I/G’s Sylla sisters advance to state meet

Independence/Gilmanton’s Taylor Sylla will return to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Cross Country Championships, and this year she’ll have company.

Sylla finished eighth in the state meet held at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids last year and will return to the same course this Saturday, this time joined by sister Allie Sylla. Both advanced from the WIAA Division Three Durand Sectional on Saturday where Taylor, a senior, finished fifth and Allie, a sophomore, took seventh. That was good enough for them to claim two of the five spots awarded to individuals who are not on qualifying teams.

Also running at the state meet will be the Duellman sisters of Cochrane-Fountain City. Addy Duellman, a senior who won the individual and team state championship as a freshman, won the Durand Sectional and Paxtyn, a sophomore, finished second. C-FC won the team title with 47 points, just ahead of La Crosse Aquinas, while I/G finished third with 82. 

The Indees had two more runners finish near the top, as Anna Kent finished 12th and Sophia Kampa was 14th. Lia Sandoval Rey was 88th and Shawnna Whitewater took 92nd.

The season came to an end for the Blair-Taylor and Whitehall teams. 

B-T was led by Jadrean Borreson, who finished 27th, while Kelsey Lien was 36th and Allie Jorgenson took 82nd. Sophomore Lexi Kurth finished 37th for Whitehall, while freshmen Rani Waldera and Hailey Koch were 46th and 84th.

Whitehall had the top boys runner out of the area teams as Kole Kulig finished 33rd. The Norse took 13th in the team standings as Ashton Hanson was 58th; Christopher Mann finished 88th, Erick Aguilar Pera took 105th and Finn Anderson finished 111th. Eli Washkuhn and Frank Juresh Jr. were the team’s sixth and seventh runners, taking 114th and 124th.

B-T was just ahead of Whitehall in the team standings as Alex Sygula led the way, taking 41st overall. Landen Kidd finished 45th for B-T while Caiden Lien was 74th, Robbie Brandt took 97th and Wyatt Schrock rounded out the scoring by finishing 112th. B-T’s sixth runner was Harley Sweet, who finished 118th. 

Theo Gutendorf finished his junior season by taking 37th for I/G. The Indees didn’t have enough runners to qualify for a team score, as Jayden Harz finished 61st, Owen Gierok was 91st and Maddox Pronschinske finished 101st. 

The state meet returns to Ridges Golf Course this Saturday, beginning at noon. The Division Three girls race is slated to begin at 1:45 that day. 

Girls Cross Country, WIAA Division Three Durand Sectional, Oct. 25 at Rolling Green Golf Course, Durand

C-FC 47 Aquinas 53 I/G 82 Auburndale 101 Bangor 113 Durand 138 Mel-Min 178 Luther 219

B-T — Borreson, 27th, 22:28; Lien, 36th, 23:13; Jorgenson, 82nd, 27:50

I/G — T. Sylla, fifth, 20:13; A. Sylla, seventh, 20:19; Kent, 13th, 21:06; Kampa, 14th, 21:25; Sandoval Rey, 88th, 29:12; Whitewater, 92nd, 31:36

Whitehall — Kurth, 37th, 23:16; Waldera, 46th, 23:59; Koch, 84th, 28:05

Boys Cross Country, WIAA Division Three Durand Sectional, Oct. 25 at Rolling Green Golf Course, Durand

Mondovi 74 Durand 87 Bangor 114 Aquinas 125 Luther 136 Assumption 153 Mel-Min 202 Necedah 216 E-S 242 Auburndale 251 Loyal-Greenwood 292 B-T 302 Whitehall 321 Osseo-Fairchild 324 Port Edwards 348

B-T — Sygula, 41st, 19:43; Kidd, 45th, 19:48; Lien, 74th, 21:07; Brandt, 97th, 23:01; Schrock, 112th, 24:32; Sweet, 118th, 25:33

I/G — Gutendorf, 37th, 19:27; Harz, 61st, 20:36; Gierok, 91st, 22:23; Pronschinske, 101st, 23:23

Whitehall — Kulig, 33rd, 19:11; Hanson, 58th, 20:20; Mann, 88th, 22:07; Aguilar-Pera, 105th, 23:43; Anderson, 111th, 24:30; Washkuhn, 114th, 24:47; Juresh Jr., 124th, 27:28