Baker makes it a record trip No. 4

Being moved up to Division 1 competition didn’t change the expectations or dreams of Grafton High School cross country star Nathan Baker.

The results didn’t change either.

Last Saturday, Baker became the first Grafton boy to qualify for the state meet all four years of high school which, coach Celia Shaughnessy said, “is really spectacular.”

Baker came in fifth of 35 runners at the four-team Slinger Sectional at Heritage Trails County Park, finishing the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 38.1 seconds. He was the fourth of five individual runners not on qualifying teams to make it to state.

“Baker had a plan on how to race and he stuck to it. He ran the hills like a beast and genuinely left the majority of the second pack competition in the dust,” Shaughnessy said.

Grafton had competed in Division 2 but Covid-19 had caused some fall sports teams to choose the WIAA spring option. With fewer running teams in fall, divisions were adjusted and Baker ran against faster competition in Division 1.

“This was a tough sectional, Division 1 with some spectacular runners and strong teams, which makes this even more special,” Shaughnessy said. “He is excited and ready to go.”

Baker runs at 1:10 p.m. Saturday in the Division 1 meet at Arrowhead.

In the West Bend West Sub-Sectional at familiar Tendick Park in the Town of Saukville, Baker finished in 16:36.25, fourth of 62 runners.

The Black Hawks took seventh of nine teams with 147 points. Homestead won with 61, and Slinger scored 69.

Grafton senior Cael Abad was 18th in 17:11.97. Junior Chris Kalies was 33rd in 17:37.95. Sophomore Gabe Mietkowski was 40th in 17:58.31 and senior Nathan Woolf was 52nd in 18:50.12.

Grafton girls end season at sub-sectional

The Grafton girls took sixth place of nine teams at the sub-sectional, scoring 135 points.

Three freshmen led the way. Ava McLaughlin was 16th in 20:53.72. Evelyn Schmit was 18th in 20:55.17, and Josie Gehrke was 25th in 21:16.36.

Junior Maddy Wille was 33rd in 21:50.51 and junior Rachel Swenson was 43rd in 22:15.45.

“We were quite proud of both teams. We had multiple season personal records for both the girls and the boys,” Shaughnessy said.

“They gave it everything they had to have a strong finish to the season. They have worked hard and to finish as we as they did in Division 1, we could not ask for anything more.”

Port’s Raasch makes it to state

Port Washington junior Mason Raasch saved his best for last, when he needed it most.

Raasch ran a personal-best 16:51.9, good for ninth place and fast enough to be the final individual qualifier for state at the Division 2 Hortonville Sectional last Friday. He beat the sixth individual runner by 24 seconds.

Raasch’s teammate, junior Nate Meeks, ran a personal-best 17:26.7 and finished 16th.

Temperatures were in the low 40s with a 30 mph northwest wind.

“The conditions were not ideal for running,” coach Mark Pasten said.

But Raasch and Meeks stepped it up.

“Mason ran a very intelligent race. The field got out too fast, a strong wind at their backs, and the downhill start fed into the athlete’s excitement. By the first 400 meters both Mason and Nate found themselves in the back third of the field. I was a little concerned at that point, but both guys gradually moved their way through the field and by the mile they were positioned near the middle of the pack,” Pasten said.

By the two-mile mark, Raasch was the seventh individual, behind runners of the expected qualifying teams of Kimberly and Neenah.

In the final mile, Raasch ran in a pack of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth individual runners.

“His patience at the beginning of the race started to pay off, and the sixth individual started to fall off the pace,” Pasten said.

“It was a photo finish between Mason and Luke Donart of Fox Valley Lutheran. I was not at the finish line, but Mason told me that Luke dove across the line and must have just edged him out for that fourth spot. In the end, they both advanced to the state meet.”

Raasch runs Saturday at the Arrowhead in the Division 1 meet.

At the Green Bay Notre Dame Sub-Sectional on Oct. 20, all seven of Port’s runners had season-best times as the Pirates finished fourth of seven teams with 95 points. Kimberly won with 39, and Notre Dame Academy had 47.

Raasch was fifth of 49 runners in 16:56.2, and Meeks was 12th in 17:34.1 as both qualified for the sectional.

Junior Gabe Pasten was 24th in 17:47. Austin Rinke was 25th in 17:53.6, and Angelo Feciskonin was 29th in 18:08.7.

Thomas just misses out on the state meet

Port sophomore Braeya Thomas was the sixth individual finisher not from state-qualifying teams at the Hortonville Sectional, just missing a state berth.

Thomas ran a 20:08.07 to finish 14th of 38 runners. The fifth individual qualifier finished in 19:54.

“She had her best run ever at the sectional. The odds were just stacked against her,” coach Joe Adamak said.

At the sub-sectional, Port scored 120 points and finished fifth of seven teams. Kaukauna won with 30, and Kimberly scored 63.

Thomas finished 15th in 20:09.9 and was the final individual qualifier for the sectional. Senior Mira Stimac was 23rd in 21:01.6. Sophomore Abbey Lotz was 24th in 21:05.2. Sophomore Emma Kasza-James was 25th in 21:14.3 and senior Emma Goodman was 33rd in 22:10.4.

“I thought everybody ran fairly well,” Adamak said.

He was glad to get Kasza-James back from contact tracing.

“She ran great for missing about a month of the season,” he said.

Stimac, he said, ran a consistent race and the rest of the seniors, including Goodman, Kayla Hartmann and Anna Russell, had career-best times.

Adamak sees a bright future for the program.

“The young kids really are looking good so we’ll be ready for next year with a strong group of juniors,” he said.