Red Raider boys strive for state

Young girls squad keeps improving

The Marathon varsity boys cross country team is hoping to make a return trip to the WIAA Division 3 state tournament this season. The Red Raiders have a good shot of achieving their goal because they return their four top runners from last season’s state tournament squad. Senior Jaron Gage, the team’s fastest runner, has taken fifth place at both the Pittsville Invite on Aug. 25 and Marathon Invitational on Thursday at Nine Mile Recreational Area in Rib Mountain. His junior teammate, Jacob Smith, placed eighth at both the Pittsville Invite and Marathon Invitational. The Red Raider boys took third place in Pittsville and second at Thursday’s home race.

Tera Fieri, Marathon assistant cross country coach, is currently guiding the boy and girl teams while head coach EJ Otto recovers from having surgery. Assistant coach Gina Smith is helping Fieri navigate uncharted waters in Marathon with veteran head coach Otto currently out of action. Anna Buchberger, Marathon cross country alum, volunteered on Thursday to take the varsity girls team on a practice run of the Nine Mile race course before the race began.

“The Marathon boys cross country team will run under the leadership of returning seniors Ian Blake, Jaron Gage, Pierson Haaman and Derrick Schiederer,” Fieri said. “They will be supported by returning juniors Dylan Dodson, Andy Glennon, Brandon Gitzlaff, Eddie Hall, Jacob Smith and Derek Vesely and incoming freshmen Nicholas Falkowski, Gavin Matthiae and Brayden Pintor.”

On Thursday at Nine Mile, Vesely took 19th place. Blake finished in 30th place followed by Dodson in 35th, Hamann in 48th, Gitzlaff in 51st, Matthiae in 64th, Scheiderer in 67th, Hall in 80th, Glennon in 88th, Pintor in 90th and Falkowski in 92nd.

Fieri describes the forecast for Marathon’s varsity girls cross country team this season.

“The Marathon girls cross country team will rely on the leadership of Ava Buchberger, the team’s sole returning senior this year,” she said. “Ava’s strong work ethic and positive attitude will pave the way for Marathon’s young squad of sophomores and freshmen to grow and be successful on the course. Returning sophomores Shilo Blake, Katie Cliver, Calyse Fieri, Jayden Henrichs, Addison Molepske, Danica Paszek and Cayden Sapinski are joined by sophomores Addison Baeseman and Kennedy Blake this season along with freshman Mya Yach and foreign exchange student Liah Schirf of Ger-many.”

She said the future is bright for the girls squad.

“While the team is young, Shilo, Calyse, Jayden and Addie boast a lot of varsity experience from last season when the team fell just shy of heading to state,” Fieri said. “Shilo, a consistent top-five team member in 2021, has stepped into the challenge of pacing the team with top-10 performances in her first two meets while Calyse and Jayden are gaining confidence and following Shilo’s lead. Ava is running strong in the fourth position, while Danica, Cayden and newcomer Mya round out the remaining varsity squad thus far. Unfortunately, Addison Molepske and Katie are out with injuries to start the 2022 season.”

On Thursday, Shilo Blake took 10th place at the Marathon Invitational. Calyse Fieri placed 17th, Jayden Henrichs was 18th, Ava Buchberger 25th, Danica Paszek 41st, Mya Yach 42nd, Cayden Sapinski 43rd, Schirf 59th, Addison Baseman 71st and Kennedy Blake 82nd.

Fieri said Marathon’s senior runners are excited for the return of the Nightfall Classic on the schedule this season. The Red Raider boys and girls will compete at 7:40 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 9, in the Nightfall Classic at Winagamie Golf Course in Neenah.