ALBANY — Monroe boys, led by sophomore Tre Dammen, won the large school division at the 30th annual Baertschi Invite on Saturday, Oct. 7. The Cheesemakers spent just one week off the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association (WCCCA) poll, before returning at the No. 12 spot in Division 2 on Week 6.
“The boys continue to attack courses like they are mad at them, and it’s so much fun to watch,” Monroe head coach Scott Mosher said. “They all continue to compete hard and improve on their times.”
Dammen led the entire pack — large and small school runners — through the first mile before Belleville’s Carter Scholey caught up led the rest of the way. Despite falling to fourth overall, Dammen won the large school boys race with a sub-17-minute time. Hound teammate Wyatt Stevenson came in at third.
“Tre Dammen was the large school champion and broke 17 minutes on a very challenging course,” Mosher said. “Wyatt Stevenson also ran well and looks like he’s turned a corner with his racing and ready to end his season on a high note.”
Despite winning the small school boys race, Scholey and the rest of his Wildcat team finished seventh overall. Fennimore, ranked No. 2 in Division 3, won the meet with three runners in the top 10.
On the girls side, Mount Horeb’s Abigail Sadler won the large school girls race nearly 40 full seconds ahead of teammate Willa Vigliotta. With a third runner in the top 10, the Vikings won the large school division with 64 points. Mount Horeb girls are currently ranked No. 16 in Division 2.
New Glarus-Monticello girls, ranked No. 6 in Division 2, took second. Senior Melanie Fink, who was second for the Knights, noted that the Baertschi meet is one she looks forward to every year.
“The Albany meet has always been one of my favorite meets because of the fall atmosphere and pretty trails,” Fink said. “This year, it did not disappoint, and running by the river was beautiful.”
Darlington girls, ranked No. 1 in Division 3, took second behind the Home School Eagles. The Redbirds were without their top runner, Adalee Berget.
“Our focus going into the girls race was to run conservatively at the beginning and give a strong effort in the second half of the race,” Darlington head coach Kent Miehe said. “I thought the girls ran smart, and they all came away feeling strong and confident. They’re in a great spot mentally and physically going into the conference championships next week.”
Many other teams used the Baertschi as a stepping stone for their upcoming conference meets, including Brodhead-Juda.
“We had some good individual performances [Kalena Riemer and Nathan Engen] and it was a good tune up for us before the conference meet,” Brodhead-Juda head coach Curt Gratz said.
Brodhead-Juda and Monroe travel to UW-Whitewater for the Rock Valley Conference meet on Thursday, Oct. 12. The SWAL meet, which has Albany, Darlington and Pecatonica-Argyle, takes place at Iowa-Grant High School on Thursday, Oct. 12. The Capitol Conference meet, with NGM in attendance, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Belleville High School.
