GNC CROSS COUNTRY - Kahn is girls champion, while team is 2nd; Curtis is All-GNC

GNC CROSS COUNTRY

Medford junior Lindsay Kahn felt when the season began she was ready to take on the role of being the Raiders’ top runner and she’s proved it coming down the stretch in the 2024 cross country season.

Kahn earned her third win in four races while winning Saturday’s Great Northern Conference race. By doing so, Kahn is the GNC 2024 Girls Runner of the Year.

Kahn’s victory highlighted Medford’s second straight second-place team finish in the GNC. This one was tight as the Raiders won the sixth-runner tiebreaker over Rhinelander. The Raiders and Hodags were both one point ahead of fourth-place Lakeland on an unseasonably warm, sunny day on the Northland Pines High School course.

“Lindsay Kahn had a statement race, dominating the field, opening a 36-second gap in the final mile, resulting in a seasonbest time of 19:41.1,” Medford head coach Jake Rhyner said. “Tomahawk really showed up strong and they were the better team on the day. We will have another chance next week at the Colby sectional race.”

As Rhyner said, Kahn pulled well ahead of the rest of the girls contenders.

Antigo senior Lillian L’Esperance was second at 20:18 and ended up with a solid margin over third-place finisher Alli Palmer of Tomahawk (20:30.7). Those three all earned repeat spots on the sevenmember All-GNC first team with their performances Saturday.

All five of Medford’s scorers earned All-GNC awards Saturday. Junior Morgan Liske duplicated her 13th-place finish from a year ago at Mosinee to land a spot on the All-GNC second team. Her time of 21:52.5 easily got her into that spot ahead of Tomahawk’s Elise Gibeault, a first-team runner last year who finished in 22:11.4. This is Liske’s third All-GNC award. She got honorable mention as a freshman.

The Raiders’ honorable mention runners this fall are senior Ella Dassow, sophomore Willow Dassow and junior Mallory Richter.

Ella Dassow earned her fourth All-GNC award overall and got honorable mention for the third time with her 16th-place finish. That came with a season-best time of 22:20.6. She was just behind Rhinelander sophomore Hayley Schiek (22:19.5). Willow Dassow got her first All-GNC award by placing 18th out 47 finishers in a season-best time of 22:33.3. Richter got honorable mention for the third straight year with her 19th-place time of 22:38.4.

Freshman Greta Seidel was one place shy of an award, but her 22nd-place finish clinched Medford’s second-place team finish. She posted a time of 22:50.5 that was her best of the season and she beat Rhinelander’s fifth and sixth runners, Gretchen Fiebke (23:00.2) and Luciana Grage (23:04.9), who were the next two finishers. Seidel was the second-fastest freshman in the meet behind Tomahawk’s Ellie Micke.

Esmeralda Anderson was 26th for Medford in 23:21.2 and Kayla Daniels was 27th in 23:23.3. Those were season-best times for both as well. Rhyner noted that seven of Medford’s eight varsity runners improved their times from the Oct. 8 Northland Pines Invitational.

Tomahawk won its second straight team title with 44 points. Medford and Rhinelander totaled 63 and Lakeland had 64. Northland Pines (143), Mosinee (145) and Antigo (incomplete) rounded out the team scores. Rhinelander’s Macy Myers (20:48.9) and Brynn Teter (20:50) and Lakeland’s Sherri Handeland (20:51.2) and Ada Ernst (20:58.8) filled out the All-GNC first team.

For the boys, Medford senior Brandon Curtis continued his steady two-year jump to elite status in the conference, placing fifth out of 44 finishers in 17:50.6, good for a spot on the All-GNC first team. He got the last honorable mention spot by finishing 21st last year.

Curtis logged his best time of the season and comfortably secured his first team spot, finishing 5.3 seconds ahead of sixth-place Dominic Boos of Tomahawk and 15 seconds ahead of seventh-place Atilla Gyuro of Lakeland.

“Brandon Curtis was finally able to get through the 18-minute barrier in a gritty performance,” Rhyner said. “His breakthrough performance could make things interesting next week as he looks to extend his prep career with the Raiders.”

Lakeland’s Ashton Bremer claimed the Runner of the Year award with a winning time of 16:28.1. Rhinelander’s Greyson Gremban (16:41.9) and Avrom Barr (17:12.5) were second and third and Tomahawk’s Samuel Zastrow was fourth in 17:44.5.

Medford’s boys placed fourth in the team standings with 102 points, beating Mosinee (111), Northland Pines (137) and Antigo (incomplete). Lakeland won its second straight team championship with 36 points, topping Rhinelander (55) and Tomahawk (63).

Raider Corbyn Radlinger was the fastest freshman in the field. He earned the final spot on the All-GNC second team with his best time of 2024, 18:39.3. Junior Will Daniels just missed the last honorable mention spot as he placed 22nd in a season-best 19:16.6, 1.4 seconds behind Mosinee’s Spencer Lemke.

Raider sophomore Peyton Ried was 28th at 19:58.3. Angus Hamland (20:24.1), Evan Pagel (20:24.6) and Jordan Lavin (20:28) packed up to place 34th through 36th. Hamland’s time was a season-best.

Medford’s girls placed third in the JV race with 58 points, trailing Rhinelander (28) and Tomahawk (39). Pines and Mosinee were incomplete.

Senior Carly Koski was fourth out of 20 runners with a time of 24:40.6. Lauren Stark was eighth in 26:00.9, Josey Krug was 13th in 28:11.8, senior Lexi Hraby finished 17th at 28:35.5 and Isabella Leischer was 20th at 31:58.2. Tomahawk’s Faith Derleth, who got All-GNC honorable mention last year, won in 23:04.

Medford’s Nevyn Gripentrog was 14th out of 20 boys JV runners in 22:06.8 and Corbyn Fuchs was 19th in 23:56.5. Tomahawk’s Jordyn Carew won in 19:06.6. Tomahawk was the team champion with 19 points, while Lakeland had 44.

Sectional is Friday

Medford will next compete at the WIAA Division 2 Colby-Abbotsford sectional Friday at the familiar Colby High School course. The top two teams and the top five individuals from non-qualifying teams will advance to the Nov. 2 state meet at Wisconsin Rapids.

While Kahn certainly appears to be an individual contender, Medford has qualified girls teams for state the last five times it has competed in Division 2. Last year, the Raiders edged Oconto Falls at the Colby sectional in the sixth-runner tiebreaker. It could be a close race again for the top two spots among the Raiders, Panthers, Tomahawk and defending champion Shawano. There are no stateranked teams in the sectional field.

Likewise, there are no state-ranked teams in the boys sectional field. Curtis has made himself a contender individually. Lakeland and Shawano were the 2023 state qualifiers out of this meet and both are back this year. Medford was sixth last year behind Oconto Falls, Tomahawk and Rhinelander, who are also all back at Colby this year.

Friday’s girls race is set for 4:15 p.m. and the boys race will follow at 5 p.m. Colby is also hosting the GNC girls swim championships Friday, making for a busy evening at the high school.

BOB MAINHARDT/NORTHWOODS RIVER NEWS

Left: Morgan Liske crosses the finish line in 13th place in Saturday’s girls race at Northland Pines, clinching an All-GNC second-team award. Above: Medford's Brandon Curtis makes a right turn in the wooded portion of the course. Curtis placed fifth in the boys race to earn an All-GNC first-team award. BRETT LaBORE/THE LAKELAND TIMES

Corbyn Radlinger Second Team

Ella Dassow Hon. Mention

Willow Dassow Hon. Mention

Mallory Richter Hon. Mention

Medford’s Will Daniels (133) recorded his best time of the season while placing 22nd and Peyton Ried (137) finished 28th in Saturday’s boys race at the Great Northern Conference championships, hosted by Northland Pines. BRETT LaBORE/THE LAKELAND TIMES