STOUGHTON - The Monroe boys cross country team attempt to pick up its 21st conference title fell short Saturday.
The Cheesemakers finished fourth overall with 83 points, one point behind third place finisher Monona Grove. Fort Atkinson (64 points) won the meet and Madison Edgewood (75) took second.
"This meet kind of summed up our season," Monroe head coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "It was the first time this year we had our top guys running in the same race at the same time. We thought if we were healthy, we could contend for our 21st conference championship in school history. Well, we finally had everyone running, but we just couldn't take care of the healthy part."
According to Hirsbrunner, freshman runner Payton Hoesly sprained his foot prior to the race.
"I could tell 300 meters into the race by the look on his face that it wasn't going to happen. He was in severe pain the entire 5,000 meters. He never quit. He was our fourth runner last week and today he was our eighth. The pain was just a little too much," Hirsbrunner said.
Monroe's Dylan Starck had a highlight day, despite running through a nagging hip injury. The junior Cheesemaker finished in second place overall with a time of 17 minutes, 4 seconds - four seconds ahead of Stoughton's Riley Olson and 15 seconds behind champion Matt McKenna of Madison Edgewood.
"I am very proud of how (Starck) stepped up and competed. He was in a battle with two other guys for most of the race, then with about 800-1,000 meters to go it was just him and the Stoughton kid battling for second place," Hirsbrunner said. "I'll be honest, I was really wondering if it was going to be possible for Dylan to finish this high with the limited training he has been able to do. He deserves it."
Starck was joined on the all-conference team by sophomore teammate Joel Henry, who finished eighth overall with a time of 17:28. Luke Peterson (18:07) came in 17th place overall, Steve Christiansen (18:33) 26th, Justin Helton (18:52) 20th, Brandon Mortimer (18:57) 32nd and Jacob Gassman (19:15) 40th rounded out Monroe's varsity.
Monroe's junior varsity team finished second overall behind Fort Atkinson.
The Cheesemakers finished fourth overall with 83 points, one point behind third place finisher Monona Grove. Fort Atkinson (64 points) won the meet and Madison Edgewood (75) took second.
"This meet kind of summed up our season," Monroe head coach Dave Hirsbrunner said. "It was the first time this year we had our top guys running in the same race at the same time. We thought if we were healthy, we could contend for our 21st conference championship in school history. Well, we finally had everyone running, but we just couldn't take care of the healthy part."
According to Hirsbrunner, freshman runner Payton Hoesly sprained his foot prior to the race.
"I could tell 300 meters into the race by the look on his face that it wasn't going to happen. He was in severe pain the entire 5,000 meters. He never quit. He was our fourth runner last week and today he was our eighth. The pain was just a little too much," Hirsbrunner said.
Monroe's Dylan Starck had a highlight day, despite running through a nagging hip injury. The junior Cheesemaker finished in second place overall with a time of 17 minutes, 4 seconds - four seconds ahead of Stoughton's Riley Olson and 15 seconds behind champion Matt McKenna of Madison Edgewood.
"I am very proud of how (Starck) stepped up and competed. He was in a battle with two other guys for most of the race, then with about 800-1,000 meters to go it was just him and the Stoughton kid battling for second place," Hirsbrunner said. "I'll be honest, I was really wondering if it was going to be possible for Dylan to finish this high with the limited training he has been able to do. He deserves it."
Starck was joined on the all-conference team by sophomore teammate Joel Henry, who finished eighth overall with a time of 17:28. Luke Peterson (18:07) came in 17th place overall, Steve Christiansen (18:33) 26th, Justin Helton (18:52) 20th, Brandon Mortimer (18:57) 32nd and Jacob Gassman (19:15) 40th rounded out Monroe's varsity.
Monroe's junior varsity team finished second overall behind Fort Atkinson.
