BRINGING THE HEAT
MEDFORD CROSS COUNTRY INVITE
Girls dominate, boys 2nd on home turf
The weather couldn’t have been much better and the results also couldn’t have been much better Thursday for the Medford cross country program’s lone home meet of 2021.
The Raider girls put their five scorers among the top eight finishers to easily win another team championship trophy, while Joe Sullivan earned another individual title and the boys set some of their best times of the fall in a secondplace finish.
The weather, meanwhile, was almost too good for the last day of September with bright sunshine and temperatures reaching the upper 70s.
“Both teams ran great and really ran hard on the home course on what ended up being an extremely hot day for the last day of September,” head coach Kevin Wellman said.
While Nora Gremban of Northland Pines (19:13) and Elizabeth Schmidt of Merrill (19:17.3) were the individual leaders in the girls race, the pack of red behind them made certain the Raiders were going to defend their home turf.
Sophomore Meredith Richter and junior Bryn Fronk posted their fastest times of the fall to claim third and fourth place in a field of 46 runners. Richter’s time was 20:21.7 and Fronk got under 21 minutes for the first time this season at 20:49.5.
After Marshfield’s Eliana Kanitz crossed the finish line fifth in 21:09.5, Medford nailed down the team win with Brooke Rudolph taking sixth in 21:14.3, Jennifer Kahn taking seventh in 21:33.4 and Alexis Fleegel taking eighth in 21:38.2. Fleegel was 56 seconds faster than the ninth-place runner, Carolina Sullenger of Marshfield.
Ella Daniels and Ella Dassow finished 11th and 12th for Medford in 22:51.2 and 23:28.9. Kylie Potvin lowered her best time to 26:54.2 to take 32nd, Natasha Butt had her best time of 2021 at 27:31.6, good for 34th, and Lydia Way earned her first sub-30 minute time in a big way, hitting the finish line at 29:00.7, which put her in 41st place.
Medford scored 28 team points to beat Marshfield (52), Merrill (91), Northland Pines (94) and Antigo (118).
“The ladies through their teamwork and grit took first place and also continue to improve as the season progresses,” Wellman said.
The loaded Marshfield boys team had no trouble winning that team trophy, but Medford settled comfortably into second place with 52 points, beating Northland Pines (66), Merrill (80) and Antigo (incomplete). The Tigers won with 31.
Sullivan shot out of the starting area, took the lead immediately and ran all by himself while finishing in 16:30.8, while ahead of his cousin Sam Gremban of Northland Pines, who finished second in 17:17.5. Marshfield’s Henry Hoerneman was third in 17:35.5, while Raider Tanner Hraby lowered his time yet again, this time to 17:43.7, and took fourth. Marshfi eld filled four of the next five spots to clinch the team title.
Raider Logan Gubser just missed a top-10 spot in the 46-runner field, taking 11th in 19:11.3, 10.2 seconds behind Merrill’s David Golisch. Josh Clark set a personal-best time of 19:54.3 while placing 20th. He and teammate Stephen Hraby ran stride for stride for the vast majority of the race. Hraby took 22nd in 19:59.6, while Nick Steliga came in 24th at 20:13.5. Raider Lucas Borman was 42nd in 24:29.9.
“The guys team did great and that showed in their assault on the clock,” Wellman said. “Our top five guys all finished under 20 minutes. Each guy individually ran great and they are continuing to improve as the season goes on.”
The Raiders also swept the team titles in the middle school races Thursday.
The boys needed every place they could get. They won their meet by one point, 55-56, over John Muir. D.C. Everest wasn’t far behind with 65 points. Marshfield (96), Antigo (123) and Prairie River (147) rounded out the standings. Raider Will Daniels was second out of 84 runners in 12:34, Corbyn Radlinger was eighth in 13:39.5 and Hayden Strebig was ninth in 14:02.5. Ayden Tyznik (14:17.3) and Adler Steinman (14:56.7) were Medford’s fourth and fifth scorers in 15th and 23rd place. Prairie River’s Erik Grunenwald won the race in 12:21.4.
The girls topped a field of six teams with 29 points, 10 fewer than John Muir and well ahead of Marshfield (80), D.C. Everest (91), Prairie River (121) and Antigo (incomplete). Lindsay Kahn won the race in 13:32.5, while teammate Mallory Richter was second in 14:09.9 and Makenna Tlusty was fourth in 14:29. Addison Juedes (14:43.5) was 10th, Leah Perlman (14:53.2) was 12th and Willow Dassow (15:14) was 14th.
For the varsity, crunch time for the season is rapidly approaching. The Raiders will next run Saturday in a new event for the team, the Wisconsin Dells Invitational, which will be held at Christmas Mountain Resort. That is the last scheduled tune-up before the Oct. 16 Great Northern Conference meet at Lakeland.
Medford’s Ella Dassow keeps pumping her arms as she heads into the home stretch of Thursday’s girls race.MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
