C/A runners set host of new PRs at Athens

The Colby/Abby cross country team faced some stiff competition at their most recent meet. Held in Athens last Thursday, the invitational had competitors from 17 other schools, which made it the second largest meet the team has participated in. The Colby girls team just missed the top three with a fourth place finish, their 106 points trailing Assumption’s 51, Phillips’ 82 and Tomahawk’s 97. Meanwhile, the co-op boys team took seventh out of the 18 teams, finishing with 181 points. Phillips took first with 44 points, followed by Athens in second with 79 and Chequamegon in third with 107.

Junior Max Adams had his third top three finish as he continues to build on his personal best times. He has cut over a minute and a half off his PR over the course of the season and ran his fastest race yet on Thursday, finishing the Athens’ course in 17:27.3. He narrowly edged out Phillips’ Maverick Hoogland to take third overall for the co-op.

It wasn’t just Adams who was setting PRs at the front of the pack. During the girls’ event, Willow Oehmichen and MaKenna Hermmann were also breaking their own personal records.

Oemichen had set her previous personal best on the same course as a freshman in 2019, when she finished with a time of 20:42. Now a senior, it seemed a fitting place for her to run the fastest race of her career. Oehmichen finished fifth and she’ll have a new record to chase going forward, 20:37.8.

Hermmann was right behind her teammate, coming in sixth with a time of 20:39.3. The sophomore has made some impressive gains over the season, cutting almost a minute and a half off her 2021 sectional finish time of 21:57, which had been her previous personal best.

In fact, there were 11 personal bests set by Colby/ Abby runners at Athens, nine from each team.

Braylon Schoelzel had his best race since the 2021 sectionals, where he set his previous personal best. Schoelzel came in 38th overall with a time of 19:20.8. Not far

behind him was teammate Matthew Sprotte, who finished in 40th with a time of 19:23.1. The co-op’s fourth and fifth runners both had personal bests, with Jack Schindler coming in with a time of 19:45.5 and Carter Roth finishing in 19:53.0. They came in 52nd and 57th respectively.

Jack Sheahan and Joseph Streveler rounded out the top seven runners for the varsity team, finishing side by side to take 73rd and 74th. Their times of 20:57.3 and 20:57.8 were both PRs.

On the girls’ side, Colby’s third runner Casey Reynolds cracked 23-minutes for the second time in her high school career, finishing in 22:58.1. This earned her 32nd place. Payton Roth and Annamarie Schmitt both had solid times as well, with Roth coming in 40th place with a time of 23:08.6 and Schmitt finishing in 45th with a time of 23:37.1.

Reagan Schraufnagel completed the course in 23:53.5 for 48th place and Pearl Feiten placed 51st with a time of 24:02.7.

There is one more regular season meet on the schedule for the Colby/Abby teams. This Thursday, Oct. 6, they are set to travel to Weyauwega-Fremont, with a start time of 4:15 p.m.