginning. When the gun goes off, the race is on with both of us."
Miehe also recognizes their similar styles.
"(Ryan) likes to go out and have an even pace, and in the middle of the race make a move. I'm kind of like that as well," Miehe said. "Our running styles are similar, so it makes for good races."
The two seem cut from the same cloth, elite runners who are equally well-spoken and polite. And when asked why they like racing each other, they give similar answers.
"We both look forward to racing each other, but at the same time we want to beat each other," McCoy said. "If we're not racing each other, we want each other to do well. When we're together, it's fierce when we're competing."
Miehe echoes that sentiment.
"When we race against each other, we're obviously trying to beat each other," he said. "We always talk to each other after the races. We just have that mutual respect for each other. We like to compete."
But the era of head-to-head competitions between the two came to a tentative end Saturday, as McCoy and Miehe now begin to wind down their regular seasons and set their sights on repeating as state champions.
Still, they met again after Saturday's race and did what they usually do.
"We talked after the race and congratulated each other," Miehe said. "(We said) 'Good luck with the rest of the season.'"
Both runners are confident in where they're at physically at this point in the season, and both have high hopes of repeating as state champions.
"My season has been going really well," McCoy said. "I've ran faster in every meet this year than I did last year. I think we both know that it's a new year, and we can't take anything for granted. You gotta be on top of your game."
Miehe, although a little disappointed with his run Saturday, is just as focused and confident going into the end of the season.
"I just gotta step back and analyze what I'm doing," he said. "I gotta stay confident and keep thinking about what the ultimate goal is - winning state."
And after the state meet is over, the high school chapter of their friendly rivalry will officially be closed. McCoy will go off to college, and Miehe will stay for his senior season.
It's only a tentative end, though, because they haven't ruled out racing in college. However, that is all dependent on where they choose to go to school. Miehe said he wants to stay in the Midwest, and McCoy has not yet made a decision on which school he is going to attend.
Regardless, it's safe to say that they'll be running at whichever schools they choose. And if they happen to run at competing schools?
"That would be a lot of fun," McCoy said. "That would be really cool."
"Hopefully we have that chance," Miehe said.
Whether or not they step on to the same course again, Miehe said he has enjoyed the unique competition he has had in McCoy and McCoy has had in him.
"Me and my dad were talking about it today," he said. "How many people get to race against the state champion every single week, or good competition? There might be good competition coming (next year) ... just not as often."
Will he miss racing against McCoy?
"Absolutely," he said.