PLATTEVILLE - Both the Darlington boys and girls cross country teams ran to small school championships at the Platteville Invitational Saturday.
The Darlington boys cross country team had four of the top six runners in the small school division to run away with the team title 29-78 over SWAL rival Boscobel. Lancaster finished third (94), Brookwood took fourth (115) and Albany was fifth (145) in the 11-team field.
Darlington junior Jaden Komprood finished second with a time of 16 minutes, 43.7 seconds, which was about 30 seconds behind champion Dakota Kauffman of Boscobel (16:13.4). Darlington senior Thomas Schultz finished third (16:53.4), sophomore Conner Hackett took fifth (17:27.8) followed by junior teammate Sean Barbee who was sixth (17:31.6). The Redbirds are the three-time defending Division 3 state champions and they look to be a contender for a title again.
"If you have your third and fourth runner finishing ahead of a lot of other teams No. 3 runners it puts you in good shape with that depth," Darlington coach Arnie Miehe said. "Knowing you have that depth and knowing that different guys will step up really takes the pressure off. The guys have ran really well and are having a really good year."
In the small school girls' division, Darlington edged Lancaster 53-58 for the team championship. The Monroe girls cross country team finished fourth in the large schools division (130), which was just seven points behind Badger South Conference rival Madison Edgewood. Edgewood senior Amy Davis won the race with a time of 18:04.7. McFarland outdistanced Dodgeville-Mineral Point 50-57 to win the 14-team title.
"Fourth place in this field was a great finish," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "We had three girls run personal bests and several others were right on the fringe. The girls competed hard and finished well. They have been finishing off races very nicely all year long."
The Monroe boys took fifth place (119), but struggled with the weather conditions. McFarland clipped Edgewood 72-77 to win the 14-team large schools championship. New Glarus-Monticello took seventh (187) and Brodhead-Juda was ninth (251).
"The weather conditions were not ideal to say the least and we feel a few of our kids let it get to them," Hirsbrunner said. "We talk about the little things like that quite a bit and it's disappointing to see it affect us. As a group, our varsity boys definitely did not step up and compete against the main teams that are standing in our path for a trip to state. We are going to really have to do some soul searching in the next few weeks if we are going to give them a run in late October."
Monroe sophomore Ciara Kaderly finished eighth place in the large school division girls race (20:10.3). New Glarus-Monticello senior Bri Roska took 17th (20:52) and Brodhead-Juda junior Taylor Bluemel was 18th (20:54.1).
Monroe senior Elise Rossing took 23rd (21:11.1), senior teammate Alyssa Dale finished 31st (21:49.7) and sophomore Jordan Hirsbrunner was 33rd (21:52.7). Freshman teammate Rachel Meier took 39th (22:10.4).
In the small school girls race, Albany freshman Emma Guenther finished third place (19:51) to lead the Comets. Darlington senior Johanna Meister took sixth (21:19.4) and freshman teammate Reghan Komprood was seventh (21:21.4) to lead the Redbirds. Komprood ran in her first race since suffering a lower leg injury.
"We thought it was a stress fracture, but it wasn't," Miehe said of Komprood. "We knew she would be in our top five, but we didn't know where. It was a pleasant surprise to see her finish near the top. We thought if she could finish near the top we could compete with Boscobel and Lancaster."
Darlington sophomore Paige Schilling finished 11th (21:41.9), freshman Emma Crist took 14th (22:01.2) and freshman Erin Wolf was 23rd (22:42.7). With four of its top five runners freshmen and sophomores, Darlington's future looks bright.
"Johanna, Paige, Emma and Erin really stepped up for us," Miehe said. "It will be a tight race at the sectional for state."
Albany junior Sydnee Woyak finished eighth (21:25.7), teammate Lauren Blumer was 39th (24:07.7) and freshman teammate Madeline Halverson was 47th (25:54.3), but the Comets didn't have enough runners to score as a team.
Pecatonica-Argyle's Samantha Erickson took 38th to lead the Vikings with a time of 24:01.1. Sophomore teammate Josie Penniston took 41st (24:16) and junior Hannah James was 42nd (24:19.6).
The Darlington boys weren't the only team that turned in some strong performances in Platteville.
Madison Edgewood senior Morgan O'Flahrity won the large school boys' race (16:32.5). The top local runner was New Glarus-Monticello senior John Zuber (17:48.8). Monroe senior Jeremy Miller took 18th (17:50.7) to lead the Cheesemakers. Monroe junior Derek Christiansen finished 20th (17:58) and sophomore Parker Ingold was 21st (17:59.6).
New Glarus-Monticello sophomore Kyle Fredrickson finished 23rd (18:08.2) and Monroe freshman Dylan Scace was 24th (18:11.1). Brodhead-Juda junior Peter Speckman took 29th (18:24.1) to lead the Cardinals.
New Glarus-Monticello senior Dylan Beckwith finished 34th (18:31.2) and Monroe sophomore Ryan Peterson took 36th (18:39.2) to round out the top five for the Cheesemakers. The other top runners for the Cardinals included senior C.J. Hack who took 41st (18:56.7) and sophomore teammate Blake Burns who was 44th (19:01.7) out of 96 runners.
Other top finishes in the boys' small school division include Albany junior Tyler Dahl who took eighth place (17:52) to lead the Comets and sophomore teammate Isaac Halverson took 25th (18:50.4). The Comets kept their top two runners out of the race - seniors Aaron Johnson and Brennan Bloedel. Albany sophomore teammate Connor Trow finished 27th (18:56.8), sophomore Jacob Elmer took 40th (19:49.9) and sophomore Travis Oliver was 45th (19:58.3).
The Darlington boys cross country team had four of the top six runners in the small school division to run away with the team title 29-78 over SWAL rival Boscobel. Lancaster finished third (94), Brookwood took fourth (115) and Albany was fifth (145) in the 11-team field.
Darlington junior Jaden Komprood finished second with a time of 16 minutes, 43.7 seconds, which was about 30 seconds behind champion Dakota Kauffman of Boscobel (16:13.4). Darlington senior Thomas Schultz finished third (16:53.4), sophomore Conner Hackett took fifth (17:27.8) followed by junior teammate Sean Barbee who was sixth (17:31.6). The Redbirds are the three-time defending Division 3 state champions and they look to be a contender for a title again.
"If you have your third and fourth runner finishing ahead of a lot of other teams No. 3 runners it puts you in good shape with that depth," Darlington coach Arnie Miehe said. "Knowing you have that depth and knowing that different guys will step up really takes the pressure off. The guys have ran really well and are having a really good year."
In the small school girls' division, Darlington edged Lancaster 53-58 for the team championship. The Monroe girls cross country team finished fourth in the large schools division (130), which was just seven points behind Badger South Conference rival Madison Edgewood. Edgewood senior Amy Davis won the race with a time of 18:04.7. McFarland outdistanced Dodgeville-Mineral Point 50-57 to win the 14-team title.
"Fourth place in this field was a great finish," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "We had three girls run personal bests and several others were right on the fringe. The girls competed hard and finished well. They have been finishing off races very nicely all year long."
The Monroe boys took fifth place (119), but struggled with the weather conditions. McFarland clipped Edgewood 72-77 to win the 14-team large schools championship. New Glarus-Monticello took seventh (187) and Brodhead-Juda was ninth (251).
"The weather conditions were not ideal to say the least and we feel a few of our kids let it get to them," Hirsbrunner said. "We talk about the little things like that quite a bit and it's disappointing to see it affect us. As a group, our varsity boys definitely did not step up and compete against the main teams that are standing in our path for a trip to state. We are going to really have to do some soul searching in the next few weeks if we are going to give them a run in late October."
Monroe sophomore Ciara Kaderly finished eighth place in the large school division girls race (20:10.3). New Glarus-Monticello senior Bri Roska took 17th (20:52) and Brodhead-Juda junior Taylor Bluemel was 18th (20:54.1).
Monroe senior Elise Rossing took 23rd (21:11.1), senior teammate Alyssa Dale finished 31st (21:49.7) and sophomore Jordan Hirsbrunner was 33rd (21:52.7). Freshman teammate Rachel Meier took 39th (22:10.4).
In the small school girls race, Albany freshman Emma Guenther finished third place (19:51) to lead the Comets. Darlington senior Johanna Meister took sixth (21:19.4) and freshman teammate Reghan Komprood was seventh (21:21.4) to lead the Redbirds. Komprood ran in her first race since suffering a lower leg injury.
"We thought it was a stress fracture, but it wasn't," Miehe said of Komprood. "We knew she would be in our top five, but we didn't know where. It was a pleasant surprise to see her finish near the top. We thought if she could finish near the top we could compete with Boscobel and Lancaster."
Darlington sophomore Paige Schilling finished 11th (21:41.9), freshman Emma Crist took 14th (22:01.2) and freshman Erin Wolf was 23rd (22:42.7). With four of its top five runners freshmen and sophomores, Darlington's future looks bright.
"Johanna, Paige, Emma and Erin really stepped up for us," Miehe said. "It will be a tight race at the sectional for state."
Albany junior Sydnee Woyak finished eighth (21:25.7), teammate Lauren Blumer was 39th (24:07.7) and freshman teammate Madeline Halverson was 47th (25:54.3), but the Comets didn't have enough runners to score as a team.
Pecatonica-Argyle's Samantha Erickson took 38th to lead the Vikings with a time of 24:01.1. Sophomore teammate Josie Penniston took 41st (24:16) and junior Hannah James was 42nd (24:19.6).
The Darlington boys weren't the only team that turned in some strong performances in Platteville.
Madison Edgewood senior Morgan O'Flahrity won the large school boys' race (16:32.5). The top local runner was New Glarus-Monticello senior John Zuber (17:48.8). Monroe senior Jeremy Miller took 18th (17:50.7) to lead the Cheesemakers. Monroe junior Derek Christiansen finished 20th (17:58) and sophomore Parker Ingold was 21st (17:59.6).
New Glarus-Monticello sophomore Kyle Fredrickson finished 23rd (18:08.2) and Monroe freshman Dylan Scace was 24th (18:11.1). Brodhead-Juda junior Peter Speckman took 29th (18:24.1) to lead the Cardinals.
New Glarus-Monticello senior Dylan Beckwith finished 34th (18:31.2) and Monroe sophomore Ryan Peterson took 36th (18:39.2) to round out the top five for the Cheesemakers. The other top runners for the Cardinals included senior C.J. Hack who took 41st (18:56.7) and sophomore teammate Blake Burns who was 44th (19:01.7) out of 96 runners.
Other top finishes in the boys' small school division include Albany junior Tyler Dahl who took eighth place (17:52) to lead the Comets and sophomore teammate Isaac Halverson took 25th (18:50.4). The Comets kept their top two runners out of the race - seniors Aaron Johnson and Brennan Bloedel. Albany sophomore teammate Connor Trow finished 27th (18:56.8), sophomore Jacob Elmer took 40th (19:49.9) and sophomore Travis Oliver was 45th (19:58.3).
