Area runners fall short of D3 state XC meet

The cross country season came to an end for the Blair-Taylor, Independence/Gilmanton, and Whitehall athletes as they fell short of qualifying for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Championships on Saturday.

All three teams competed in the Division Three Colby Sectional, but the competition proved to be stiff. The top two teams and five individuals not on those teams advanced. The girls’ competition was unique because none of the first eight finishers were on qualifying teams. 

Independence/Gilmanton junior Allie Sylla qualified for the state meet last year but finished 10th in the sectional this season with a time of 21:03. She would’ve needed to crack the top five to qualify for the state meet this year as each of the top five runners qualified individually. 

Melrose-Mindoro freshman Taylor Laufenberg won the individual championship with a time of 19:34, about 11 seconds better than Cochrane-Fountain City’s Paxtyn Duellman. C-FC’s Kinley Arneson was third in 19:47, followed by Bangor’s Kenli Gollnick (19:51) and Pittsville’s Phoenix Losivski (19:56). 

Auburndale won the meet with 99 points, followed by Stanley-Boyd’s 111. I/G finished seventh with 173 points. Sophia Kampa wasn’t far behind Sylla, finishing 16th in a time of 21:55 and Anna Kent was 26th in 22:20. Paige Pronschinske finished 62nd (24:57) and Shawnna Whitewater was 99th (29:04). 

Whitehall was 15th in the team standings as Lexi Kurth was the team’s top runner, finishing 89th with a time of 27:32. Anna Kurth was 96th (28:36), followed by Natalie Herber (101st, 29:12), Marisol Guzman (110th, 32:59), and Symphony Hass (114th, 36:56). 

Jadrean Borreson led B-T by finishing 53rd overall with a time of 24:25, Alexandria Jorgenson was 100th in 29:06, and Aleah Polege finished 108th with a time of 32:01. 

The I/G boys were the top-finishing area team, taking 10th, while Blair-Taylor was 14th and Whitehall was 16th.

Freshman Stian Howard led the Indees and took 27th overall with a time of 19:10. Haydan Harz was second on the team and 52nd overall (20:19), followed by Carson Klimek (72nd, 21:28), James Wolfe (76th, 21:57), Maddox Pronschinske (77th, 21:58), Jordan Boncimino (97th, 23:23), and Jurgen Fankhauser (114th, 28:21). 

Caiden Lien was 45th overall to lead Blair-Taylor with a time of 20:00. Landen Kidd was second on the team and 51st overall (20:17), followed by Jeremiah Oestreich (88th, 22:39), Aaron Pabst (103rd, 23:44), Owen Sims (110th, 25:01), and Harley Sweet (111th, 25:16). All of B-T’s top four runners are either freshmen or sophomores. 

Freshman Alam Sandoval led Whitehall and finished 75th overall (21:48). Christopher Mann was 80th in 22:17, followed by Gage Garbers (84th, 22:36), Colby Santos (112th, 25:25), Neymar Maldonado (113th, 25:26), and Weston Stenulson (116th, 30:58). 

Marathon won the team competition with 29 points, and Stratford finished with 76, well ahead of third-place Onalaska Luther’s 151. Marathon had the top two runners in the race. The final individual qualifier was John Smit of Stanley-Boyd, who finished eighth with a time of 17:55.