WISCONSIN RAPIDS - It was a bittersweet ending for Monroe senior Nick Baumann at the WIAA Division 2 state meet Saturday at the Ridges Golf Course.
Baumann had a solid race, finishing 11th out of 152 runners at state with a time of 16 minutes, 32 seconds, but the Cheesemakers' bid to bring home a trophy came up just short. Lakeland edged Valders for the Division 2 state title 105-112. Monroe finished fourth (117), five points from finishing as the state runner-up and 12 points from winning a state title for the first time since 1979.
Only 13 points separated fifth-place Dodgeville-Mineral Point from first.
"It's as close of a state meet as I can ever remember," Monroe coach Scott Mosher said. "It hurts when you are so close because it shows how good of a team you are. They (the Cheesemaker runners) felt like they left everything out there they had. We wanted to be in the conversation and contention to win it and we were. I really think if we would have run the state meet five times there would have been a different winner each time."
Monroe junior Dylan Scace finished 21st overall, but seventh in the team results (16:50.18). With Baumann's third-place finish in the team results, the Cheesemakers scored 10 points from their top two runners, which was the best out of all the teams at state. However, Valders' No. 5 runner was 22 spots ahead of the Cheesemakers' fifth runner.
"We were probably the only team there that could get 10 points or less from their top two runners," Mosher said. "They did what they had to do. We knew they (Baumann and Scace) would put us in a good position from the get-go."
However, the state meet, like other cross country meets, takes the top five finishes from each school's seven runners to score the team results. Junior Drake Ingold took 24th (17:20.52) and sophomore Kyle Legler placed 27th (17:29.37). Junior teammate Jonah Tostrud took 56th (18:08.7). Valders edged the Cheesemakers based on the gap of their first runner to their fifth runner being much closer together.
"We wanted them to go out under control and not get too hyped up early on," Mosher said. "It came down to the top five times. Valders' top five times were really close."
With a portion of the course being water-logged from the rain, Mosher said the state course was adjusted and included a stretch of hills that made the race more challenging and slower.
"Some of the coaches said the course was running about 30 seconds slower," he said.
The Monroe boys will return four of its top five runners from this year's state meet next season.
"We looked at a lot of the other teams and they will have top runners coming back next year," Mosher said. Hopefully, this motivates them to run hard, work hard in the offseason and have a good track season."
Monroe junior Rachel Meier took 58th (20:50.89) out of 158 runners in the girls' Division 2 race. It marked Meier's first time competing at state.
"The first time you run at the state meet is a whole different animal," Mosher said. "It can be intimidating for people."
Mosher likes the way Meier attacked her first state meet.
"She went out controlled and really worked her way up a lot," Mosher said. "It was a great experience for her. I think getting that experience will help her for next year."
Baumann had a solid race, finishing 11th out of 152 runners at state with a time of 16 minutes, 32 seconds, but the Cheesemakers' bid to bring home a trophy came up just short. Lakeland edged Valders for the Division 2 state title 105-112. Monroe finished fourth (117), five points from finishing as the state runner-up and 12 points from winning a state title for the first time since 1979.
Only 13 points separated fifth-place Dodgeville-Mineral Point from first.
"It's as close of a state meet as I can ever remember," Monroe coach Scott Mosher said. "It hurts when you are so close because it shows how good of a team you are. They (the Cheesemaker runners) felt like they left everything out there they had. We wanted to be in the conversation and contention to win it and we were. I really think if we would have run the state meet five times there would have been a different winner each time."
Monroe junior Dylan Scace finished 21st overall, but seventh in the team results (16:50.18). With Baumann's third-place finish in the team results, the Cheesemakers scored 10 points from their top two runners, which was the best out of all the teams at state. However, Valders' No. 5 runner was 22 spots ahead of the Cheesemakers' fifth runner.
"We were probably the only team there that could get 10 points or less from their top two runners," Mosher said. "They did what they had to do. We knew they (Baumann and Scace) would put us in a good position from the get-go."
However, the state meet, like other cross country meets, takes the top five finishes from each school's seven runners to score the team results. Junior Drake Ingold took 24th (17:20.52) and sophomore Kyle Legler placed 27th (17:29.37). Junior teammate Jonah Tostrud took 56th (18:08.7). Valders edged the Cheesemakers based on the gap of their first runner to their fifth runner being much closer together.
"We wanted them to go out under control and not get too hyped up early on," Mosher said. "It came down to the top five times. Valders' top five times were really close."
With a portion of the course being water-logged from the rain, Mosher said the state course was adjusted and included a stretch of hills that made the race more challenging and slower.
"Some of the coaches said the course was running about 30 seconds slower," he said.
The Monroe boys will return four of its top five runners from this year's state meet next season.
"We looked at a lot of the other teams and they will have top runners coming back next year," Mosher said. Hopefully, this motivates them to run hard, work hard in the offseason and have a good track season."
Monroe junior Rachel Meier took 58th (20:50.89) out of 158 runners in the girls' Division 2 race. It marked Meier's first time competing at state.
"The first time you run at the state meet is a whole different animal," Mosher said. "It can be intimidating for people."
Mosher likes the way Meier attacked her first state meet.
"She went out controlled and really worked her way up a lot," Mosher said. "It was a great experience for her. I think getting that experience will help her for next year."
