BELLEVILLE - Darlington's girls cross country team has been ranked at the top of the polls most of the year. With a team win Saturday at the Division 3 Belleville sectional, the Redbirds are right where they should be - headed to Wisconsin Rapids for the state finals.
"We had quite a week for what we got done," Darlington coach Arnie Miehe said. "Some of our better girls hadn't run well all week, and some of our other good (runners) didn't have great weeks. It went all the way to Thursday before I made a decision on who was going to run. And then I changed it on Friday. And then today one of the girls couldn't go, so we put in a freshman and the gals came through for us."
Pecatonica-Argyle's Elise Sigg won the race with a time of 15 minutes, 54 seconds.
"All year we had planned to punch a ticket to state, and Elise did it today," Vikings coach Pat Hardyman said. "She took command early and just extended the lead and really looked good. The expectation is higher this year. We have a week to sharpen up and we know that the defending champ is back."
Pec-Argyle finished seventh overall as a team with 186 points. Freshman Kendra Sigg missed qualifying by just six seconds with a 10th-place finish and a time of 17:27. Ninth-place finisher, Belleville's Alison Smitz, was the fifth and final individual to make it to state.
Albany's Jessica Mauerman also will be running in Wisconsin Rapids next week. The freshman finished sixth overall with a time of 17:06. Albany finished fourth overall, behind Boscobel (60 points) and Fennimore (77), with an overall score of 120.
"I thought the girls ran well," Albany coach Tony Brewer said. "Our goal was top four. Darlington, Fennimore, Boscobel - those are really good teams. I thought we competed well and we are happy with where we are at.
"This team has really turned this program around. Last year we were seventh and the last four years before we were incomplete. Hopefully we can come back next year and be competitive with the big dogs."
Darlington's score of 50 points was the lowest of the day. Hannah Miehe and Olivia Wedig crossed the finish line together at 16:45, taking third and fourth place, and Amy Jorgenson (17:20) and Taryn Evenstad (17:36) both finished in the top 12 for the Redbirds. Kayla Lange (18:05) finished in 23rd place to round out Darlington's scoring.
"They know it's not about them, it's about us," Arnie Miehe said. "Now we just have to take it in and enjoy it. We've got some really special kids."
The Division 3 girls race will start at 1 p.m. at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday, Nov. 1.
"We had quite a week for what we got done," Darlington coach Arnie Miehe said. "Some of our better girls hadn't run well all week, and some of our other good (runners) didn't have great weeks. It went all the way to Thursday before I made a decision on who was going to run. And then I changed it on Friday. And then today one of the girls couldn't go, so we put in a freshman and the gals came through for us."
Pecatonica-Argyle's Elise Sigg won the race with a time of 15 minutes, 54 seconds.
"All year we had planned to punch a ticket to state, and Elise did it today," Vikings coach Pat Hardyman said. "She took command early and just extended the lead and really looked good. The expectation is higher this year. We have a week to sharpen up and we know that the defending champ is back."
Pec-Argyle finished seventh overall as a team with 186 points. Freshman Kendra Sigg missed qualifying by just six seconds with a 10th-place finish and a time of 17:27. Ninth-place finisher, Belleville's Alison Smitz, was the fifth and final individual to make it to state.
Albany's Jessica Mauerman also will be running in Wisconsin Rapids next week. The freshman finished sixth overall with a time of 17:06. Albany finished fourth overall, behind Boscobel (60 points) and Fennimore (77), with an overall score of 120.
"I thought the girls ran well," Albany coach Tony Brewer said. "Our goal was top four. Darlington, Fennimore, Boscobel - those are really good teams. I thought we competed well and we are happy with where we are at.
"This team has really turned this program around. Last year we were seventh and the last four years before we were incomplete. Hopefully we can come back next year and be competitive with the big dogs."
Darlington's score of 50 points was the lowest of the day. Hannah Miehe and Olivia Wedig crossed the finish line together at 16:45, taking third and fourth place, and Amy Jorgenson (17:20) and Taryn Evenstad (17:36) both finished in the top 12 for the Redbirds. Kayla Lange (18:05) finished in 23rd place to round out Darlington's scoring.
"They know it's not about them, it's about us," Arnie Miehe said. "Now we just have to take it in and enjoy it. We've got some really special kids."
The Division 3 girls race will start at 1 p.m. at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday, Nov. 1.
