MONROE —  Going into the WIAA Division 2 Cambridge-Deerfield Sectional on Oct. 25, Monroe head coach Scott Mosher knew his boys team would need to have its best race in order to earn a qualifying spot for state.

The Hounds, ranked No. 6 in the Week 8 Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association (WCCA) poll, were up against two other, higher ranked teams — No. 3 Dodgeville-Mineral Point and No. 4 McFarland. Only the top two teams moved on.

“The boys had a very difficult sectional,” Mosher said. “Our boys were up for the challenge. Our focus all week was that we didn’t have just cross country runners competing, we had athletes competing who also run cross country. We made this distinction because we knew if they could just keep it close to the runners ahead of them, their athleticism would take over at the end and drive us to a championship. This is exactly what happened and it was one of the more exciting races because of it.”

Mosher had a plan for his team, and they executed it to a ‘T.’ Tre Dammen, Monroe’s No. 1 runner, was tasked with splitting up the top two runners from McFarland and beating out Dodgeville-Mineral Point’s top runner. Runners 2-4 then had to beat their respective runner from Dodgeville-Mineral Point. 

“We challenged each of our runners to go after a runner from the other teams, and in my nearly 20 years of coaching, I’ve never seen each of the five runners execute their assignment,” Mosher said.

Headed into the WIAA Division 2 state meet on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Wisconsin Rapids, Monroe is ranked No. 2 behind West Salem. The Hounds’ upperclassmen enter the meet with plenty of experience, looking to lead the underclassmen.

Dammen, a junior, has been to state twice already — a member of the 2022 state-qualifying team and last season as an individual. He’s improved each year, finishing 32nd (17:34.3) in 2022 and 10th (16:20.9) in 2023. Teammates Padriac Houston and Kylan Ditsworth were also members of the 2022 team, finishing 89th (19:11.0) and 101st (19:46.2), respectively.

West Salem finished fourth last season with six runners returning from that squad. Dodgeville-Mineral Point, ranked No. 4 going into the meet, finished ninth a year ago. Kohler, ranked No. 3, won the Division 3 title the last two seasons and got bumped up to Division 2 per the new WIAA competitive balance rule.

Individually, Dammen is among the favorites for the Division 2 title. He is up against Kyle Kieper of Kettle Moraine Lutheran — who finished third in 2023 — Alex Anewenter of Port Washington — who finished seventh — and Layne Aurit of Dodgeville-Mineral Point — who finished one spot ahead of Dammen last season but two spots behind him in sectionals. 

“He (Dammen) was an all-state runner a year ago and has done everything he can to get himself and his team ready for repeat success,” Mosher said.

Although the Monroe girls team did not qualify for state — the Lady Hounds had three ranked teams ahead of them — junior Mary McKenzie punched her third ticket to the state meet. She was the fourth of five individual qualifiers from the sectional with a time of 19:28.62. 

McKenzie competed on the 2022 state-qualifying team, finishing 38th with a time of 21:08. Last season as an individual, she improved her time to 20:18.4 for 50th.

New Glarus-Monticello’s Molly Olson snagged the last qualifying spot, finishing 10th with a time of 19:29.32. Like McKenzie, Olson, too, has state experience. Last season, the NGM girls qualified as a team, and Olson led the way with a 20:27.6 (30th).