By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
Pictures by Amy Dahlin
GREEN BAY – The De Pere girls’ cross country team has won the Fox River Classic Conference championship.
On a cold, wet and windy day for running, the Redbirds easily outdistanced Ashwaubenon for the conference title Oct. 11 at Colburn Park in Green Bay.
De Pere’s 52 points were well ahead of the Jaguars’ 97.
The meet was originally scheduled to take place in Pulaski at the Polka Grounds, but wet conditions there forced the switch to Colburn. Even the course at Colburn was very sloppy and had to be altered somewhat compared to what the athletes usually run.
“The kids ran really well,” said De Pere head coach James Boyd. “Before the race when you set a plan, things went even better than that for the girls. They hit their times and we are very happy.”
Aisa Longnecker (19:34) led a two-three-four finish for the Redbirds, with Kylie Trousil (19:51) and Jordan Meulemans (19:52) slotting in right behind.
Ashwaubenon’s Sage Wagner nipped Longnecker by less than 2 seconds to win the title in a time of 19:33.
Bay Port’s Rachel Hoffman was the top finisher for the Pirates with her fifth-place time of 19:57.
The Bay Port girls finished fourth as a team, one spot behind Pulaski.
On the boy’s side of things, Bay Port’s Ryan Thieme ran to the overall title in a time of 16:34, with De Pere’s Andrew Lopez finishing just 6 seconds behind.
“It was pretty remarkable that the race organizers were able to assemble the course given the circumstances,” Thieme said. “As far as my race, I would say that it felt great to be running with some of the teams that we haven’t seen yet this year. I am very happy with how the race went and it was a lot of to fun to have such a good pack up front. As a team, I thought we had some guys step up in a big way. This being said, I am looking forward to another great race next week at Colburn (for sectionals) and hope that the momentum we have as a team carries over.”
Green Bay Preble won the team title for the boys, with Bay Port and De Pere finishing second and third.
“Andrew Lopez has closed the gap on Thieme over the year,” Boyd added. “Andrew ran a very good race. Our whole boys’ team ran well, but Preble is just that good right now. Come next Friday (at sectionals) it will come down to four teams (Bay Port, De Pere, Kimberly and Preble) fighting for two spots to get to state.”
Drew Dahlin (fifth – 16:57) and Andrew Aderhold (eighth – 17:02) both had top-10 finishes for the Pirates, while Aaron Milkie (16:58) came across the line in seventh for De Pere.
Randy Johnson was the top Ashwaubenon runner with his ninth-place finish (17:04).
Editor’s note: The WIAA D1 sectional will also be held at Coburn Park on Oct. 19.
Fox River Classic Conference cross country team results Oct. 11 – Colburn Park
Boys: Green Bay Preble 40, Bay Port 54, De Pere 61, Manitowoc Lincoln 145, Pulaski 149, Ashwaubenon 175, Sheboygan North 180, Notre Dame 204, Sheboygan South 247, Green Bay Southwest 261.
Girls: De Pere 52, Ashwaubenon 97, Pulaski 98, Bay Port 100, Green Bay Southwest 115, Sheboygan North 156, Green Bay Preble 160, Sheboygan South 191, Manitowoc Lincoln 192, Green Bay Notre Dame 274.
Individual results – Ashwaubenon Bay Port, De Pere
Boys:
Ashwaubenon – 9, Randy Johnson (17:05); 11, Nick Johnson (17:11); 38, Ian MacLean (18:54); 58, Tai Crowell (19:58); 59, Christian Van Iten (20:06); 60, Brendon Peterson (20:06); 70, Emmanuel Gutierrez (21:41).
Bay Port – 1, Ryan Thieme (16:35); 5, Drew Dahlin (16:57); 8, Andrew Aderhold (17:03); 18, Andrew Abfall (17:33); 22, Anthony Adriansen (17:47); 28, Caleb Rentmeester (18:05); 30, Tyler Guetschow (18:17).
De Pere – 2, Andrew Lopez (16:41); 7, Aaron Milkie )16:59); 13, Max Streichert (17:24); 16, Daniel Ericksrud (17:30); 23, Matthew Galler (17:52); 26, Wesley Ericksen (17:54); 33, Tyler Blum (18:30).
Girls:
Ashwaubenon – 1, Sage Wagner (19:33); 10, Erica Conrad (20:25); 23, Sophia Duboird (21:32); 28, Kiley Harjus (21:41); 35, Celeste Weidemann (22:05); 41, Brianna Lambrecht (22:28); 42, Emma Fischer (22:31).
Bay Port – 5, Rachel Hoffman (19:57); 13, Lindsay Herber (20:46), 26, Natalie Shulstad (21:38); 27, Celeste North (21:40); 29, Paige Draak (21:41); 39, Tea Bruss (22:20); 40, Hailey Magnin (22:25).
De Pere – 2, Aisa Longnecker (19:34); 3, Kylie Trousil (19:51); 4, Jordan Meulemans (19:52); 21, Elena Miller (21:26); 22, Ella Ericksen (21:28); 25, Alexis Trousil (21:36); 31, Grace Sukowaty (21:47).
