MONROE - Time and success can heal a lot of wounds.
For Monroe senior Dylan Starck and New Glarus-Monticello sophomore Ryan McCoy, the Bruess Invitational was a chance to get back running the 5,000-meters after overcoming injuries from last year.
Starck, who battled a hip injury from last year, finished sixth with a time of 17 minutes, 47 seconds and the Cheesemakers placed five runners in the top 14 to win the Bruess Invite 54-68 over Wahlert at a muggy Twining Park Tuesday. Starck dealt with heat exhaustion during and after the race.
"Coming into the finish with all the fans screaming, I was just dying," Starck said. "I just had to run my guts out. I just had to finish the race so I could collapse."
McCoy, who had his track season cut short last spring by a fibula stress fracture, finished second (17:15) behind Tri State Home senior Joshua Mirth who won the race with a time of 16:53.
"Finally, running again feels good after a disappointing track season," McCoy said. "I had to take half the summer off. It feels good to be competing again. It's a little disappointing. I wanted to run a faster time than I did."
When Mirth made a move at the two-mile mark, Starck and McCoy couldn't respond.
"I knew I had to go out at a decent pace," Starck said. "At the alumni meet, I went out kind of fast. Coming up around the creek and the hill, I knew I had to make my move. I got a little wheezy and dizzy. We had a runner in practice blackout earlier. I thought how can some guy even do that to himself. I guess I figured it out today."
Monroe boys cross country coach Dave Hirsbrunner was impressed with how Starck overcame adversity.
"We are just happy he was able to complete a 5K," Hirsbrunner said. "It's been a long time since he has run a 5K. He showed a lot of determination. You can't say enough about him when he was finishing the race in that state."
McCoy wanted to make a strong finish out of it, but he couldn't.
"I just didn't have anything left," he said. "I need to go on some more longer runs."
Monroe junior Luke Peterson finished 10th (17:59), sophomore Steve Christiansen took 11th (18:02), junior Joel Henry was 13th (18:08) and freshman Ethan Moehn was 14th (18:10).
"It's much better than anticipated," Hirsbrunner said. "I kept telling my colleagues that this is a great and exciting team because I don't know what to expect because there are a lot of unknowns."
New Glarus-Monticello finished third (89) as a team, Pecatonica-Argyle was sixth (175) and Albany was 10th (254) out of 12 teams. New Glarus-Monticello sophomore Alexander Yeiser finished eighth (17:50) and junior Wesley Morgan was 16th (18:11) for the Knights. The Vikings had two runners in the top 12 led by junior Cameron Colson who was ninth (17:55) and senior Chris James who finished 12th (18:03). Albany senior Drew Mather was the top finisher for the Comets as he took 17th (18:12).
For Monroe senior Dylan Starck and New Glarus-Monticello sophomore Ryan McCoy, the Bruess Invitational was a chance to get back running the 5,000-meters after overcoming injuries from last year.
Starck, who battled a hip injury from last year, finished sixth with a time of 17 minutes, 47 seconds and the Cheesemakers placed five runners in the top 14 to win the Bruess Invite 54-68 over Wahlert at a muggy Twining Park Tuesday. Starck dealt with heat exhaustion during and after the race.
"Coming into the finish with all the fans screaming, I was just dying," Starck said. "I just had to run my guts out. I just had to finish the race so I could collapse."
McCoy, who had his track season cut short last spring by a fibula stress fracture, finished second (17:15) behind Tri State Home senior Joshua Mirth who won the race with a time of 16:53.
"Finally, running again feels good after a disappointing track season," McCoy said. "I had to take half the summer off. It feels good to be competing again. It's a little disappointing. I wanted to run a faster time than I did."
When Mirth made a move at the two-mile mark, Starck and McCoy couldn't respond.
"I knew I had to go out at a decent pace," Starck said. "At the alumni meet, I went out kind of fast. Coming up around the creek and the hill, I knew I had to make my move. I got a little wheezy and dizzy. We had a runner in practice blackout earlier. I thought how can some guy even do that to himself. I guess I figured it out today."
Monroe boys cross country coach Dave Hirsbrunner was impressed with how Starck overcame adversity.
"We are just happy he was able to complete a 5K," Hirsbrunner said. "It's been a long time since he has run a 5K. He showed a lot of determination. You can't say enough about him when he was finishing the race in that state."
McCoy wanted to make a strong finish out of it, but he couldn't.
"I just didn't have anything left," he said. "I need to go on some more longer runs."
Monroe junior Luke Peterson finished 10th (17:59), sophomore Steve Christiansen took 11th (18:02), junior Joel Henry was 13th (18:08) and freshman Ethan Moehn was 14th (18:10).
"It's much better than anticipated," Hirsbrunner said. "I kept telling my colleagues that this is a great and exciting team because I don't know what to expect because there are a lot of unknowns."
New Glarus-Monticello finished third (89) as a team, Pecatonica-Argyle was sixth (175) and Albany was 10th (254) out of 12 teams. New Glarus-Monticello sophomore Alexander Yeiser finished eighth (17:50) and junior Wesley Morgan was 16th (18:11) for the Knights. The Vikings had two runners in the top 12 led by junior Cameron Colson who was ninth (17:55) and senior Chris James who finished 12th (18:03). Albany senior Drew Mather was the top finisher for the Comets as he took 17th (18:12).
