G-E-T cross country start season at Gale Johnson Kick-Off meet
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau’s AJ Parker (above) finished 26th and Sam Ruiter (below) was 14th at the cross country team’s season-opening race at Maple Grove Venues in West Salem on Saturday. (Times photographs by Benjamin Pierce
The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School cross country team started the 2021 season on Saturday at the Gale Johnson Kick-Off Meet at Maple Grove Venues in West Salem.
Two runners finished inside the boys top 20 for the sixth place Red Hawks, who were led by a 14th place finish from junior Sam Ruiter. The junior ran the 5,000-meter course in 18 minutes, 54 seconds.
Just behind Ruiter — with a time of 19:07.4 — came senior Carter Gold, good for 16th place. Manny Putz of Onalaska won the race in 17:05.7, and the Hilltoppers won the event as a team, too.
Other G-E-T runners included senior Evan Burmeister, who finished 30th in 20:01.02, Collin Handke (37th, 20:23.6) and sophomore Xander Burmeister (42nd, 20:33.4). Senior Lance Jumbeck finished 47th (20:58.8) and freshman Oliver Marley was 52nd (21:16.8).
Onalaska had the top four runners in the meet as they scored 18 points. West Salem was second with 87 points followed by Holmen, 100; New Richmond, 110; Boscobel, 122; G-E-T, 134; Wisconsin Dells, 194; La Crosse Central, 215; Sparta, 251 and Augusta, 256.
The G-E-T girls placed seventh. Boscobel won the event with five girls finishing in the top 20. New Richmond freshman Marah Benedict took first in 20:51.03.
Sophomore AJ Parker led the Red Hawks with a time of 24:02.9, good for 26th place. Other runners inside the top 35 included senior Hannah Siegler (31st, 24:17.9) and freshman Delilah Boberg (33rd, 24:30.6). Breann Harris finished 38th (24:48.9) followed by Avali Bratberg (43rd, 25:15.4), Quinn Wenthe (57th, 26:54.8) and Halene Dejager (58th, 26:58.4).
Boscobel scored 54 points followed by New Richmond, 79; Holmen, 100; Onalaska, 100; West Salem, 113; La Crosse Central, 127; G-E-T, 171; Wisconsin Dells, 194; Augusta, 203 and Sparta, 255.
G-E-T continues competition Sept. 2 with an invitational meet at Cochrane-Fountain City High School.
