MONROE - It was a day filled with firsts for Monroe freshman Jordan Hirsbrunner.
It was her first day of high school and her first cross country race on the varsity. The longer 4,000-meter course didn't seem to phase her as she pulled out a fifth-place finish at the Bruess Invitational Tuesday, Sept. 3 with a time of 16 minutes, 34 seconds.
"I was really nervous," Hirsbrunner said. "I didn't know what would happen."
She was in about 11th place the first half of the race before making her move up the pack. Hirsbrunner made her biggest move the final 140-meters to earn a medal.
"I wanted to get a ribbon and be in the top 15," Hirsbrunner said. "That was my goal. I was really happy."
Monroe sophomore Kayla Einbeck finished 13th (17:06) and senior Alyssa Dale was 14th (17:14) to help the Cheesemakers to a third-place finish (73 points). Monroe senior Nicole Witt took 24th (18:07) and junior Kelley Baumann finished 26th (18:14). Mount Horeb behind champion Sara Viner, the individual champion (15:58) won the team championship 50-57 over Dubuque Hempstead 50-57.
"All of them had nice second halves of the race," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "We are pleasantly surprised. We are not concerned by what we do now. We want to get better for October. We have to get some more bodies in there. We are optimistic about what we can do."
He liked the racing strategy his daughter used and how she made her move in the final 140-meters.
"I'm really proud of her especially with the way she finished," Dave Hirsbrunner said. "She went out smart and controlled. The place where she had to make a move to get a medal, she made the move."
Einbeck and Dale also had strong first races for the Cheesemakers. Einbeck is looking to build off her track and hockey play.
"She (Einbeck) had a really good track season," Hirsbrunner said. "She has been looking good in practice. It's not really a shock. She's a tough little runner. She is way ahead of last year's pace."
Albany senior Bailey Hlavachek finished ninth (16:44) and sophomore teammate Sydnee Woyak was 25th (18:11), but the Comets didn't have the five runners needed to score as a team. Hlavachek had a tough ending to the track season as she ran at state with a stress fracture.
"After my unsuccessful track season because of my stress fracture, it felt good to get back out there and compete, perform to my best and get back to where I was at," Hlavachek said.
She didn't start running again after recovering until early August.
"I did a lot of cross training swimming," she said. "I just wanted to go out and perform to the best of my ability."
New Glarus-Monticello junior Bri Roska finished sixth (16:38) to lead the Glarner Knights to a fifth-place finish (119). The Knights had six of the top 34 runners.
"I thought Bri looked like $1 million," New Glarus-Monticello coach Steve Wehrley said. "She has really come on. She wanted to develop some speed from track and she did."
Junior Lilly Bloom took 29th (18:33) and freshman Kelly Fredrickson was 31st (18:36). New Glarus-Monticello senior Carly Duerst took 32nd (18:36) followed by sophomore teammate Ashley Risley (18:36) and freshman teammate Rebecca Barr (18:41).
Pecatonica-Argyle took eighth (228). Pecatonica-Argyle sophomore Samantha Erickson finished 41st (19:14) to lead the Vikings. Pecatonica-Argyle senior Lizzy Ritschard finished 48th (19:53) and sophomore Hannah James was 49th (20:15).
"It's nice to see them run in a pack and be really competitive," Wehrley said of the Knights. "They know we have substantial work to do. They showed no fear about the distance. They were working together. The competition was great. It makes us look reality in the face."
It was her first day of high school and her first cross country race on the varsity. The longer 4,000-meter course didn't seem to phase her as she pulled out a fifth-place finish at the Bruess Invitational Tuesday, Sept. 3 with a time of 16 minutes, 34 seconds.
"I was really nervous," Hirsbrunner said. "I didn't know what would happen."
She was in about 11th place the first half of the race before making her move up the pack. Hirsbrunner made her biggest move the final 140-meters to earn a medal.
"I wanted to get a ribbon and be in the top 15," Hirsbrunner said. "That was my goal. I was really happy."
Monroe sophomore Kayla Einbeck finished 13th (17:06) and senior Alyssa Dale was 14th (17:14) to help the Cheesemakers to a third-place finish (73 points). Monroe senior Nicole Witt took 24th (18:07) and junior Kelley Baumann finished 26th (18:14). Mount Horeb behind champion Sara Viner, the individual champion (15:58) won the team championship 50-57 over Dubuque Hempstead 50-57.
"All of them had nice second halves of the race," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "We are pleasantly surprised. We are not concerned by what we do now. We want to get better for October. We have to get some more bodies in there. We are optimistic about what we can do."
He liked the racing strategy his daughter used and how she made her move in the final 140-meters.
"I'm really proud of her especially with the way she finished," Dave Hirsbrunner said. "She went out smart and controlled. The place where she had to make a move to get a medal, she made the move."
Einbeck and Dale also had strong first races for the Cheesemakers. Einbeck is looking to build off her track and hockey play.
"She (Einbeck) had a really good track season," Hirsbrunner said. "She has been looking good in practice. It's not really a shock. She's a tough little runner. She is way ahead of last year's pace."
Albany senior Bailey Hlavachek finished ninth (16:44) and sophomore teammate Sydnee Woyak was 25th (18:11), but the Comets didn't have the five runners needed to score as a team. Hlavachek had a tough ending to the track season as she ran at state with a stress fracture.
"After my unsuccessful track season because of my stress fracture, it felt good to get back out there and compete, perform to my best and get back to where I was at," Hlavachek said.
She didn't start running again after recovering until early August.
"I did a lot of cross training swimming," she said. "I just wanted to go out and perform to the best of my ability."
New Glarus-Monticello junior Bri Roska finished sixth (16:38) to lead the Glarner Knights to a fifth-place finish (119). The Knights had six of the top 34 runners.
"I thought Bri looked like $1 million," New Glarus-Monticello coach Steve Wehrley said. "She has really come on. She wanted to develop some speed from track and she did."
Junior Lilly Bloom took 29th (18:33) and freshman Kelly Fredrickson was 31st (18:36). New Glarus-Monticello senior Carly Duerst took 32nd (18:36) followed by sophomore teammate Ashley Risley (18:36) and freshman teammate Rebecca Barr (18:41).
Pecatonica-Argyle took eighth (228). Pecatonica-Argyle sophomore Samantha Erickson finished 41st (19:14) to lead the Vikings. Pecatonica-Argyle senior Lizzy Ritschard finished 48th (19:53) and sophomore Hannah James was 49th (20:15).
"It's nice to see them run in a pack and be really competitive," Wehrley said of the Knights. "They know we have substantial work to do. They showed no fear about the distance. They were working together. The competition was great. It makes us look reality in the face."
