Ozaukee reloads remarkable running rosters

Five runners from a team that brought home the second-place trophy from the girls’ Division 3 cross country meet last season are back for the Ozaukee High School.

Coach Andrew Pfeuffer hopes the girls qualify for state again.

Sophomores Becky Hoffmann, Meredith Clark, Clara McKee and Kenna Pierson, and Senior Sophie Uhlenberg return.

Grace Tinder, who was 34th at state last season (11th among runners on full teams) and Kelley Large, who took 42nd (17th), and Ally Clark, who finished 54th (26th) graduated.

Hoffmann was 51st (24th), Uhlenberg was 52nd (25th). That pack running helped the Warriors score 103 points, second to Lancaster’s 93.

The sixth and seventh runners weren’t far back. McKee was 58th (29th) and Meredith Clark was 62nd (33rd). Kenna Pierson was an alternate.

The Warriors won the Palymra-Eagle Sectonal with 25 points, taking third through seventh places.

Ozaukee adds two new runners to the team, senior Hannah Bustamante and freshman Addison Schubert.

McKee returns to lead Warrior boys

Senior Calvin McKee finished 23rd in the state meet last year and is back for his final season to lead the largest boys’ team since the Warriors split from the co-op with Random Lake three years ago.

Five other runners return, including senior Tyler Mueller, juniors Owen Klaus, Riley Borchardt and Chase Miller, and sophomore Aaron Nehls.

Three freshmen join the squad, including Peyton Mueller, Brice Schueller and Otto Utecht.

“We have a small roster overall but I’m excited to work with each athlete this year and see how much they can improve over the season,” Pfeuffer said.

He thinks both teams can compete for a conference crown.

“The Big East Conference is very difficult and well coached, and I think both sides are up for grabs this year, so it will be fun to see how it plays out,” Pfeuffer said.

The season is planned to operate as normal, as opposed to splitting teams into heats to avoid large groups due to the pandemic last year. In the state meet, the Warrior girls ran in a different heat than Lancaster so they couldn’t gauge their top competition.

“So far (fingers crossed), we are headed towards a normal cross country season,” Pfeuffer said.

However, with the recent uptick in Covid cases, we very well could revert back to last season procedures. I hope that is not the case, but we are ready and prepared for what lies ahead.”

Warriors take third and third in first meet

The Warrior girls scored 56 points and took third place in the Amherst Invite last Thursday at Standing Rocks Park.

Hoffmann led the team by taking fifth place of 61 runners in 21 minutes, 55 seconds. Clara McKee was the other Warrior medalist, taking seventh in 22:14.

Schubert was 11th in 22:50. Uhlenberg was 16th in 23:45, and Pierson was 17th in 24:08.

“I thought the girls did well competing against some tough schools and on an honest course,” Pfeuffer said. “The Ozaukee girls’ team is looking forward to improving on their season benchmarks throughout the season.”

Lourdes Academy won the seven-team meet with 32 points. Amherst had 50. Following Ozaukee were St. Mary Catholic, 93; Little Woolf, 126; Brillion, 134; and Iola-Scandinavia, 187.

The boys took third with 68 points behind three medalists.

Klaus was fourth of 77 runners in 17:43. Calvin McKee was sixth in 18:15, and Nehls was 10th in 19:27.

Mueller was 18th in 20:20. Schueller was 34th in 21:56.

For the first meet of the season, I thought our boys did well and came out ready to compete. I’m excited to see how much our boys team can improve throughout the season after a good start,” Pfeuffer said.

Pacelli won with 44 points, and Iola-Scandinavia had 61. After Ozaukee came Brillion, 82; Little Wolf, 141; St. Mary Catholic, 147; Amherst, 162; and Waupaca, 185.

The Warriors were to run Tuesday at the Lancer Invite at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. They host an invite for the second consecutive season on Thursday, Sept. 9.