WISCONSIN RAPIDS - It was a rookie and a seasoned vet who combined to give the New Glarus-Monticello boys cross country team a strong showing at the WIAA Division 2 state meet Saturday at the Ridges Golf Course.
Freshman Ryan McCoy placed eighth with a time of 16 minutes, 25 seconds, a mere five seconds ahead of ninth-place finisher and teammate Travis Beutler (16:30).
The tandem's solid finish propelled the Glarner Knights to a seventh-place showing at the biggest meet of the year. New Glarus-Monticello was aiming for a top-10 finish, so Saturday's result was even more gratifying, as the Glarner Knights posted just 180 points.
"We would have been happy if we would have been 10th. We didn't know how we were going to do, there's so many good teams here," Beutler said.
Shorewood won the Division 2 title (81), with Nekoosa/Port Edwards placing second (92). Catholic Memorial's John Luterbach won the race (15:46).
McCoy led the pack briefly in the first mile, but fell back a bit during the second leg. Buetler past McCoy in the second leg, but McCoy rallied to nip Buetler at the finish line.
"We wanted to see how far we could get ahead together. We wanted to stick with the leaders the first mile because we knew that it was going to start off really fast, and then after the second mile, we wanted to try and take the lead, at least get up there," Beutler said. "That didn't happen, but we still tried our hardest to get up there. I thought we did great."
McCoy accomplished his personal goal of cracking the top 10, despite running on what he called a "very fast course." He admits that reaching the final six and earning a medal would have been nice, but placing eighth in the state will suffice.
"I was going for a (personal record) and I got that today," McCoy said. "Our whole team got to go, so that was really fun. I want to come back every year."
The Glarner Knights' Carl Pratt finished 63rd (17:39) and Alexander Yieser was 99th (18:12). Wesley Morgan and Tyler Meier finished 120th and 121st, while Riley Miller placed 125th.
New Glarus-Monticello was pleased with its effort, but another area team, Darlington, had a disappointing outing in the Division 3 race.
Darlington failed to have any runners crack the top 50 and finished 12th overall.
"We were trying to put in a great race and that could have put us in the top three," junior Connor Roche said. "But instead, we had a terrible race. Battling sickness isn't the greatest way to come to state."
A few of Darlington's runners appeared sick, but they shoved illness aside to compete at the state meet.
Sophomore Michael Sinclair provided a silver lining to Darlington's difficult day. Sinclair, who was looking to run into the top 100, reached 60th (17:53).
"I'm not used to being that far up in the races, but it's pretty cool," he said.
Albany placed eighth as a team, while sophomore Reece Whitehead finished 26th, with a time of 17:26.1.
Junior Drew Mather came in 43rd place (17:37.2) and Tyler Conley took 72nd place (18:02.5.)
Cedar Grove-Belgium claimed the Division 3 title with 68 points, followed by The Prairie School (76). Cedar Grove-Belgium's Josh Mulloy won the race (16:15).
Roche was Darlington's second-fastest runner, placing 73rd (18:07). Jordan Heinberg was 94th, followed by Quinn Cullen (109) and Lucas Bergeson (129). Kent Miehe was 143rd and Garth Garrison was 147th.
Freshman Ryan McCoy placed eighth with a time of 16 minutes, 25 seconds, a mere five seconds ahead of ninth-place finisher and teammate Travis Beutler (16:30).
The tandem's solid finish propelled the Glarner Knights to a seventh-place showing at the biggest meet of the year. New Glarus-Monticello was aiming for a top-10 finish, so Saturday's result was even more gratifying, as the Glarner Knights posted just 180 points.
"We would have been happy if we would have been 10th. We didn't know how we were going to do, there's so many good teams here," Beutler said.
Shorewood won the Division 2 title (81), with Nekoosa/Port Edwards placing second (92). Catholic Memorial's John Luterbach won the race (15:46).
McCoy led the pack briefly in the first mile, but fell back a bit during the second leg. Buetler past McCoy in the second leg, but McCoy rallied to nip Buetler at the finish line.
"We wanted to see how far we could get ahead together. We wanted to stick with the leaders the first mile because we knew that it was going to start off really fast, and then after the second mile, we wanted to try and take the lead, at least get up there," Beutler said. "That didn't happen, but we still tried our hardest to get up there. I thought we did great."
McCoy accomplished his personal goal of cracking the top 10, despite running on what he called a "very fast course." He admits that reaching the final six and earning a medal would have been nice, but placing eighth in the state will suffice.
"I was going for a (personal record) and I got that today," McCoy said. "Our whole team got to go, so that was really fun. I want to come back every year."
The Glarner Knights' Carl Pratt finished 63rd (17:39) and Alexander Yieser was 99th (18:12). Wesley Morgan and Tyler Meier finished 120th and 121st, while Riley Miller placed 125th.
New Glarus-Monticello was pleased with its effort, but another area team, Darlington, had a disappointing outing in the Division 3 race.
Darlington failed to have any runners crack the top 50 and finished 12th overall.
"We were trying to put in a great race and that could have put us in the top three," junior Connor Roche said. "But instead, we had a terrible race. Battling sickness isn't the greatest way to come to state."
A few of Darlington's runners appeared sick, but they shoved illness aside to compete at the state meet.
Sophomore Michael Sinclair provided a silver lining to Darlington's difficult day. Sinclair, who was looking to run into the top 100, reached 60th (17:53).
"I'm not used to being that far up in the races, but it's pretty cool," he said.
Albany placed eighth as a team, while sophomore Reece Whitehead finished 26th, with a time of 17:26.1.
Junior Drew Mather came in 43rd place (17:37.2) and Tyler Conley took 72nd place (18:02.5.)
Cedar Grove-Belgium claimed the Division 3 title with 68 points, followed by The Prairie School (76). Cedar Grove-Belgium's Josh Mulloy won the race (16:15).
Roche was Darlington's second-fastest runner, placing 73rd (18:07). Jordan Heinberg was 94th, followed by Quinn Cullen (109) and Lucas Bergeson (129). Kent Miehe was 143rd and Garth Garrison was 147th.
