Red Hawk runners trek to Wausau for Smiley Invite
A long run and a longer journey to Wausau East High School greeted the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School cross country team last weekend.
The Red Hawks ran in the Smiley Invitational at Wausau East on Saturday, pacing against 11 other teams in the girls race and 13 in the boys event. The G-E-T boys ran to a sixth place finish with a good group run, and the girls took seventh behind a trio of top 30 finishes.
All five of the G-E-T boys whose times comprised their team score on Saturday finished in the top half of the field. Sophomore Oliver Marley and junior Xander Burmeister paced G-E-T with finishes of 24th and 33rd, respectively.
The Red Hawks’ score got some help from Sam Ruiter (36th), Charlie Caya (40th) and Sawyer Smock (42nd), and freshmen Ethan Gagnon (58th) and Carter Giemza (64th) also ran for G-E-T.
Shorewood claimed the top team spot in the boys race with a 48, followed by West Salem at 58, Kiel with an 87, Little Chute at 118 and Amherst with a 151. The Red Hawks at 175 finished ahead of Tomahawk, Northland Pines, Colby/Abbotsford and five other teams.
Riley Huss, a senior from Little Chute, earned the top time in 16:53.
Junior Adrianna Rotering is back in action for the Red Hawks after some time off, and she led the way for G-E-T with a team-low finish of 20th. Rotering was joined in the top 30 by sophomore teammate Delilah Boberg, who took 24th, and junior AJ Parker, who placed 26th.
Coulee opponent West Salem (84) claimed the second best team score in the girls race behind Kiel (64). The Red Hawks scored a 173, also finishing behind Little Chute, Amherst, Tomahawk and Peshtigo but beating five other teams. Nora Gremban of Northland Pines took the top time in 18 minutes, 46.5 seconds.
Anya Wolfe finished inside the top 50 for G-E-T, which also saw a 58th place finish from Alexis Walker as well as a 63rd place run from Ellie Gold and a 66th place run from Nora Higgins.
An invitational on Saturday at Maple Grove Country Club in West Salem is up next for G-E-T.
Girls cross country, Smiley Invitational, Sept. 17 at Wausau East High School
Kiel 64, West Salem 84, Little Chute 119, Amherst 147, Tomahawk 148, Peshtigo 168, G-E-T 173, Colby 177, Mosinee 182, Northland Pines 249, Antigo 263, Wittenberg-Birnamwood 267
G-E-T—Rotering, 20th, 21:47.6; Boberg, 24th, 22:30.4; Parker, 26th, 22:34.9; Wolfe, 45th, 24:33.4; Walker, 58th, 26:29.8; Gold, 63rd, 27:12.6; Higgins, 66th, 27:43.1.
Boys cross country, Smiley Invitational, Sept. 17 at Wausau East High School
Shorewood 48, West Salem 58, Kiel 87, Little Chute 118, Amherst 151, G-E-T 175, Tomahawk 181, Northland Pines 219, Colby/Abbotsford 220, Peshtigo 240, Wittenberg-Birnamwood 323, Delavan-Darien 334, Mosinee 354, Nekoosa 399.
G-E-T—Marley, 24th, 18:26.2; Burmeister, 33rd, 18:53.3; Ruiter, 36th, 19:24.5; Caya, 40th, 19:50.4; Smock, 42nd, 19:59.5; Gagnon, 58th, 21:05.6; Giemza, 64th, 21:27.4.
