DARLINGTON — For 40 years, Darlington has hosted a cross country invite at its home course. Next year, though, it will be run on the Arnie Miehe cross country course.

In a special school board meeting on Monday, Aug. 28, members of the board approved the renaming of the course for the coming cross country season. Miehe, who coached nine state championship cross country teams in his 41-year tenure, announced his retirement as coach last November. His oldest son Kent, who was a member of the 2011 state championship team, has since taken over as head coach.

“The first Darlington Invite had four teams, and now it’s turned into one of the premiere early-season meets in the state,” Kent Miehe said. “It’s a meet that has produced multiple team and individual state champions. Renaming the course after my dad is not just a testament to what he has done for the Darlington Invite but for all the time, commitment, and passion he has given to our program.”

The Lady Redbirds came ready to represent at their home invite on Saturday, Sept. 2, finishing second of nine teams with two top-10 finishers in Adalee Berget and Raquel Reuter. Dodgeville-Mineral Point, a team that took second at the Division 2 state meet in 2022, finished first with three top-10 runners. Ellie Robinson and Annie Robinson, who finished second and sixth at state, took second and third overall behind Mount Horeb’s Abigail Sadler.

Darlington boys faced adversity, finishing 13 of 15 teams. Ethan Aird — the team’s lead runner — medically dropped out of the race in the first mile. Freshman Marcus Kendall took over the lead role, finishing 37th. Fennimore, which returned every runner from a state-qualify team in 2022, took the boys title with four of their five scorers in the top 10. Belleville’s Carter Scholey won the race nearly 14 full seconds ahead of Dodgeville-Mineral Point’s Layne Aurit.