Winneconne’s cross country team swept the boys’ and girls’ championships Sept. 30 at the Waupaca Invitational.
Waupaca’s Zach Wheeler turned in the fastest time in the boys’ varsity race, as he crossed the finish line in 18:06. Also finishing for the sixth-place Comets were Adam Biba, 25th, 20:44; Jeff Servey, 27th, 20:50; Gabriel Vassar, 33rd, 21:23; Logan Ader, 40th, 24:45; Shawn Adkins, 41st, 25:07; and Austin Martin, 42nd, 25:11.
The Comet girls used a pair of top-10 finishes to place second behind the Wolves. Taylor Fabricius placed eighth in 18:15 and Kathern Haen was 10th in 18:25. Also finishing were Autumn Schultz, 12th, 12:27; Abbey Lazers, 15th, 18:41; Taylor Davidson, 20th, 19:16; and Haley Flesch, 29th, 20:12.
Westfield’s Paige Peschel won the race with a time of 15:42, more than a minute ahead of second-place finisher Kate Brooks of Winneconne.
Iola-Scandinavia’s boys’ and girls’ teams placed third and fourth, respectively.
Finishing for the Thunderbird boys were Ben Hoffman, fourth, 18:34; Derek Peterson, 11th, 19:45; Ryan Przybylski, 14th, 19:53; Tamas Peterson, 16th, 20:10; John Faldet, 22nd, 20:39; Westley Petersen, 28th, 20:54; and Matt Jarosh, 36th, 21:33.
Finishing for the girls were Emily Sether, third, 16:47; Natalie Gauerke, 13th, 18:28; Leah Pierce, 22nd, 19:21; Amanda Aanstad, 23rd, 19:35; Charle Koch, 24th, 19:36; Lindsey Wogsland, 26th, 19:45; and Ellen Oligney, 28th, 20:04.
Three Waupaca junior varsity runners and one from I-S also placed. Jacci Cuff, Izzi Mielke and Kaylee Biba placed second, fourth and 14th with times of 19:54, 19:56 and 23:36, respectively, while Matt Ellie placed 14th for the T-Birds with a time of 24:49.
Waupaca placed four runners in the top five – including the top four overall – to win the boys’ middle school title.
Mitchell Rota won the race in 13:10, followed by Eric Bolwerk, second, 13:13; Ryan Wiese, third, 13:15; and Parker Sweeney, fourth, 13:16. Also finishing were Ryan Esch, ninth, 14:07; Aavery Grant, 11th, 14:25; and Hunter Smith, 12th, 14:27.
Macie Davidson placed first with a time of 13:36 to help the Comets win the girls’ middle school title. Also finishing were Victoria Nowak, fourth, 14:57; Michelle Petkovsek, fifth, 15:11; Raven Patzke, 13th, 16:33; Tatiana Sotka, 16th, 17:08; Paige Levine, 22nd, 18:32; and Alexis Schuelke, 24th, 20:32.
The I-S boys and girls each placed third. Javier Block led the T-Bird boys by placing sixth in 13:47. Also placing were Kal Fischer, 13th, 14:29; Dylan Aanstad, 16th, 15:17; Garett Pauloski, 17th, 15:28; Michael Schaefer, 18th, 16:24; Josh Taylor, 19th, 16:34; and Jack Trzebiatowski, 20th, 16:37.
Leighton Fischer led the T-Bird girls by placing sixth in 15:29. Also finishing were Shelby Trzebiatowski, seventh, 15:29; Emily Madson, eighth, 15:34; Brooke Phillips, 11th, 16:25; Megan Thulien, 18th, 17:58; and Jessica Trzebiatowski, 19th, 18:22.
Waupaca and I-S will head to Weyauwega today (Thursday) for the Weyauwega-Fremont Invitational, which starts at 3:30 p.m.
Waupaca will then compete in the Eastern Valley Conference meet at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at Irish Waters Golf Club in Freedom, while the T-Birds will head to the Central Wisconsin Conference meet at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, in Keshena.