Ending a 40-year drought
By Casey Krautkramer
Stratford senior Cree DeFoe would’ve qualified as an individual runner for the WIAA Division 3 state championships for the third straight year, but it’s much nicer for him to compete at state with his teammates this season.
DeFoe took third place at Saturday’s sectional championship in Colby in 16 minutes, 41.9 seconds. The top five individual runners who are not on the top two sectional teams also qualify for the state championship race. Stratford’s boys cross country team won the sectional championship for the first time since 1984.
“I couldn’t be more blessed than to be with such a great group of guys and I couldn’t be more proud of how far this team has come, from training together in the summer to pushing each other in practice and always finishing strong,” DeFoe said. “We wanted to be sectional champions all season long, and now we are. This team is truly amazing!”
The top five Stratford runners accounted for a low team score of 57 points, followed by sectional runners-up Bonduel with 65 points. Marathon’s boys cross country team barely missed a trip to state by placing third with 70 points. DeFoe’s third-place finish accounted for two points toward the team’s total score. Stratford senior Ethan Heeg took seventh place in 17:26.7 to account for four team points.
Stratford junior Cooper Bosmans took 20th place in 18:21.7. Cree DeFoe’s brother, Jayden DeFoe, placed 22nd in 18:28.1 and freshman Joey Cable placed 24th in 18:34.2.
The top seven Stratford boy runners who placed at sectionals will compete as a team at the 112th WIAA boys cross country championships at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. The Division 3 boys state race is at 2 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 2. Joining their Stratford teammates in the state race are sophomore Christopher Stuttgen who placed 25th at sectionals in 18:39.5 and senior Derek Wiese who placed 41st at sectionals in 19:22.9.
Stratford head coach Kevin “Tiny” Michalski made due on his promise to his boy runners that he’d join them in getting their hair buzz cut if they qualified for state as a team.
“I am beyond excited for the boys,” he said. “They worked so hard over the summer and throughout this season. We have a great mix of seniors and freshmen on the team. They worked as a team and our No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 runners formed a nice pack in the sectional race while Cree DeFoe and Ethan Heeg led the way up front. The improvement from last year to this year really shows the work the guys put in. Cooper Bosmans and Christopher Stuttgen made huge jumps this year and have been a big part of our team’s improvement.”
Tiger girls barely miss state
The Stratford girls cross country team tied with Bonduel for second place with 87 team points apiece at Saturday’s WIAA Division 3 sectional race in Colby, but the Tigers lost the tiebreaker to the Bears and thus didn’t qualify for state. Wittenberg-Birnamwood won the girls sectional team championship with a low team score of 72 points.
Stratford senior Kayla Casperson took 10th place at sectionals in 20:35.4 to barely miss qualifying for state as an individual runner. She competed at state last year. Tigers senior Breleigh Skaya placed 14th at sectionals in 21:30.9, junior Lily Dabbert was 23rd in 22:43.1, junior Kaylie McHugh 28th in 23:06.1 and senior Samantha Mielke 36th in 23:24.8.
Michalski feels heartbroken that his Stratford girls team just missed qualifying for the state championship race.
“The girls had a great year,” he said. “This group of seniors had one of the best careers at Stratford. They missed state the last two years by three points and to lose on a tiebreaker this year is heartbreaking for them. Kayla Casperson and Breleigh Skaya both were three time all-conference runners and Kayla made it to state last year. Both Kayla and Breleigh are in the top five girl runners of all time at Stratford, with Kayla having the fastest time ever. She will be remembered as one of the best runners Stratford has ever had and definitely as the hardest working. She is a great example of what can happen if you put in the hard work in the offseason. We will bring back a great group of girls next year led by Kaylie McHugh and Lily Dabbert who had great junior seasons, and we will bring up a great group of freshmen next year to fill the spots left by our seniors.”
Pair of Red Raiders to state Marathon senior girls cross country runner Shilo Blake took third place in 19:44 at Saturday’s WIAA Division 3 sectional race in Colby to advance to state for the second straight season. Marathon sophomore Logan Peters took fifth place in 17 minutes at the Division 3 sectional in Colby to qualify for state for the first time in his high school cross country running career.
Red Raiders head coach EJ Otto had
See CROSS COUNTRY SECTIONALS/ page 14
LOCAL BOY RUNNERS HEADING TO STATE - Stratford senior Cree DeFoe runs ahead of Marathon sophomore Logan Peters at Saturday’s WIAA Division 3 sectional in Colby. DeFoe qualified with Stratford’s boys cross country team for state, while Peters qualified as an individual runner for state.
TP PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Cross country sectionals
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praise for both of these runners.
“Shilo and Logan are very hard workers in practice,” he said. “They both ran against exceptional competition. Both athletes ran smoothly, relaxed and in control of themselves. They ran a smart sectional race. They both executed the start of the race to perfection which set the tone for them to run a smart tactical race. Shilo ran a personal best time and she joined the 19minute club, in which our school has only had three girls accomplish this for 3.1 miles. Logan is now a member of the 16minute club which he accomplished at sectionals. A big shout out should also be given to the entire boys and girls cross country teams for helping them accomplish this which is not an easy thing to and it helps to have a great supporting cast of teammates helping them get better in practice to run as a team in the races.”
“This is Shilo’s second consecutive year running at state which is a testimony to her work in season and out of season. This is a wonderful jump start for her college career. Shilo and Logan put many hours in the weight room besides running. Logan is only a sophomore and with his work ethic he will have an opportunity to accomplish some great things.”
Sheahan to state
Athens senior girl cross country runner Brianna Sheahan accomplished her goal of qualifying for the state championship race in her final attempt this season. She took fourth place in 19:53.4 at Saturday’s WIAA Division 3 sectional race in Colby.
Bluejays head coach Korey Rottscheit is proud of her huge accomplishment.
“It is very exciting for Brianna to make it to state this year!” he said. “She has worked so hard over the years to get to this point and she is very deserving! She ran a fantastic race at sectionals and had a huge personal record on top of it. Everything came together at the right time and I’m so proud of her for achieving her goal of state that she set for herself years ago.”
HEEG HELPS TIGER BOYS EARN STATE TRIP - Stratford senior Ethan Heeg runs ahead of Edgar junior Cade Koch at Saturday’s WIAA Division 3 sectional race in Colby. Heeg took seventh place and is a member of Stratford’s boys state team. Koch placed 17th at sectionals but he has one more season to attempt to qualify as as an individual runner for state. TP PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
PAIR OF AREA GIRLS GOING TO STATE - Marathon senior Shilo Blake and Athens senior Brianna Sheahan run next to each other at Saturday’s WIAA Division 3 sectional race in Colby. Blake took third place at sectionals to earn back-to-back trips to state. Sheahan placed fourth at sectionals to earn an inaugural trip to state.
TP PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
