BRODHEAD - Brodhead-Juda sophomore Morganne Goecks took her father's advice and ran with it.
Goecks is making the transition from volleyball to cross country - and she is off to a banner start after taking third place at the Brodhead Invitational on Thursday, finishing the 4-kilometer race with a time of 16 minutes, 53 seconds. Goecks and sophomore teammate Camilla Klar, who finished fourth (16:58), helped the Cardinals finish second with 55 points. Evansville won the invite (36).
"Last year I played volleyball," Goecks said. "My dad thought I would be good at it (cross country). I thought I might as well try it before my junior year. I knew it would be hard in the beginning. It's been great so far. It was worth it."
Madison Edgewood's Amy Davis won the race with a time of 15:44. Brodhead-Juda sophomore Jenna Klein finished eighth (18:32) and sophomore Jacque Conway was 19th (19:51).
Brodhead-Juda coach Curt Gratz was encouraged by the first race.
"She (Goecks) will get better with each race," Gratz said. "I'm definitely satisfied with her first race. She is a racer. She likes to work from the back and move forward. She did great today."
The wait was well worth it for Brodhead senior Tate Harnack, who took second place with a time of 18:14. Harnack was just a second behind Evansville's Johnny Nelis. The Cardinals had three of the top 10 runners and tied Beloit Turner for first with 45 points.
However, Turner was awarded first place, since their No. 6 runner finished ahead of Brodhead-Juda freshman Tad Harnack by three spots.
"I wish I would have finished first," Tate Harnack said. "It happens. All you can do is do your best."
Brodhead-Juda sophomore Dylan Johnson took sixth (18:34) and junior Dillon Larson was eighth (19:01). Sophomores Justin Krumwiede and Rodrigo Yescas finished 14th and 15th, respectively.
Harnack said he liked running the season opening invite in front of the home crowd.
"It's the fastest course," he said. "That makes it a lot better."
The Brodhead-Juda boys cross country team faces a challenge with Rock Valley South power Beloit Turner. Gratz said that Turner is also the favorite on the girls side.
"It's a good gauge to see where we are at," Gratz said.
Gratz isn't putting too much weight on a season opener and what it could mean down the road.
"We are still in preseason mode training for the most important races later on," he said. "We are pretty satisfied. It's good to get out here early to get some experience going into the season."
The season opener on Thursday was just a first step.
"I hope we improve and get a lot better because we need to get better to make things happen," Harnack said.
Goecks is making the transition from volleyball to cross country - and she is off to a banner start after taking third place at the Brodhead Invitational on Thursday, finishing the 4-kilometer race with a time of 16 minutes, 53 seconds. Goecks and sophomore teammate Camilla Klar, who finished fourth (16:58), helped the Cardinals finish second with 55 points. Evansville won the invite (36).
"Last year I played volleyball," Goecks said. "My dad thought I would be good at it (cross country). I thought I might as well try it before my junior year. I knew it would be hard in the beginning. It's been great so far. It was worth it."
Madison Edgewood's Amy Davis won the race with a time of 15:44. Brodhead-Juda sophomore Jenna Klein finished eighth (18:32) and sophomore Jacque Conway was 19th (19:51).
Brodhead-Juda coach Curt Gratz was encouraged by the first race.
"She (Goecks) will get better with each race," Gratz said. "I'm definitely satisfied with her first race. She is a racer. She likes to work from the back and move forward. She did great today."
The wait was well worth it for Brodhead senior Tate Harnack, who took second place with a time of 18:14. Harnack was just a second behind Evansville's Johnny Nelis. The Cardinals had three of the top 10 runners and tied Beloit Turner for first with 45 points.
However, Turner was awarded first place, since their No. 6 runner finished ahead of Brodhead-Juda freshman Tad Harnack by three spots.
"I wish I would have finished first," Tate Harnack said. "It happens. All you can do is do your best."
Brodhead-Juda sophomore Dylan Johnson took sixth (18:34) and junior Dillon Larson was eighth (19:01). Sophomores Justin Krumwiede and Rodrigo Yescas finished 14th and 15th, respectively.
Harnack said he liked running the season opening invite in front of the home crowd.
"It's the fastest course," he said. "That makes it a lot better."
The Brodhead-Juda boys cross country team faces a challenge with Rock Valley South power Beloit Turner. Gratz said that Turner is also the favorite on the girls side.
"It's a good gauge to see where we are at," Gratz said.
Gratz isn't putting too much weight on a season opener and what it could mean down the road.
"We are still in preseason mode training for the most important races later on," he said. "We are pretty satisfied. It's good to get out here early to get some experience going into the season."
The season opener on Thursday was just a first step.
"I hope we improve and get a lot better because we need to get better to make things happen," Harnack said.
