SPRING GREEN - It's hard not to admire the Darlington boys cross country squad's use of teamwork.
Take the strange journey of freshman Michael Sinclair's left shoe.
After a quagmire - formed Saturday morning on the Spring Green Municipal Golf Course by the steady rain and four previous races - grabbed hold of Sinclair's shoe, he wasn't too concerned about the lost footwear at first.
"I sort of thought, 'I need to keep running,' "said Sinclair, who finished eighth. "Then I realized about 100 yards later, that was my shoe with the (timing) chip on it."
The teamwork that reunited Sinclair with his shoe also is what helped the Redbirds cruise to the small schools team title at the River Valley Invitational. Darlington junior Jordan Heinberg finished second in 17 minutes, 17 seconds, as the Redbirds received top-10 finishes by all five of their scoring runners.
But back to that shoe.
Redbirds senior Taylor Wiegel liberated it ("It was buried almost to the top," Wiegel said) and passed it to freshman Kent Miehe, who was running alongside Sinclair. Kent Miehe, upon orders from his coach and father, Arnie, got rid of the shoe.
"Michael (made) like he was going to stop in the race (to put it on). I said, 'Get rid of that shoe!' "Arnie Miehe said. "I yelled at (Kent) and he just took it and threw it. Then one of the girls came over and said, 'Coach, that's the shoe with the chip in it.' Whoa, now we do have a problem."
So Wiegel picked up the shoe and made a mad dash across the course to reunite it with Sinclair. In the end, there were no repercussions - the finish line is equipped with video backup - as Sinclair clocked in at his proper place.
Albany senior Jake Lincicum won the small school individual title in 17:12.
Pecatonica-Argyle senior Elise Sigg claimed individual titles in the small school division.
Madison La Follette won the large school title. The Lancers swept first through third place behind senior Alex Brill (16:04), junior Abdou Seye (16:20) and senior Trevor Scharnke (16:43). Brill said every varsity race helps the team improve.
"Five of our top seven (runners') first (varsity) race was last week (at Verona)," Brill said. "Just the experience will help us keep improving."
Dodgeville-Mineral Point won the girl's large school team title, while Darlington swept both small school team titles. The Redbirds girls' team narrowly edged Boscobel 52-53 behind the third- and fourth-place finishes of senior Hana Miehe and junior Olivia Wedig. Darlington coach Arnie Miehe expects the scores with Boscobel to stay close.
"We beat (Boscobel) by 20 (points) last week and I told (the girls), 'It's going to get tight,' "Arnie Miehe said. "They're definitely one of the best in the state."
Take the strange journey of freshman Michael Sinclair's left shoe.
After a quagmire - formed Saturday morning on the Spring Green Municipal Golf Course by the steady rain and four previous races - grabbed hold of Sinclair's shoe, he wasn't too concerned about the lost footwear at first.
"I sort of thought, 'I need to keep running,' "said Sinclair, who finished eighth. "Then I realized about 100 yards later, that was my shoe with the (timing) chip on it."
The teamwork that reunited Sinclair with his shoe also is what helped the Redbirds cruise to the small schools team title at the River Valley Invitational. Darlington junior Jordan Heinberg finished second in 17 minutes, 17 seconds, as the Redbirds received top-10 finishes by all five of their scoring runners.
But back to that shoe.
Redbirds senior Taylor Wiegel liberated it ("It was buried almost to the top," Wiegel said) and passed it to freshman Kent Miehe, who was running alongside Sinclair. Kent Miehe, upon orders from his coach and father, Arnie, got rid of the shoe.
"Michael (made) like he was going to stop in the race (to put it on). I said, 'Get rid of that shoe!' "Arnie Miehe said. "I yelled at (Kent) and he just took it and threw it. Then one of the girls came over and said, 'Coach, that's the shoe with the chip in it.' Whoa, now we do have a problem."
So Wiegel picked up the shoe and made a mad dash across the course to reunite it with Sinclair. In the end, there were no repercussions - the finish line is equipped with video backup - as Sinclair clocked in at his proper place.
Albany senior Jake Lincicum won the small school individual title in 17:12.
Pecatonica-Argyle senior Elise Sigg claimed individual titles in the small school division.
Madison La Follette won the large school title. The Lancers swept first through third place behind senior Alex Brill (16:04), junior Abdou Seye (16:20) and senior Trevor Scharnke (16:43). Brill said every varsity race helps the team improve.
"Five of our top seven (runners') first (varsity) race was last week (at Verona)," Brill said. "Just the experience will help us keep improving."
Dodgeville-Mineral Point won the girl's large school team title, while Darlington swept both small school team titles. The Redbirds girls' team narrowly edged Boscobel 52-53 behind the third- and fourth-place finishes of senior Hana Miehe and junior Olivia Wedig. Darlington coach Arnie Miehe expects the scores with Boscobel to stay close.
"We beat (Boscobel) by 20 (points) last week and I told (the girls), 'It's going to get tight,' "Arnie Miehe said. "They're definitely one of the best in the state."
