MADISON - In a showdown with two of the state's top cross country teams, Monroe tied Madison West for the Madison West Invitational title Thursday, Sept. 12, but lost on a tiebreaker.
Both Monroe and Madison West finished with 56 points. Monroe, which is ranked fourth in the Division 2 state rankings, had four of the top 17 runners and tied the No. 1 Division 1 ranked Regents. Monroe senior Ethan Moehn finished the 5,000-meter run in third place with a time of 16 minutes, 32 seconds. Senior teammate Jake Hirsbrunner took fifth (16:39), senior Noah Tostrud finished seventh (16:43) and freshman Nick Baumann was 17th (17:10).
"Our program is thrilled to be this close to one of the best teams in the entire state of Wisconsin," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "This is a big statement race for the guys at this time of the season. I think we surprised West a little."
Hirsbrunner said Tostrud ran a superb race, setting a personal record by 31 seconds.
"This guy is loaded with talent and is just starting to tap into it," Hirsbrunner said of Tostrud. "He's a very fiery competitor and doesn't like to lose. Plus we have many others on the team this year that have that same mentality."
Monroe senior Trevor Blum finished 24th (17:21) and finished as the Cheesemakers' No. 5 runner. Both Blum and Baumann finished with PRs.
"The key will be keeping the teams healthy and continuing to race better and get faster," Hirsbrunner said.
The Monroe girls cross country team finished eighth out of 10 teams with 189 points. Madison West outdistanced Madison Edgewood for the team title 52-70.
The Cheesemakers were led by freshman Jordan Hirsbrunner who finished 23rd with a PR of 16:30 and junior Alyssa Dale who was 26th (16:44). Sophomore Kayla Einbeck took 42nd (17:17) and freshman Ciara Kaderly was 45th (17:24). Monroe senior Nicole Witt finished 53rd (17:36 to round out the top five for the Cheesemakers.
"As a varsity team, we ran much better than we did at our own invite," Hirsbrunner said. "We had four girls on our roster run their personal best."
Kaderly set a 21 second PR in her first varsity race.
"She's quite a competitor and doesn't back down to people," he said. "Hopefully we can continue to improve as the season goes on and we'll see where we stand at the conference meet."
Both Monroe and Madison West finished with 56 points. Monroe, which is ranked fourth in the Division 2 state rankings, had four of the top 17 runners and tied the No. 1 Division 1 ranked Regents. Monroe senior Ethan Moehn finished the 5,000-meter run in third place with a time of 16 minutes, 32 seconds. Senior teammate Jake Hirsbrunner took fifth (16:39), senior Noah Tostrud finished seventh (16:43) and freshman Nick Baumann was 17th (17:10).
"Our program is thrilled to be this close to one of the best teams in the entire state of Wisconsin," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "This is a big statement race for the guys at this time of the season. I think we surprised West a little."
Hirsbrunner said Tostrud ran a superb race, setting a personal record by 31 seconds.
"This guy is loaded with talent and is just starting to tap into it," Hirsbrunner said of Tostrud. "He's a very fiery competitor and doesn't like to lose. Plus we have many others on the team this year that have that same mentality."
Monroe senior Trevor Blum finished 24th (17:21) and finished as the Cheesemakers' No. 5 runner. Both Blum and Baumann finished with PRs.
"The key will be keeping the teams healthy and continuing to race better and get faster," Hirsbrunner said.
The Monroe girls cross country team finished eighth out of 10 teams with 189 points. Madison West outdistanced Madison Edgewood for the team title 52-70.
The Cheesemakers were led by freshman Jordan Hirsbrunner who finished 23rd with a PR of 16:30 and junior Alyssa Dale who was 26th (16:44). Sophomore Kayla Einbeck took 42nd (17:17) and freshman Ciara Kaderly was 45th (17:24). Monroe senior Nicole Witt finished 53rd (17:36 to round out the top five for the Cheesemakers.
"As a varsity team, we ran much better than we did at our own invite," Hirsbrunner said. "We had four girls on our roster run their personal best."
Kaderly set a 21 second PR in her first varsity race.
"She's quite a competitor and doesn't back down to people," he said. "Hopefully we can continue to improve as the season goes on and we'll see where we stand at the conference meet."
