WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Darlington senior Tyson Miehe held up one finger and then raised three fingers to signify a three-peat as the Redbirds won the WIAA Division 3 state title for the third straight year.
Miehe became just the fifth runner ever to win a third straight state title with a time of 15 minutes, 57.49 seconds Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Ridges Golf Course.
"There are very few people who have the opportunity to repeat three times," Miehe said. "It's a tremendous honor to repeat three times. You have to keep these things in perspective. There are a ton of really great runners who haven't had the opportunity."
Darlington edged Chequamegon 87-89 for the state team title. Darlington sophomore Jaden Komprood took ninth (16:37.33) and junior Thomas Schultz was 22nd (17:09.15). Komprood, who was an alternate on the state team last year, ran the second fastest time of each of the state runners the last three years.
Darlington coach Arnie Miehe hasn't seen his son Tyson finish a race because he has stayed on the course to cheer on the team. He was excited to share a golden moment after the race with Tyson.
"The pride you have as a coach doubles as a dad," Arnie Miehe said. "He (Tyson) has done so much to lift these younger guys up and make them believe. When his race was over, he could have gone off and celebrated. (Instead) he grabbed his teammates and waited for the results. The look in Tyson's eyes winning the team title was more important to him than the individual title.
"As a coach that is special. It's been a fun ride."
Darlington sophomore Sean Barbee finished 58th overall and 30th in the team scoring (17:52.52) and sophomore Blake Cwynar took 63rd and 33rd in the team scoring (18:04.80). Darlington freshman Conner Hackett didn't score for the team, but he took 64th overall and 34th in the team scoring (18:05.2).
"At the beginning of the year, the papers said something about a three-peat," Arnie Miehe said. "We had a lot of seniors on those teams the last two years. It really wasn't fair to mention something like that with younger kids."
Tyson Miehe was excited to see Cwynar pass two runners down the stretch.
"That was a huge difference," Tyson Miehe said. "At the last few meets, we have all ran solid. Everything came together at the right time and everyone did what they needed to do. There was a very small margin for error. I always said I wanted to go out the way the last two senior classes went out. Thankfully, everything worked out."
Darlington graduated five of its top seven runners from last year and Schultz started out having to recover from a dislocated kneecap. However, after the Redbirds' top five runners ran 1 minute faster combined as a team than the team from last year at the Marshall Invitational, Miehe was convinced.
"After that, I thought it was possible," Arnie Miehe said of a potential three-peat as state champions. "I thought we could contend for it. You had the real viable statistics to look at."
Albany had two of the top 30 runners at state. Albany junior Aaron Johnson, a two-time state qualifier, finished 25th (17:10.22) and junior teammate Brennan Bloedel was 29th (17:15.59). Albany sophomore Tyler Dahl finished 36th (17:24.17) in his first state meet.
The Darlington girls cross country team finished 12th at state. The Redbirds were led by freshman Paige Schilling who took 50th (16:34.77) and senior Claire Cullen who was 64th (16:42.56). Cullen had been the Redbirds' No. 1 runner all season until the state meet. It may signal a passing of the torch.
"It was a symbolic finish," Arnie Miehe said of Schilling finishing as the Redbirds' No. 1 runner. "It was like here is a new runner taking over."
Darlington junior Johanna Meister finished 78th (17:03.48) and senior Darby Fitzsimons was 99th (17:31.2). Senior Carly Reilly took 89th (18:33.91), but battled a side ache in the race.
"If that happens at conference we don't win and if that happens at the sectional, we are not at state," Arnie Miehe said. "Of the three biggest races, we would rather have it happen here. It didn't cost us anything. We finished 12th instead of probably eighth. I was proud of how we finished."
Miehe became just the fifth runner ever to win a third straight state title with a time of 15 minutes, 57.49 seconds Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Ridges Golf Course.
"There are very few people who have the opportunity to repeat three times," Miehe said. "It's a tremendous honor to repeat three times. You have to keep these things in perspective. There are a ton of really great runners who haven't had the opportunity."
Darlington edged Chequamegon 87-89 for the state team title. Darlington sophomore Jaden Komprood took ninth (16:37.33) and junior Thomas Schultz was 22nd (17:09.15). Komprood, who was an alternate on the state team last year, ran the second fastest time of each of the state runners the last three years.
Darlington coach Arnie Miehe hasn't seen his son Tyson finish a race because he has stayed on the course to cheer on the team. He was excited to share a golden moment after the race with Tyson.
"The pride you have as a coach doubles as a dad," Arnie Miehe said. "He (Tyson) has done so much to lift these younger guys up and make them believe. When his race was over, he could have gone off and celebrated. (Instead) he grabbed his teammates and waited for the results. The look in Tyson's eyes winning the team title was more important to him than the individual title.
"As a coach that is special. It's been a fun ride."
Darlington sophomore Sean Barbee finished 58th overall and 30th in the team scoring (17:52.52) and sophomore Blake Cwynar took 63rd and 33rd in the team scoring (18:04.80). Darlington freshman Conner Hackett didn't score for the team, but he took 64th overall and 34th in the team scoring (18:05.2).
"At the beginning of the year, the papers said something about a three-peat," Arnie Miehe said. "We had a lot of seniors on those teams the last two years. It really wasn't fair to mention something like that with younger kids."
Tyson Miehe was excited to see Cwynar pass two runners down the stretch.
"That was a huge difference," Tyson Miehe said. "At the last few meets, we have all ran solid. Everything came together at the right time and everyone did what they needed to do. There was a very small margin for error. I always said I wanted to go out the way the last two senior classes went out. Thankfully, everything worked out."
Darlington graduated five of its top seven runners from last year and Schultz started out having to recover from a dislocated kneecap. However, after the Redbirds' top five runners ran 1 minute faster combined as a team than the team from last year at the Marshall Invitational, Miehe was convinced.
"After that, I thought it was possible," Arnie Miehe said of a potential three-peat as state champions. "I thought we could contend for it. You had the real viable statistics to look at."
Albany had two of the top 30 runners at state. Albany junior Aaron Johnson, a two-time state qualifier, finished 25th (17:10.22) and junior teammate Brennan Bloedel was 29th (17:15.59). Albany sophomore Tyler Dahl finished 36th (17:24.17) in his first state meet.
The Darlington girls cross country team finished 12th at state. The Redbirds were led by freshman Paige Schilling who took 50th (16:34.77) and senior Claire Cullen who was 64th (16:42.56). Cullen had been the Redbirds' No. 1 runner all season until the state meet. It may signal a passing of the torch.
"It was a symbolic finish," Arnie Miehe said of Schilling finishing as the Redbirds' No. 1 runner. "It was like here is a new runner taking over."
Darlington junior Johanna Meister finished 78th (17:03.48) and senior Darby Fitzsimons was 99th (17:31.2). Senior Carly Reilly took 89th (18:33.91), but battled a side ache in the race.
"If that happens at conference we don't win and if that happens at the sectional, we are not at state," Arnie Miehe said. "Of the three biggest races, we would rather have it happen here. It didn't cost us anything. We finished 12th instead of probably eighth. I was proud of how we finished."
