BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT
PHOTOS BY: AMY DAHLIN

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Instead of the nice warm weather the Bay Port cross country teams experienced at sectionals, the Pirates had to deal with the cold and wind at the WIAA Division 1 state meet in Wisconsin Rapids on Oct. 28. The Ridges Golf Course hosted the 3.1 mile race.

The boys’ team finished 19th out of 20, while Savannah Huben closed out her illustrious career with a 26th place showing for the girls.

The Pirates’ 366 points was well behind winner Middleton, who ran away with the title with its low score of 76. The nearest team in the standings – Stevens Point – finished over 100 points behind the winner. The top five runners on each team to cross the finish line counted in the team standings.

Senior Nick Key (16:59) placed 78th, but his counted point total was 48 because 30 racers finished ahead of him as individuals who were not associated with a team. Sophomores Drew Dahlin (17:08, 95 – 57), Ryan Thieme (17:22, 126 – 81) and Andrew Aderhold (17:24, 128 – 83) and senior Kyle Thieme (17:34, 144 – 97) rounded out the team score. Seniors Drew Abfall (18:07, 174 – 125) and Peter Martin (18:34, 185 – 135) were the other two Bay Port runners who took part.

The boys’ trip to state was the first time they’ve competed in Rapids since the 2011 season.

The senior Huben, a four-time state qualifier, finished with a time of 19:31, which was 90 seconds slower than winner Peyton Sippy from Janesville Craig. Sun Prairie won the girls’ title with its 57 points.

Junior Rachel Hoffman was the other Pirates’ runner to finish, doing so in a time of 20:16, which placed her 92nd overall.

“Another season is in the books,” said Bay Port head coach Mike Jameson. “It’s always an emotional and special weekend at state. It signifies that finality and the last races for our seniors.

“The girls ran well. Savannah ended a great career, while Rachel did great for running her first time at state and finishing where she did. The boys also finished a great season with some nice performances. It’s tough to run your best race right after you ran your best race (last week). I was proud of everyone’s efforts and it was a fun year.”