JANESVILLE - After nearly two weeks off, Monroe's boys cross country team returned to action Saturday in a tough spot.
The Cheesemakers were competing Saturday in Janesville in the Midwest Invite, one of the state's largest, consisting of 33 teams from throughout the state and Midwest, including McArthur, Texas, and several teams from Illinois.
"Overall, we ran pretty well," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "We haven't raced in 11 days and many of the guys were very anxious to get on the course and go again."
Monroe had 22 runners in the race, and 11 ran their fastest times ever.
"The course is pretty flat, the weather was very nice, and the competition was tough. That combination usually results in a lot of personal records," Hirsbrunner said.
In the varsity race, Joe Pecora and Justin Scott both ran personal bests.
"Joe has been getting tougher and tougher in practice. I was glad to see him take a dip. Justin Scott has only ran a couple of 5K's in his career, and he is seeing the results of a lot of work," Hirsbrunner said.
Dylan Stark finished seven-tenths of a second behind a Whitewater runner for first place in the frosh/soph race.
"They hooked up for the entire last mile. The lead changed back and forth several times. (Stark) couldn't quite hold it and got nipped at the line," Hirsbrunner said.
Freshmen Luke Peterson and Joel Henry both dropped their times into the low 18-minute area.
Monroe's varsity team finished in 14th place, though would have finished ninth had Stark run varsity. The junior varsity team finished 13th out of 19 teams and the frosh/soph team finished 8th of 24 teams, and was the top Division 2 team.
The Cheesemakers were competing Saturday in Janesville in the Midwest Invite, one of the state's largest, consisting of 33 teams from throughout the state and Midwest, including McArthur, Texas, and several teams from Illinois.
"Overall, we ran pretty well," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "We haven't raced in 11 days and many of the guys were very anxious to get on the course and go again."
Monroe had 22 runners in the race, and 11 ran their fastest times ever.
"The course is pretty flat, the weather was very nice, and the competition was tough. That combination usually results in a lot of personal records," Hirsbrunner said.
In the varsity race, Joe Pecora and Justin Scott both ran personal bests.
"Joe has been getting tougher and tougher in practice. I was glad to see him take a dip. Justin Scott has only ran a couple of 5K's in his career, and he is seeing the results of a lot of work," Hirsbrunner said.
Dylan Stark finished seven-tenths of a second behind a Whitewater runner for first place in the frosh/soph race.
"They hooked up for the entire last mile. The lead changed back and forth several times. (Stark) couldn't quite hold it and got nipped at the line," Hirsbrunner said.
Freshmen Luke Peterson and Joel Henry both dropped their times into the low 18-minute area.
Monroe's varsity team finished in 14th place, though would have finished ninth had Stark run varsity. The junior varsity team finished 13th out of 19 teams and the frosh/soph team finished 8th of 24 teams, and was the top Division 2 team.
