Warriors’ run at Lancer Invite stops at three

A Warrior four-peat was stopped seven points short at the Lancer Invite cross country meet at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Aug. 30.

The Ozaukee High School girls took second of eight teams this time, scoring 63 points. Westosha Central scored 56 to win.

Warrior junior Clara McKee finished the 5,000-meter course in 23 minutes, 1.8 seconds, good for fifth place and less than two seconds from fourth.

“Clara did a great job building through the race and picking off competitors on a very difficult and hilly backstretch of the course,” coach Andrew Pfeuffer said.

The Warriors had two other medalists. Junior Becky Hoffmann was ninth in 23:29.2, and junior Meredith Clark was 11th in 23:39.6.

Senior Sarah Tinder was 18th in 24:14.1, and sophomore Addison Schubert was 20th in 24:31.4.

“Our girls did a nice job of building off of their first race and settling in. We have a lot of work to do but I’m excited to see them keep chipping away at their times each week,” Pfeuffer said.

Big East competitor Sheboygan Lutheran was fifth with 123 points. Shoreland Lutheran was third with 72 points, and Living Word Lutheran scored 123.

Klaus runs away with the race

For the boys, Ozaukee senior Owen Klaus blew away the competition, winning the race by 45 seconds in 17:45.1, marking a milestone in his running career.

“It was great to see Owen Klaus get his first cross country win of his career. He has been really close a number of times, placing second at multiple meets, so for him to win and in convincing fashion was fun to watch,” Pfeuffer said.

That helped the team to 73 points and a second-place finish in the 10-team meet.  Sheboygan Lutheran won with 53 points.

“Our team goal was to try and place in the top two teams at the Lancer Invite, and for us to accomplish that goal against good competition and on a tough course was encouraging to see in the second meet of the season,” Pfeuffer said.

Junior Aaron Nehls was fourth in 18:35.5 and also got a medal, and senior Chase Miller was 15th in 19:38.5.

Sophomore Brice Schueller was 27th in 20:38.8, and senior Riley Borchardt was 30th in 20:41.1.

“This was a step in the right direction, but we have a lot of work in front of us if we want to hit our end of the season goals,” Pfeuffer said.

Sheboygan Lutheran had two runners in the top 10 and 10 runners in the top 26 places.

Dedicated Athletes Schooled at Home (DASH) was third with 88 points.

The Warriors run at their home invite on Thursday, Sept. 8.

CG-Belgium boys take fifth at Kiel

Cedar Grove-Belgium senior Mason Hoopman led the Rockets at the 18-team Kiel Invite last Thursday, finishing sixth of 131 runners, finishing in 17:41.

“Mason was aggressive from the gun, getting out strong and getting out of his comfort zone. That is something I want both teams to do, particularly early in the season, to experience getting out quick and seeing how their body and mind responds,” coach Brandon Langer said.

Will Huenink was 16th in 18:15. Jamison Velzke was 20th in 18:42. Wes Huenink was 24th in 19:16, and Michael Kuerschner was 51st in 20:48.

“Michael ran a better race, which is what the team needs. Getting our No. 5 as close to our No. 4 is how we will beat Kohler, who looked solid as a team,” Langer said.

The Rockets scored 115 points, good for fifth place. Kiel won the 18-team meet with 93, followed by Little Chute, 96; Kohler, 97; and Two Rivers, 102.

Rockets girls place seventh

The girls’ race was 4,000 meters instead of 5,000, so Langer couldn’t compare results to the first race.

Faith Konzak was 15th in 17:03. Hadley Heimerman was 28th in 17:36. Ashleigh McCluskey was 36th in 18:20. Elise Brill was 45th in 18:53, and Amara Beernink was 46th in 19:00.

“Faith again had a strong second half of the race, moving up from 25th at the halfway point to finish 15th. She is gaining that confidence that she can close on people,” Langer said.

Kiel won the 15-team with 71 points, followed by Valders, 77; Oostburg, 92; Two Rivers, 98; Little Chute, 133; and Kewaskum, 143.

The Rockets run in the dark in the Nightfall Classic in Neenah on Friday, Sept. 9.