Verona Invite - Varsity = 8th, JV = 11th

A muggy start of fall (end of summer?) morning greeted the Spartans as they headed to their first official meet of the 2026 season. The Madison Memorial boys joined 36 other teams from around the state of Wisconsin to compete on the Verona cross country course. Our team was looking to continue our improvement from our intrasquad and take a step forward from last season. The varsity race started off the day where our team placed 8th out of 36 teams improving upon our 9th place finish from last year. As for the JV we finished in 11th, a huge improvement from 20th place last year. As we continue to get experience in races we hope to see our JV runners continue to close the gap on our varsity and show some of our strength in numbers.

The varsity team was led by Charlie G who moved up from 99th place at 1-mile to 39th place at the finish. Charlie ran a great race earning a PR of 17:39. Patrick H also ran a big cross country 5k PR of 18:32 to break 20-minutes for the first time on a cross-country course. Overall, the varsity squad moved up significantly through the race from 16th place at 1-mile to 8th at the finish. I'm excited to see this group continue to cut down the gaps between runners and get out more aggressively at the start of races. Each week is an improvement, and we will return to this course in a month and a half for the Sectional championships.

Bowen D led our JV squad in a very deep and competitive Verona Invite with a 43rd place finish and a sub-20 time of 19:51. Elias K was our top freshman on the day running a time of 21:41. There were several PRs among the returning athletes: Luke H - 22:37, Owen G - 23:59, Abhi K - 25:28, and Brayden T - 25:59. First cross country 5ks were also run by Ephraim M, Levi B, Eli B, Oliver K, Henry M, Devon M, Luke S, Declan K, Elias K, Milo L, Jaxon P, Coda S, Ryan S, and Walter S. Many improvements were made from Elver to Verona and the JV guys are looking forward to getting to a Monona golf course with more rolling hills than steep climbs and opportunities for fast times and new PRs. If this group keeps working hard at practices and challenging themselves in workouts, there will be lots of fast races in their future.

RESULTS
All Races

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday September 12th
Monona Grove Invitational @ Monona GC (Course)
Bus - 7:00am
8:30am - First Race
9:40am - Boys Varsity  (Lane 11)
11:00am - Boys JV (Lane 11)
11:40am - Awards - top 2 teams and 15 individuals

Approximate return to Madison Memorial will be 12:30pm

We will be using the fieldhouse parking lot for drop off/pick up
SPECTATOR PARKING = easiest parking is at Monona Grove HS which is North of the golf course by about .25 mile....and then walking over to the course...leave yourself time

NEWS & NOTES

- Stay on top of your school work...don't let attendance or grades become an issue...ask coaches/upperclassmen if you need help.

- For all the photographers - Upload pictures here https://photos.app.goo.gl/XCx5pYMw4uhwsVht8

- Sign up for meet snacks - https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0948AEA72CA3FB6-65337408-memorial?useFullSite=false

- Clothing order #2 is open until 9/9 if you want some spartan gear https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/VPMXC2ND

- The Rothamer family (Berndt - 12th grade) and Regehr family (Zoey - 12th grade) are hosting a family potluck for the boys and girls cross country teams on Saturday September 12th. They ask families sign-up to bring a dish if possible. The potluck will be 6 - 8pm at the Garner park shelter and all family members are welcome to attend.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0948AEA72CA3FB6-65338489-2026

- Snap Raise... Try to get 20-emails uploaded! Fundraiser will start 9/8

Thundercats Win Intrasquad!

Thirty-eight competitors toed the line for our first of many cross country races this season. Will L-S led the athletes over the hills and through the woods of Elver Park to win and establish a course record for the new Elver 2-mile course. Our 2- 5 athletes (Berndt, Charlie, Max, Paul) also ran strong races with a gap of less than 1-minute for our 1-5. Ian and Patrick will round the varsity squad heading into the Verona Invite next weekend.

Going into the Verona invite Anthony, Andy, Bowen, and Mitchell will lead a mix of youth and experience of our JV runners who we hope push to make the varsity team and improve PRs throughout the season. Henry M was the top finisher among athletes new to cross country and Elias K ended up being our top freshman finisher. We had many first cross country races run by Henry M, Elias, Ryan, Luke S, Eli B, Walter, Coda, Jaxon, Declan, Oliver K, Levi, Ephraim, Miguel, and Devon. Lots of improvement in the near future for these guys and all their teammates. We look forward to seeing some competition next week at Verona and having more fans out on the course cheering on the runners. 

Athletes should work on getting into a good sleep pattern as we prepare to head back to school. SLEEP (8-9 hours nightly) is the #1 thing runners can do to enhance their performance and avoid illness & injury. Additionally, continue to stretch, roll, ice, eat well, & hydrate. Looking forward to big things all season long!

Results

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q-rz4BIUyyCBFBDsePE4OKZuntfLRR8AgD3LA63-Juc/edit?usp=sharing

Next Competition

Verona Invite Saturday 9/5 (@ Verona High School)

7am - Bus leaves VPM (arrive 6:45am, if driving to Verona arrive at 7:30am and send me an email to let me know you won't be on the bus!)

9:05am - Boys Varsity

10:20am - Boys JV

11:30am - Awards

Course Map

Parking Info - School parking lots only. We have over 1200 parking spots on campus and if those fill spectators will need to park on the nearby Verona Streets.  Foot entrance to the course is either down Wildcat Way to the parking lot, which is the safest, or one of the crossings of the Military Ridge bike trail. Entrance directly onto the course is prohibited.

NEWS & NOTES
Athletic Fees (or waiver) - must be paid through Infinite Campus
Snap Raise Fundraiser will kick off 9/8
Uniform Handout will occur this week. Athletes will keep their uniform for the duration of the season and must return assigned items at the completion of the season). Uniforms should be worn only at meets and washed in between uses.

2026 Week 2 Schedule

The 2026 boys cross country season is off and running. The guys have been working really hard at practice putting in the miles, learning strength routines, and overall improving as athletes. Each day gives us an opportunity to improve individually and as a team. Take advantage of each opportunity.

1. Athletes please make every effort to attend practice. If you need to miss practice, please send me an email ahead of time and include a parent/guardian on the email.

2. We are doing very well on paperwork as a team, but if you have not yet filled it out, please fill out the Athlete Questionnaire to ensure coaches have the correct contact info.

3. Athletics Fundraiser: We will start prepping for the fall athletics fundraiser this week. Athletes will sign up on the Snap Raise App and add 20 email contacts this week. More information will be emailed out closer to the fundraising kick off date. 

Week 2 Schedule
Monday - 4:00pm - 6:00pm @ Memorial
Tuesday - 4:00pm - 5:30pm @ Memorial

+ Parent meeting in cafeteria at 6pm

Wednesday - 4:00pm - 6:00pm @ Memorial
Thursday - 4:00pm - 6:00pm @ Memorial
Friday - 4:00pm - 5:30pm @ Elver (Meet by softball fields) so athletes can learn the new Intrasquad course

Saturday -Intrasquad - 7:30 - 9:30am @ Elver (meet by main shelter next to splash pad)

Intrasquad is a practice meet to introduce athletes to how a cross country meet works ahead of the Verona meet the following week.

Athletes should arrive at 7:30am to warm up and the race will start at 8:30am.  Friends, family, and alumni are all welcome to join in the race!

** New for 2026 is a new 2-mile course at Elver Park replacing the old 5k course

-- Planning ahead...week 3 practices will be 4pm at Memorial with a meet on Sat (9/5) at Verona HS.

2026 Schedule

 August

29th   Intrasquad (Elver Park)         8:30 am         NO BUS (7:30am)

September 

5th     Verona Invite (Verona HS)         9:00 am         Bus = 7:00am

12th  Monona Grove Invite (Monona GC, Monona)         8:30 am         Bus = 7:00am

19th    Smiley Invitational (Wausau East HS, Wausau) 8:30am         Bus = 5:45am

26th   Midwest Invite (Blackhawk GC, Janesville) 9:00am      Bus = 6:45am

October  

3rd    Arrowhead Invite     (Arrowhead HS)         9:30am Bus = 6:40am

9th  City @ Madison West     (Lake Farm Park) 4:00pm         NO BUS (2:30pm)

17th  Conference @ Janesville    (Blackhawk GC, Janesville) 9:30 am         Bus = 6:45am 

24th     Sectional @ Verona     (Verona HS, Verona) TBA am       Bus = 9:00am

31st    State @ Wisconsin Rapids (Ridges GC, Wisconsin Rapids)     3:10 pm    Bus = TBA