DeFoe breaks school record
By Casey Krautkramer
Stratford junior Cree DeFoe tried a new diet on Thursday before the Marawood Conference cross country championship race at Frey Field in rural Spencer. He ate watermelon at noon for lunch and a protein bar two hours before the race. This combination of food helped De-Foe place second in the conference boys race in 16 minutes, 38 seconds which is a Stratford school record.
DeFoe broke Steve Zoellner’s Stratford school cross country record of 16:43 set in 1984. DeFoe had his sights on breaking the school record at some point this season.
“It feels really good,” he said. “I got out to a strong start and just wanted to stay with the leader.”
DeFoe admitted that he also runs better in colder temperatures. Thursday was cloudy with the temperature in the low 50s during the boys conference championship race. The rain held off until after the awards ceremony.
The top eight runners earn first team all-Marawood Conference honors. Marathon senior Jacob Smith took fourth place in 17:30 to earn first team all-conference for the third straight season. He won the conference race championship as a sophomore and he placed seventh last year. He barely missed earning first team allconference all four years in high school when he placed ninth as a freshman in the conference race.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “The hard work that I’ve put in throughout high school is definitely paying off. Although I haven’t improved my running times drastically from last year, I’m running about the same times because I really wanted to help our team possibly make it to state this year.”
Smith termed this the year of “redemption” for the Marathon boys cross country team after missing the state tournament by only one point at the WIAA Division 3 sectional in Athens last year. The top two teams in each sectional qualify for state. Marathon placed third last season, only one point behind Gillett.
The Athens, Edgar, Marathon and Stratford cross country teams will compete in the WIAA Division 3 sectional this Saturday morning in Colby. The boys race starts at 10:30 a.m. and the girls race begins at 11:30 a.m.
Marathon’s boys took third place at the Marawood Conference championship meet with 103 points, behind second place Rib Lake/Prentice with 55 points and conference champion Phillips with 34 points. Rib Lake/Prentice and Phillips are competing in a different sectional on Saturday. Stratford’s boys placed fifth at conference with 140 points. The Athens boys placed seventh with 160 points and Edgar was ninth with 200 points.
Athens senior Andrew Schaer took fifth place at conference in 17:31, just one second behind Smith from Marathon. He also earns first team all-conference this season.
Runners who finished in ninth through 15th places earn second team all-Marawood Conference this year. Edgar sophomore Cade Koch placed 10th at conference in 18:04 and Marathon senior Derek Vesely was 14th in 18:20.
Competitors who finish in 16th through 24th places receive honorable mention all-conference. Athens senior Drew Haines placed 17th in 18:22, Stratford junior Ethan Heeg was 21st in 18:33 and Marathon freshman Logan Peters was 24th in 18:40.
Girls all-conference race
Marathon junior Shilo Blake took fourth place in 20:10 on Thursday at Frey Field to earn first team all-Marawood Conference honors this season. Athens junior Breanna Sheahan placed sixth in 20:26 to also earn first team all-conference. Stratford junior Kayla Casperson placed eighth in 20:39 to also earn a spot on the first team this year.
Stratford senior Kressa Wenzel is the only girl in The Record-Review’s coverage area to earn second team all-conference after placing 12th in 21:03. Freshman Ellis Baer of Athens earned honorable mention all-conference this year after placing 23rd in 22:15.
GRUELING FINISH- Marathon freshman Matthew Kindlarski on Thursday runs toward the finish line ahead of Edgar sophomore Dillan Sondelski at the Marawood Conference cross country championships at Frey Field in rural Spencer. Kindlarski placed 32nd and Sondelski was 33rd. Both young runners will look to improve their times next season so they can earn all-Marawood Conference honors.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
ATHENS AND STRATFORD BOYS TAKE OFF AT CONFERENCE RACE- The Tigers and Bluejays runners are off at the start of Thursday’s Marawood Conference cross country championship race at Frey Field in rural Spencer.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
Cree DeFoe
Jacob Smith
