DARLINGTON - At every cross country and track meet, Monroe junior Tess Seichter clings to Chief Running Bear, a small brown teddy bear.
Seichter said Chief Running Bear is her good luck charm.
Seichter has reached a comfort zone running, finishing third at the Darlington Invitational in 16 minutes, 37 seconds Saturday to lead the Cheesemakers to a fifth-place finish.
"I think I pretty much started right where I left off," Seichter said.
Monroe coach Brian Jefferson was thrilled with Seichter's race, which was almost a minute faster than last year.
"Once again, Tess Seichter was outstanding," Jefferson said. "She has done nothing but work hard and it is definitely paying off for her. She is truly developing into a No. 1 runner."
Dodgeville-Mineral Point, a state qualifier last year, outdistanced Mount Horeb-Barneveld 46-68 for the title. Darlington, which placed three runners in the top 21, finished third ahead of defending state champion Boscobel.
With four runners with state experience for the Redbirds, qualifying for state as a team is a driving force.
"When they are running in the summer, that's in their mind," Darlington coach Arnie Miehe said. "There's no doubt about it, being a competitor that is always in your head."
"This is a test at the beginning of the year. It doesn't mean anything. It's our pre-test. Hopefully, we will do well on the post-test."
Pecatonica senior Elise Sigg, a University of Wisconsin Milwaukee recruit, won the 4K race in a blistering 15:25, over a minute ahead of Dodgeville-Mineral Point's Shelby Owens. With a UW-Milwaukee coach in attendance, Sigg didn't disappoint.
"I was just shooting for under 16 minutes," Sigg said. "This is a great way to start the season, winning two races like that in a week."
Sigg relishes the chance to run hills on the Darlington High School course.
"Sometimes I would rather run up hills, because you are not pounding your feet a lot," she said.
The Redbirds were paced by senior Hana Miehe, who took fourth with a time of 16:44, and junior Olivia Wedig, who finished ninth in 16:57.
"It felt really good to just get the season started," Hana Miehe said. "One of our goals was to win it or place really high."
She understands expectations for a trip to state are legitimate.
"We feel a little bit of that extra pressure," Hana Miehe said. "We have good team chemistry and it feels like it will be a good season."
Monroe freshman Molly Hlubek had a breakout meet, taking 19th place with a time of 17:20. The Cheesemakers also received strong races from sophomore Rachel Rogerson, who finished 31st in 17:41 and senior Sommer Bertalot, who took 36th in 17:52.
"I try not to have high expectations for freshmen because I want them to experience the races as they come without pressure, and have fun," Jefferson said. "She has definitely been exceeding what I thought she could do.
"We talked about not changing a whole lot in how we race as far as pace goes. I told them if anything go ahead and slow that first mile down. The only thing that she changed was to go out faster and challenge herself. It shows a good attitude, one that wants to compete."
Seichter commended all of the Cheesemaker runners on their dedication in the offseason.
"It's nice to see they worked hard during the summer," Seichter said. "You can tell.
"Molly Hlubek, she's a really great freshman. It's nice to have a great freshman on the team."
Darlington freshman Amy Jorgenson is another first-year runner who emerged, finishing 21st with a time of 17:23. Darlington sophomore Taryn Evenstad took 29th in 17:38.
Monroe junior Stephanie Wyss missed her second straight meet due to a knee injury. Wyss, who was recovering from a bad ankle from last spring, injured her knee earlier this year.
"She toughed it out through track and now it has kind of caught up with her a little bit," Jefferson said. "She has not got a whole lot of training in."
Jefferson said he is shooting for Wyss to come back for the Madison West meet Thursday.
Seichter said Chief Running Bear is her good luck charm.
Seichter has reached a comfort zone running, finishing third at the Darlington Invitational in 16 minutes, 37 seconds Saturday to lead the Cheesemakers to a fifth-place finish.
"I think I pretty much started right where I left off," Seichter said.
Monroe coach Brian Jefferson was thrilled with Seichter's race, which was almost a minute faster than last year.
"Once again, Tess Seichter was outstanding," Jefferson said. "She has done nothing but work hard and it is definitely paying off for her. She is truly developing into a No. 1 runner."
Dodgeville-Mineral Point, a state qualifier last year, outdistanced Mount Horeb-Barneveld 46-68 for the title. Darlington, which placed three runners in the top 21, finished third ahead of defending state champion Boscobel.
With four runners with state experience for the Redbirds, qualifying for state as a team is a driving force.
"When they are running in the summer, that's in their mind," Darlington coach Arnie Miehe said. "There's no doubt about it, being a competitor that is always in your head."
"This is a test at the beginning of the year. It doesn't mean anything. It's our pre-test. Hopefully, we will do well on the post-test."
Pecatonica senior Elise Sigg, a University of Wisconsin Milwaukee recruit, won the 4K race in a blistering 15:25, over a minute ahead of Dodgeville-Mineral Point's Shelby Owens. With a UW-Milwaukee coach in attendance, Sigg didn't disappoint.
"I was just shooting for under 16 minutes," Sigg said. "This is a great way to start the season, winning two races like that in a week."
Sigg relishes the chance to run hills on the Darlington High School course.
"Sometimes I would rather run up hills, because you are not pounding your feet a lot," she said.
The Redbirds were paced by senior Hana Miehe, who took fourth with a time of 16:44, and junior Olivia Wedig, who finished ninth in 16:57.
"It felt really good to just get the season started," Hana Miehe said. "One of our goals was to win it or place really high."
She understands expectations for a trip to state are legitimate.
"We feel a little bit of that extra pressure," Hana Miehe said. "We have good team chemistry and it feels like it will be a good season."
Monroe freshman Molly Hlubek had a breakout meet, taking 19th place with a time of 17:20. The Cheesemakers also received strong races from sophomore Rachel Rogerson, who finished 31st in 17:41 and senior Sommer Bertalot, who took 36th in 17:52.
"I try not to have high expectations for freshmen because I want them to experience the races as they come without pressure, and have fun," Jefferson said. "She has definitely been exceeding what I thought she could do.
"We talked about not changing a whole lot in how we race as far as pace goes. I told them if anything go ahead and slow that first mile down. The only thing that she changed was to go out faster and challenge herself. It shows a good attitude, one that wants to compete."
Seichter commended all of the Cheesemaker runners on their dedication in the offseason.
"It's nice to see they worked hard during the summer," Seichter said. "You can tell.
"Molly Hlubek, she's a really great freshman. It's nice to have a great freshman on the team."
Darlington freshman Amy Jorgenson is another first-year runner who emerged, finishing 21st with a time of 17:23. Darlington sophomore Taryn Evenstad took 29th in 17:38.
Monroe junior Stephanie Wyss missed her second straight meet due to a knee injury. Wyss, who was recovering from a bad ankle from last spring, injured her knee earlier this year.
"She toughed it out through track and now it has kind of caught up with her a little bit," Jefferson said. "She has not got a whole lot of training in."
Jefferson said he is shooting for Wyss to come back for the Madison West meet Thursday.
