MONROE — Cheesemakers junior Jacie Hayes ran mile after mile all summer long. She’s a member of Zero Hour, a weight training class, where she focuses a lot on her core and spending time with her teammates.
For the opener of the 2019 cross country season, the annual Bruess Invitational at Twining Park, Hayes aimed to complete the 5K course within 22 minutes. Mission Accomplished.
“I was aiming to get my first three races below 21:15, and I know I was pretty close to that today, which makes me excited,” said Hayes, who was fourth overall with a time of 21:05.0 and finished neck-and-neck with Dubuque Wahlert Catholic’s Ellie Meyer. “I was really excited and I’ve been thinking about this one for a couple of weeks. I put in a lot of miles over the summer and I was really excited to see where I was at compared to last year.”
Despite the heat and damp conditions after several inches of rain fell the morning before the race, Hayes felt pleased with the course.
“It was pretty windy towards the end, and it definitely helped that JV ran first and we got it a little bit cooler. Stepping in puddles was nice, it helped refresh the feel a bit,” Hayes said.
I was really excited and I’ve been thinking about this one for a couple of weeks. I put in a lot of miles over the summer and I was really excited to see where I was at compared to last year.Monroe junior Jacie Hayes
Wahlert placed six of the top eight finishes, with Lake Mills senior Stacie Dressel winning the individual title.
Hayes said facing teams like Wahlert and Lake Mills help prepare her for the season ahead, and then for sectionals. The talent pool and teams at the Bruess are different than much of the normal schedule, and Hayes said it “keeps you on your toes.” This fall, Hayes is determined to get to the state meet, which means a good showing at sectionals in October.
“I’m trying to treat every meet like it is sectionals, so that way when sectionals does come around, I’m able to give it everything I’ve got and be really happy with the way it turns out,” Hayes said.
Monroe coach Scott Mosher was pleased Hayes’ race.
“It was really cool on the girls side to see Jacie come out and look really sharp. She beat a lot of really good runners from Lake Mills and Mount Horeb,” Mosher said.
Sophomore Sierra McGuire was the second Cheesemaker to cross the finish line, finishing 31st overall at 24:22.7. Jazmyn Mader (34th, 24:54.5), Ellery Bazley (41st, 25:50.4) and Bre Lambert (26.24.5) all scored points for Monroe.
“The home course is one where we take pride in doing well. This is one of the more challenging courses, and for the first meet of the year with it warm, some other coaches say this is the most challenging one. This sets the benchmarks and we’ll go out and see if we can improve as the year goes on,” Mosher said.
The climate conditions are something Mosher said is something to be expected — and that runners just simply have to adapt.
“We’re going to have hot days and we’re going to have cool days — it’s cross country in the fall in Wisconsin. You have to be ready for all of it,” Mosher said. “(The rain) slowed times down. But it’s a softer course then, and I think it makes it fun — you get a little muddy.”
Wahlert easily won the team title with 23 points, while Lake Mills (58) was second and Mount Horeb (79) third. Albany was fourth (114), led by a pair of freshmen: Linsey Mueller and McKenna Broughton. Mueller finished 12th overall at 22:43.3, while Broughton was 16th (22:52.6). Emileigh Dallman (24th, 13:52.0), Kaiya Zurfluh (27th, 24:03.9) and Kristin O’Bel (24:59.3) also scored points for the Comets.
We’re going to have hot days and we’re going to have cool days — it’s cross country in the fall in Wisconsin. You have to be ready for all of it. (The rain) slowed times down. But it’s a softer course then, and I think it makes it fun — you get a little muddy.Monroe coach Scott Mosher
New Glarus-Monticello was fifth (153) in the team standings, with three freshmen scoring for the Knights. Annika Ziperski (26th, 24:00.4), Tenley Faber (28th, 24:07.3) and Whitney Disch (33rd, 24:46.5) all finished well in their first varsity competition, while sophomore Dayna Karls was 30th overall (24:19.1) and senior Molly Molencamp was 36th (25:01.1).
“I liked our girls race. We have three freshman girls who are talented and untested,” said NGM coach Steve Wehrley. “The heat was a little much for them. But you noticed that Molly, our senior, and Dayna, our sophomore, took advantage of the pacing they know to do. And then I was delighted by our 6-7 (Dylan Noll and Alexa Thayer), who were 1-2 minutes faster than they were on our team time trials. Every coach would be happy to see their team drop 1-2 minutes.”
Monroe finished sixth (156), while Belleville was seventh (206), Beloit Turner eighth (213) and Saint Ambrose Academy ninth (252). Pecatonica-Argyle ran just two girls in the race, with Allie Godfrey finishing 59th (29:16.1) and Sydney Webster 66th (31:10.9).
