MONROE — The Cheesemakers opened up the alternative fall cross country season with a home dual against Monona Grove March 27 at Twining Park.
“It was great to see kids racing again after nearly a year and a half since our last race,” Monroe coach Scott Mosher said. “We have a very young team with just two seniors (one boy and one girl).”
Monroe was missing several varsity runners due to spring break (six varsity runners between both boys and girls teams), but that opened opportunities for younger runners to get in on the action.
“It was so much fun to see our young runners get out and race. We’ve seen them in practice, but it’s a whole different thing to see them in a race,” Mosher said.
In the girls race, that meant the introduction of freshman Jadyn Elgin, who blew through the field and took first with a time of 21 minutes, 44 seconds — more than 40 seconds ahead of the next closest competitor, Peighton Nelson of Monona Grove.
“I thought she maybe went out a little fast, which shows competitiveness, but she fought and pulled away in the second half to win easily,” Mosher said.
The Silver Eagles did score with runners finishing 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 to win the dual.
“As a team the girls showed they can be competitive when at full strength. We were without 3 of our top 4 runners — throw them in the race and we would have been right there with MG, who is always a contender in the Badger Conference,” Mosher said.
Finishing second for Monroe was freshman Katrina Sathoff (25:07.3), with freshmen Marlies Brandli (26:59.7), Anna Polnow (27:15.5) and Aleigh Zettle (27:24.6) clumped together at 10, 11, and 12. Lauren Coppes, a sophomore and the team’s eldest competitor in the race, was 13th at 29:20.4.
“Katrina Sathoff looked great in her first ever cross country race. She actually, probably, looked too good, which means she can be a lot faster as she learns to race. The other freshmen — Anna Polnow and Marlies Brandli — also had outstanding first races and will only get faster going forward.”
On the boys side, Monona Grove’s Eli Traeder was first (17:26.4), with two teammates taking second and third. Monroe junior Lucas Sathoff was fourth overall (19:15.5).
“The boys were also very young and inexperienced, with just four returners running. Lucas Sathoff was our top runner and would have probably been faster if not for a bloody nose half way in,” Mosher said. “It couldn’t have been easy to breathe, and there was a lot of blood. We kept asking if he was okay, and he’d give the thumbs up. A lot of runners would have dropped out — it shows his determination and competitive drive.”
Monroe sophomore teammates Jared Bats (19:40.3) and Zander Slack (19:49.4) were fifth and sixth. Freshman Wyatt Stevenson was 11th in scoring (22:54.0), and classmate Cristian Gomez was 12th (26:25.9). Monroe sophomore AJ Fuchs was 13th (27:58.9, and freshman teammate Jacob Watson 14th (28:00.9).
“Jared Batz and Zander Slack are both sophomores and had a strong showing on a wet and difficult course,” Mosher said. “Wyatt Stevenson flashed some speed and toughness in his first race. It was exciting to see the young guys run and the potential going forward.”
