Schmidt notches first career win for Rockets

It’s hard to imagine, but Cedar Grove-Belgium High School cross country record-holder and two-time state qualifier Brynlee Schmidt had never won a race until last Thursday, and the junior did it in front of a home crowd.

Schmidt won the 52-competitor Rocket Invite, finishing the 5,000-meter course in 20 minutes, 33.1 seconds, nearly a minute ahead of the next runner.

“Going into the race I was planning on sticking with the top pack for about the first mile and breaking away, and I ended up taking the lead in the first 800 and since then just kept gaining distance between me and second place,” Schmidt said.

“The weather was a perfect temperature for racing, not too hot and not too cool. I thought the home course was fun, except going through the back field twice was tough mentally.”

Coach Brandon Langer, who said the course was altered to avoid crossing the road, was impressed.

“Brynlee earned her first career victory and looked very comfortable taking the lead after 800 meters,” he said.

Schmidt’s sister Lydia, a sophomore, was sixth in 22:07.7. Then came Ava Gregory, 14th, 24:26.1; Hannah Langer, 24:49.3; Aubrey Nett,26:18.6; Anja Kaas, 26:45.3; and Braelyn Meinen, 29:13.7.

“Lydia had a solid improvement from the Milwaukee River invite. As she gains more experience and strength, she will be a very solid No. 2 runner,” Langer said.

“Hannah also had a good improvement from the first meet and had a personal record, which is great considering it is only the second meet of the season and a more challenging course compared to last week and also where she ran her PR.”

The Rockets compete in the Nightfall Classic in Neenah on Friday, Sept. 11. The race under the lights is one of the team’s favorite meets.

Ozaukee makes it two straight

The Warrior girls won their second consecutive meet to start the season, taking the eight-team Lancer Invite in Sturgeon Bay on Sept. 1.

Ozaukee scored 43 points, 20 ahead of second-place Sheboygan Lutheran. The Warriors’ top five runners medaled.

Madison Glaeser was sixth in 24:01. Ashlyn Schubert was ninth in 24:18. Jillian Knehans was 11th in 24:27. Brooklyn Lauters was 12th in 25:04, and Eva VanMinsel was 15th in 25:22.

Quinn Zimdars was 17th in 25:43 and Olivia Schmitz was 19th in 25:55.

“The girls ran well with challenging conditions. The heat and humidity were definitely a factor in this race (heat index of 96 degrees),” Pfeuffer said, adding the course was changed at the last minute due to recent rain.

“The girls did not find out about the course change until they were headed to the start line 15 minutes before the start of the race. But overall they handled the adversity really well and pushed themselves the entire race,” he said.

Ozaukee competes in the Poynette Invite on Thursday, Sept. 10.