DARLINGTON - For Darlington sophomore Jaden Komprood and senior Thomas Schultz, the Darlington Invitational served as a chance to prove that the Redbirds will remain a contender for another state berth even without their No. 1 runner from last year.
Komprood finished second at the Darlington Invite Saturday with a time of 16 minutes, 55.8 seconds and Schultz took third (17:03.5) to propel the Redbirds to the team championship 47-73 over second-place Monroe.
"The last few years we have had Tyson (Miehe) as our top runner," Schultz said. "We wanted to show that we have more top runners. It means so much to prove that we have other top runners. We had to prove to ourselves that we could come together and do this."
Boscobel junior Dakota Kauffman won the 5,000-meter race with a time of 16:38.4, which was about 30 seconds faster than his time at the same meet last year. The Redbirds had five runners in the top 20. Darlington sophomore Connor Hackett finished 12th (18:00.6), junior Blake Cwynar took 17th (18:17.7) and junior Sean Barbee was 19th (18:20.1).
"Thomas and I wanted to run together because it would motivate us and make us run harder," Komprood said. "We knew Dakota is a great runner. We wanted to focus on the team and pushing each other to the finish."
Darlington coach Arnie Miehe was excited to see the finish after the Redbirds were edged for the title last year by Mount Horeb by one point.
"It shows that they have matured," Miehe said. "To see them step up into different roles and get it done is satisfying as a coach."
Albany senior Aaron Johnson, after coming within a blink of an eye within winning the Bruess Invitational in Monroe, took fifth (17:25.8). Monroe senior Jeremy Miller continued his strong start to the season finishing seventh (17:43.2) and junior Derek Christiansen took 15th (18:16.4) and sophomore Parker Ingold was 16th with a personal-record time of 18:16.5.
"Our focus was more of a workout mentality with a few guys working on some of their weaker racing traits," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "Overall, the guys performed very well. We wanted to see where we stood with Dodgeville and we ended up beating them. They are a quality team that is going to be one of the big obstacles in our way if we want to earn a trip to state this year."
Miller is looking to finish each race stronger.
"I wanted to finish better on my last 800," Miller said. "I didn't have as good of a kick as I wanted. We will need all the practice we can get before conference and Edgewood. We are a young team. We just need experience right now."
Monroe freshman Dylan Scace finished 21st (18:38.1) and senior teammate Justin Batz took 25th (18:44.4).
"Dylan Scace had one of the biggest breakout races of anyone on our team," Hirsbrunner said. "He broke his time from last week by over 30 seconds on a much tougher course. This kid has a ton of upside. He has no idea just what he's doing yet and is a very tough competitor on the course."
Albany junior Tyler Dahl took 14th (18:14.8) and sophomore Isaac Halverson was 36th to help the Comets finish fifth as a team (118). Albany sophomores Jacob Elmer took 42nd (19:30.8) and Connor Trow was 49th (19:42.5). The Comets are still running without two of their top five runners - seniors Brennan Bloedel and Josh Little due to undisclosed reasons.
Miehe is looking forward to Komprood and Schultz connecting in many more races.
"They really don't run against each other," he said of Komprood and Schultz. "When you have two guys from the same team picking people off it just gives you a shot of confidence. I will see them hooking up to run many more times. Hopefully, they will hook up and then it will be a good day for Darlington."
Komprood finished second at the Darlington Invite Saturday with a time of 16 minutes, 55.8 seconds and Schultz took third (17:03.5) to propel the Redbirds to the team championship 47-73 over second-place Monroe.
"The last few years we have had Tyson (Miehe) as our top runner," Schultz said. "We wanted to show that we have more top runners. It means so much to prove that we have other top runners. We had to prove to ourselves that we could come together and do this."
Boscobel junior Dakota Kauffman won the 5,000-meter race with a time of 16:38.4, which was about 30 seconds faster than his time at the same meet last year. The Redbirds had five runners in the top 20. Darlington sophomore Connor Hackett finished 12th (18:00.6), junior Blake Cwynar took 17th (18:17.7) and junior Sean Barbee was 19th (18:20.1).
"Thomas and I wanted to run together because it would motivate us and make us run harder," Komprood said. "We knew Dakota is a great runner. We wanted to focus on the team and pushing each other to the finish."
Darlington coach Arnie Miehe was excited to see the finish after the Redbirds were edged for the title last year by Mount Horeb by one point.
"It shows that they have matured," Miehe said. "To see them step up into different roles and get it done is satisfying as a coach."
Albany senior Aaron Johnson, after coming within a blink of an eye within winning the Bruess Invitational in Monroe, took fifth (17:25.8). Monroe senior Jeremy Miller continued his strong start to the season finishing seventh (17:43.2) and junior Derek Christiansen took 15th (18:16.4) and sophomore Parker Ingold was 16th with a personal-record time of 18:16.5.
"Our focus was more of a workout mentality with a few guys working on some of their weaker racing traits," Monroe coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "Overall, the guys performed very well. We wanted to see where we stood with Dodgeville and we ended up beating them. They are a quality team that is going to be one of the big obstacles in our way if we want to earn a trip to state this year."
Miller is looking to finish each race stronger.
"I wanted to finish better on my last 800," Miller said. "I didn't have as good of a kick as I wanted. We will need all the practice we can get before conference and Edgewood. We are a young team. We just need experience right now."
Monroe freshman Dylan Scace finished 21st (18:38.1) and senior teammate Justin Batz took 25th (18:44.4).
"Dylan Scace had one of the biggest breakout races of anyone on our team," Hirsbrunner said. "He broke his time from last week by over 30 seconds on a much tougher course. This kid has a ton of upside. He has no idea just what he's doing yet and is a very tough competitor on the course."
Albany junior Tyler Dahl took 14th (18:14.8) and sophomore Isaac Halverson was 36th to help the Comets finish fifth as a team (118). Albany sophomores Jacob Elmer took 42nd (19:30.8) and Connor Trow was 49th (19:42.5). The Comets are still running without two of their top five runners - seniors Brennan Bloedel and Josh Little due to undisclosed reasons.
Miehe is looking forward to Komprood and Schultz connecting in many more races.
"They really don't run against each other," he said of Komprood and Schultz. "When you have two guys from the same team picking people off it just gives you a shot of confidence. I will see them hooking up to run many more times. Hopefully, they will hook up and then it will be a good day for Darlington."
