WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Darlington High School may have to make more room in the trophy case after the Redbirds boys ran to a fourth straight WIAA Division 3 state championship Saturday at the Ridges Golf Course.
The Redbirds had three of the top 10 runners in the team standings. Darlington junior Jaden Komprood finished third overall and second in the team standings with a time of 16 minutes, 28.76 seconds and senior teammate Thomas Schultz took ninth overall and fourth in the team standings (16:46.72). Darlington junior Sean Barbee was ninth with a lifetime best time of 17:09.15.
Chequamegon's Kevin Koski won the 5,000-meter race (16:06.72) and Boscobel's Dakota Kauffman was second overall (16:18.47).
"It makes us feel great," Komprood said of winning the fourth straight state title. "We want to continue the streak. We don't just want to do it for ourselves. We want to do it for all of the other teams who have run. We know to have three of the top 10 in Division 3 is insane. All three of us ran together and we did what we needed to do."
The Redbirds No. 3-5 runners each finished ahead of Chequamegon's final three runners on the way to winning a state title 46-90 over Chequamegon and Albany. Chequamegon and Albany both finished tied for second with 90 points. However, in a sixth runner tiebreaker, Chequamegon was awarded the silver trophy for finishing as the state runner-up.
"Those guys know the history of the state meet," Darlington coach Arnie Miehe said. "It's an honor and a motivator to continue this. The lineups keep changing. It's really satisfying as a coach.
"I thought we had the talent. Anyone who has coached for a while will tell you that it takes more than talent. There are a lot of variables that go into it."
Albany had three of the top 10 runners with junior Josh Little finishing sixth with a lifetime best race of 17:03.77, senior Aaron Johnson taking seventh (17:05.78) and senior Brennan Bloedel finishing eighth (17:06.44).
Albany coach Tony Brewer commended his runners for their effort and was disappointed they just missed a silver trophy despite having three runners in the top 10.
"I was walking up to the scoreboard and thought we got third by 10 points," Brewer said. "If you can run great, you give yourself a chance for a trophy. It's heartbreaking. We just came up a hair short of a trophy. To come that close to a trophy and to know they came up short is disappointing. People noticed Albany. I was proud of the way they went out and competed."
Albany junior Tyler Dahl took 14th (17:19.55) and Darlington sophomore Conner Hackett finished 15th (17:22.59). Darlington junior Blake Cwynar took 24th, which was 31 spots ahead of Albany's No. 5 runner - sophomore Connor Trow who finished 55th (18:35.48).
"That was a really big distance," Miehe said. "Sean ran his best race of his life. We felt good if our third, fourth and fifth runners finished where they should. We knew that would give us a boost. They shut the door right away and ran well."
It's the depth by the Redbirds that clinched the state title. Darlington freshman Tanner Evenstad took 39th, but didn't score for the Redbirds, but he was ahead of Chequamegon's No. 4 and 5 runners and the Comets' No. 5 runner.
The sixth runner tiebreaker the Comets lost for the silver trophy included Chequamegon sophomore Brady Kielpikowski taking 51st and Albany sophomore Isaac Halverson finishing 77th.
With four of its top five runners back next year, the Redbirds will be running for a fifth straight state championship.
In the girls' race, Albany freshman Emma Guenther finished 14th (20:10.2) and junior Sydnee Woyak took 47th (21:05.29).
"Going in we thought a great race for her (Guenther) would be a top 20 finish," Brewer said. "For a freshman on a big stage, she went out and competed. Sydnee ran her second best race of the year. You saw them leave everything they had out there."
The Redbirds had three of the top 10 runners in the team standings. Darlington junior Jaden Komprood finished third overall and second in the team standings with a time of 16 minutes, 28.76 seconds and senior teammate Thomas Schultz took ninth overall and fourth in the team standings (16:46.72). Darlington junior Sean Barbee was ninth with a lifetime best time of 17:09.15.
Chequamegon's Kevin Koski won the 5,000-meter race (16:06.72) and Boscobel's Dakota Kauffman was second overall (16:18.47).
"It makes us feel great," Komprood said of winning the fourth straight state title. "We want to continue the streak. We don't just want to do it for ourselves. We want to do it for all of the other teams who have run. We know to have three of the top 10 in Division 3 is insane. All three of us ran together and we did what we needed to do."
The Redbirds No. 3-5 runners each finished ahead of Chequamegon's final three runners on the way to winning a state title 46-90 over Chequamegon and Albany. Chequamegon and Albany both finished tied for second with 90 points. However, in a sixth runner tiebreaker, Chequamegon was awarded the silver trophy for finishing as the state runner-up.
"Those guys know the history of the state meet," Darlington coach Arnie Miehe said. "It's an honor and a motivator to continue this. The lineups keep changing. It's really satisfying as a coach.
"I thought we had the talent. Anyone who has coached for a while will tell you that it takes more than talent. There are a lot of variables that go into it."
Albany had three of the top 10 runners with junior Josh Little finishing sixth with a lifetime best race of 17:03.77, senior Aaron Johnson taking seventh (17:05.78) and senior Brennan Bloedel finishing eighth (17:06.44).
Albany coach Tony Brewer commended his runners for their effort and was disappointed they just missed a silver trophy despite having three runners in the top 10.
"I was walking up to the scoreboard and thought we got third by 10 points," Brewer said. "If you can run great, you give yourself a chance for a trophy. It's heartbreaking. We just came up a hair short of a trophy. To come that close to a trophy and to know they came up short is disappointing. People noticed Albany. I was proud of the way they went out and competed."
Albany junior Tyler Dahl took 14th (17:19.55) and Darlington sophomore Conner Hackett finished 15th (17:22.59). Darlington junior Blake Cwynar took 24th, which was 31 spots ahead of Albany's No. 5 runner - sophomore Connor Trow who finished 55th (18:35.48).
"That was a really big distance," Miehe said. "Sean ran his best race of his life. We felt good if our third, fourth and fifth runners finished where they should. We knew that would give us a boost. They shut the door right away and ran well."
It's the depth by the Redbirds that clinched the state title. Darlington freshman Tanner Evenstad took 39th, but didn't score for the Redbirds, but he was ahead of Chequamegon's No. 4 and 5 runners and the Comets' No. 5 runner.
The sixth runner tiebreaker the Comets lost for the silver trophy included Chequamegon sophomore Brady Kielpikowski taking 51st and Albany sophomore Isaac Halverson finishing 77th.
With four of its top five runners back next year, the Redbirds will be running for a fifth straight state championship.
In the girls' race, Albany freshman Emma Guenther finished 14th (20:10.2) and junior Sydnee Woyak took 47th (21:05.29).
"Going in we thought a great race for her (Guenther) would be a top 20 finish," Brewer said. "For a freshman on a big stage, she went out and competed. Sydnee ran her second best race of the year. You saw them leave everything they had out there."
