MONROE — This year’s annual Monroe Bruess Invite had a different atmosphere, as former athletic director and cross country coach Clarence Bruess passed away in January. Although Bruess had retired from coaching years ago, he still attended the invite, stationed at the first and last turn of the course. While Bruess himself was not present, his spirit was alive in the presence of his wife, Mary Lou, and granddaughter.

“It definitely felt different this year not having Coach Bruess at the meet, but Mary Lou Bruess was there, as well as their young granddaughter who was running around watching and cheering,” Monroe head coach Scott Mosher said. 

Despite missing a large supporter, Monroe proved up to the task, as the JV teams won the team titles and had the individual champions. At the varsity level, the Hounds took third in the girls race and second in the boys. Sophomore Tre Dammen was third overall, nearly setting a PR.

Based on the early results, Mosher is excited to see how depth and talent will carry the Hounds the rest of the season.

“We are very excited about the start of the season and the depth to go along with our talent,” Mosher said. “We might have different varsity athletes at each meet, as they battle amongst each other for a top-7 spot. That is an awesome problem to have.”

New Glarus-Monticello won the girls race, 13 points ahead of Mount Horeb. The Knights’ five scorers finished within a minute and a half of each other, lead by Melanie Fink and Molly Olson in fourth and sixth overall, respectively.