EAST TROY - Monroe boys cross country coach Dave Hirsbrunner rested the top five runners and the Cheesemakers finished sixth at the Ladish Invite in East Troy Thursday.
"By resting five guys, you kind of put yourself in a Catch-22," Hirsbrunner said. "The guys that move into varsity spots are taken away from the JV spots. That makes it harder to get a lower team score in both races. That was fine with us tonight. We weren't looking to try and win this meet. We were looking for some other positive outcomes and we basically achieved them."
Monroe sophomore Payton Hoesly led the Cheesemakers, finishing seventh with a time of 18 minutes, 38 seconds. Fellow sophomore Brian Schneider ran a 19:38 and junior Justin Helton finished at 20:02. A.J. Cifuentes (20:03), Cody Oudinot (20:18) and Travis Lehnherr (20:19) rounded out the top six for the Cheesemakers.
"Payton Hoesly has been coming on each and every meet," Hirsbrunner said. "Payton ran a gutty, smart race tonight. He never backed off and just kept pushing. He is making great progress every time out."
Hirsbrunner likes the competition the Cheesemakers have for a couple of extra varsity spots.
"Brian Schneider is another guy that is getting stronger and more confident every race," he said. "They (Payton and Brian) are two guys that we are really counting on. It's nice to see them experience success."
The Monroe junior varsity team finished second and was within four points of winning the 16 team invite. Jacob Gassman finished fifth to lead the Cheesemakers.
Monroe will run in the Badger Challenge Tuesday at Portage. The Cheesemakers have won the Badger Challenge five of the last nine years.
"By resting five guys, you kind of put yourself in a Catch-22," Hirsbrunner said. "The guys that move into varsity spots are taken away from the JV spots. That makes it harder to get a lower team score in both races. That was fine with us tonight. We weren't looking to try and win this meet. We were looking for some other positive outcomes and we basically achieved them."
Monroe sophomore Payton Hoesly led the Cheesemakers, finishing seventh with a time of 18 minutes, 38 seconds. Fellow sophomore Brian Schneider ran a 19:38 and junior Justin Helton finished at 20:02. A.J. Cifuentes (20:03), Cody Oudinot (20:18) and Travis Lehnherr (20:19) rounded out the top six for the Cheesemakers.
"Payton Hoesly has been coming on each and every meet," Hirsbrunner said. "Payton ran a gutty, smart race tonight. He never backed off and just kept pushing. He is making great progress every time out."
Hirsbrunner likes the competition the Cheesemakers have for a couple of extra varsity spots.
"Brian Schneider is another guy that is getting stronger and more confident every race," he said. "They (Payton and Brian) are two guys that we are really counting on. It's nice to see them experience success."
The Monroe junior varsity team finished second and was within four points of winning the 16 team invite. Jacob Gassman finished fifth to lead the Cheesemakers.
Monroe will run in the Badger Challenge Tuesday at Portage. The Cheesemakers have won the Badger Challenge five of the last nine years.
