MADISON - The Monroe girls cross country team placed four runners on the all-conference team and ran to a third-place finish at the Badger South Conference meet Saturday at Lake Farm Park.
Monroe sophomore Ciara Kaderly finished fourth place with a time of 19 minutes, 36.4 seconds and freshman Rachel Meier took seventh place (20:08).
Madison Edgewood, the Division 2 state champion last year, won the conference title 41-54 over Stoughton. The Vikings finished just three points ahead of the Cheesemakers (57) who had a breakout performance as a team with five runners in the top 19.
Monroe senior Elise Rossing took 13th place (20:19.8) and sophomore Jordan Hirsbrunner finished 14th (20:21.4). Senior Alyssa Dale took 19th (20:39) to round out the top five for the Cheesemakers.
"We were definitely the shocker team in the field," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "No one was expecting us to finish this high. Our varsity girls knew if we ran perfectly we might have been able to clench a third-place finish. That was our goal. However, if we faltered, we could drop all the way back to fifth. We have been at the bottom of the conference the last three years and to see the girls take this big of a jump is a huge statement for our program. When the distance went to 5K, our girls looked at it as an advantage and seized the moment."
Both Kaderly and Meier earned first-team all-conference accolades. Rossing and Hirsbrunner were both second-team all-conference.
"To have two first-teamers and two second-teamers is super," Hirsbrunner said. "These girls gutted it out and really made some big moves during the mile to get themselves in great position."
The Monroe boys cross country team finished fourth place as a team (89 points). Madison Edgewood (49) won the conference title for the second straight year. Oregon took second (72) and Fort Atkinson (87) clipped the Cheesemakers for third (87).
Monroe sophomore Nick Baumann finished seventh place (16:50.3) and junior Derek Christiansen took 14th (17:15.1). Freshman Dylan Scace took 18th (17:32.9) and sophomore Ryan Peterson was 24th (17:47.9). Senior Jeremy Miller, who has been the Cheesemakers' No. 1 runner this year, took 26th (17:48.9). Baumann earned first-team all-conference honors and Christiansen was second-team all-conference for the second straight year.
"We left the meet disappointed," Hirsbrunner said. "We thought we were the second best team there and we didn't show that. It's our lowest finish in the past several years. We don't feel like we are a fourth-place team, but we are for a year now."
The Monroe boys will get another chance to prove they are an elite team running in the Platteville Division 2 sectional Saturday. The race for the boys starts at 3:15 p.m. Saturday and the girls run at 4 p.m. in Platteville. The top two teams earn a trip to state. The Cheesemakers have qualified for state as a team four straight years and 10 of the last 11. That streak will be on the line Saturday.
"Hopefully, we can rebound from this and have a decent showing at the sectional championships in Platteville," Hirsbrunner said.
The Cheesemakers had 19 of 23 runners set personal-record times.
"That's encouraging," Hirsbrunner said. "It's very pleasing to see our seniors run personal bests. It gets tougher to lower your time the more races you run. It was also nice to see some of the times our underclassmen put out. It tells us the future looks bright."
Monroe sophomore Ciara Kaderly finished fourth place with a time of 19 minutes, 36.4 seconds and freshman Rachel Meier took seventh place (20:08).
Madison Edgewood, the Division 2 state champion last year, won the conference title 41-54 over Stoughton. The Vikings finished just three points ahead of the Cheesemakers (57) who had a breakout performance as a team with five runners in the top 19.
Monroe senior Elise Rossing took 13th place (20:19.8) and sophomore Jordan Hirsbrunner finished 14th (20:21.4). Senior Alyssa Dale took 19th (20:39) to round out the top five for the Cheesemakers.
"We were definitely the shocker team in the field," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "No one was expecting us to finish this high. Our varsity girls knew if we ran perfectly we might have been able to clench a third-place finish. That was our goal. However, if we faltered, we could drop all the way back to fifth. We have been at the bottom of the conference the last three years and to see the girls take this big of a jump is a huge statement for our program. When the distance went to 5K, our girls looked at it as an advantage and seized the moment."
Both Kaderly and Meier earned first-team all-conference accolades. Rossing and Hirsbrunner were both second-team all-conference.
"To have two first-teamers and two second-teamers is super," Hirsbrunner said. "These girls gutted it out and really made some big moves during the mile to get themselves in great position."
The Monroe boys cross country team finished fourth place as a team (89 points). Madison Edgewood (49) won the conference title for the second straight year. Oregon took second (72) and Fort Atkinson (87) clipped the Cheesemakers for third (87).
Monroe sophomore Nick Baumann finished seventh place (16:50.3) and junior Derek Christiansen took 14th (17:15.1). Freshman Dylan Scace took 18th (17:32.9) and sophomore Ryan Peterson was 24th (17:47.9). Senior Jeremy Miller, who has been the Cheesemakers' No. 1 runner this year, took 26th (17:48.9). Baumann earned first-team all-conference honors and Christiansen was second-team all-conference for the second straight year.
"We left the meet disappointed," Hirsbrunner said. "We thought we were the second best team there and we didn't show that. It's our lowest finish in the past several years. We don't feel like we are a fourth-place team, but we are for a year now."
The Monroe boys will get another chance to prove they are an elite team running in the Platteville Division 2 sectional Saturday. The race for the boys starts at 3:15 p.m. Saturday and the girls run at 4 p.m. in Platteville. The top two teams earn a trip to state. The Cheesemakers have qualified for state as a team four straight years and 10 of the last 11. That streak will be on the line Saturday.
"Hopefully, we can rebound from this and have a decent showing at the sectional championships in Platteville," Hirsbrunner said.
The Cheesemakers had 19 of 23 runners set personal-record times.
"That's encouraging," Hirsbrunner said. "It's very pleasing to see our seniors run personal bests. It gets tougher to lower your time the more races you run. It was also nice to see some of the times our underclassmen put out. It tells us the future looks bright."
