MONROE - Nick Baumann didn't want to wait until the final sprint to make his move to pass Dubuque Wahlert junior Jacob Berning in the 20th annual Bruess Invitational.
As the Monroe junior ran across the bridge at Twining Park Monday, he was confident the final 800 meters was going to be the right time to make a surge. The move paid off as Baumann cruised to the championship of the 5,000-meter season-opening race in a time of 17 minutes, 12.2 seconds on a muggy day with the temperature in the mid 80s.
"I knew I had to break him there (800)," Baumann said. "I knew if I got to the last shoot I probably wouldn't win a sprint. When I came across the bridge, I knew if I gave it a little kick it would be enough. I tried to stay relaxed the whole race. I definitely had something left in the tank. I wasn't expecting to win it. I just wanted to run a good race."
Baumann had plenty of company at the front as the Cheesemakers placed second with five runners in the top 18. Dubuque Hempstead had four runners in the top nine and won the Bruess Invite 43-49 over the Cheesemakers.
"He's a front-runner," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said of Baumann. "You don't always have to be a front-runner at the start. It's great to have an individual up front for scoring."
Monroe sophomore Dylan Scace finished fifth (17:55.1), and senior Thang Lu captured 12th (18:14.4). Sophomore Drake Ingold finished 13th (18:15.5) and sophomore Jonah Tostrud placed 18th (18:50.1).
"I wanted to stay up with our No. 1 guy," Scace said of Baumann. "It's a really good showing for us as a team. We went out and gave it our all, but we ran smart and didn't get injured."
The Cheesemakers impressed Hirsbrunner. Scace ran a long stretch of the race at Baumann's side.
"He (Scace) took the lead early," Hirsbrunner said. "That might have been something I would have changed a little bit. I'm not going to hold that against him. He's a gamer. He loves to compete."
Hirsbrunner said Lu ran solid the entire race. One of the biggest improvements he saw came from Ingold.
"He just kept coming, coming and coming," Hirsbrunner said. "He has a lot of upside. He's starting to figure out his stride."
Dubuque Wahlert placed third (90) and Albany was fourth (144). Belleville (206) and New Glarus-Monticello (213) were sixth and seventh, respectively. Pecatonica-Argyle was last in the 13-team invite.
Albany senior Tyler Dahl finished 19th (18:52.3), just ahead of his freshman brother, Josh Dahl, who took 20th (18:52.8).
"He will push me and I will push him," Tyler Dahl said of his younger brother Josh. "I'm not afraid to lose to him. Whoever can be No. 1 for the team and feels good. I wished I could have run better. It's hard to run when it's hot."
Albany coach Tony Brewer said the Comets struggled. Albany junior Isaac Halverson was 31st (19:45.2) and junior Connor Trow finished 36th (20:04.7. Albany junior Travis Oliver rounded out the top five for the Comets taking 38th (20:08.6).
"It's hot, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse," Brewer said. "It was hot for everybody. We may get an 80-degree day for a bigger meet later in the year. Tyler and Josh ran together, but we had too big of a gap between them and Isaac."
Junior Kyle Fredrickson finished 21st (18:53.5) to lead the Glarner Knights. New Glarus-Monticello junior Christian Arnett finished 30th (19:44), and senior Max Cruse was 45th (20:56.6). Junior Andrew Newberry took 57th (22:23.3) and junior Cade Beutler was 60th (22:37.2) to round out the top five for the Knights.
The top finisher for Pecatonica-Argyle was junior Tristan Wagge who took 53rd (22:16.17). Senior Login Swearingen was 62nd (22:57.9).
Several teams, including Monroe and Albany, will be running in the Darlington Invitational on Saturday.
Hirsbrunner said he probably won't have his top seven runners compete in the Darlington Invite.
"It's hard to have two hard meets in a week," he said. "We probably won't be running them."
As the Monroe junior ran across the bridge at Twining Park Monday, he was confident the final 800 meters was going to be the right time to make a surge. The move paid off as Baumann cruised to the championship of the 5,000-meter season-opening race in a time of 17 minutes, 12.2 seconds on a muggy day with the temperature in the mid 80s.
"I knew I had to break him there (800)," Baumann said. "I knew if I got to the last shoot I probably wouldn't win a sprint. When I came across the bridge, I knew if I gave it a little kick it would be enough. I tried to stay relaxed the whole race. I definitely had something left in the tank. I wasn't expecting to win it. I just wanted to run a good race."
Baumann had plenty of company at the front as the Cheesemakers placed second with five runners in the top 18. Dubuque Hempstead had four runners in the top nine and won the Bruess Invite 43-49 over the Cheesemakers.
"He's a front-runner," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said of Baumann. "You don't always have to be a front-runner at the start. It's great to have an individual up front for scoring."
Monroe sophomore Dylan Scace finished fifth (17:55.1), and senior Thang Lu captured 12th (18:14.4). Sophomore Drake Ingold finished 13th (18:15.5) and sophomore Jonah Tostrud placed 18th (18:50.1).
"I wanted to stay up with our No. 1 guy," Scace said of Baumann. "It's a really good showing for us as a team. We went out and gave it our all, but we ran smart and didn't get injured."
The Cheesemakers impressed Hirsbrunner. Scace ran a long stretch of the race at Baumann's side.
"He (Scace) took the lead early," Hirsbrunner said. "That might have been something I would have changed a little bit. I'm not going to hold that against him. He's a gamer. He loves to compete."
Hirsbrunner said Lu ran solid the entire race. One of the biggest improvements he saw came from Ingold.
"He just kept coming, coming and coming," Hirsbrunner said. "He has a lot of upside. He's starting to figure out his stride."
Dubuque Wahlert placed third (90) and Albany was fourth (144). Belleville (206) and New Glarus-Monticello (213) were sixth and seventh, respectively. Pecatonica-Argyle was last in the 13-team invite.
Albany senior Tyler Dahl finished 19th (18:52.3), just ahead of his freshman brother, Josh Dahl, who took 20th (18:52.8).
"He will push me and I will push him," Tyler Dahl said of his younger brother Josh. "I'm not afraid to lose to him. Whoever can be No. 1 for the team and feels good. I wished I could have run better. It's hard to run when it's hot."
Albany coach Tony Brewer said the Comets struggled. Albany junior Isaac Halverson was 31st (19:45.2) and junior Connor Trow finished 36th (20:04.7. Albany junior Travis Oliver rounded out the top five for the Comets taking 38th (20:08.6).
"It's hot, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse," Brewer said. "It was hot for everybody. We may get an 80-degree day for a bigger meet later in the year. Tyler and Josh ran together, but we had too big of a gap between them and Isaac."
Junior Kyle Fredrickson finished 21st (18:53.5) to lead the Glarner Knights. New Glarus-Monticello junior Christian Arnett finished 30th (19:44), and senior Max Cruse was 45th (20:56.6). Junior Andrew Newberry took 57th (22:23.3) and junior Cade Beutler was 60th (22:37.2) to round out the top five for the Knights.
The top finisher for Pecatonica-Argyle was junior Tristan Wagge who took 53rd (22:16.17). Senior Login Swearingen was 62nd (22:57.9).
Several teams, including Monroe and Albany, will be running in the Darlington Invitational on Saturday.
Hirsbrunner said he probably won't have his top seven runners compete in the Darlington Invite.
"It's hard to have two hard meets in a week," he said. "We probably won't be running them."
