State Championships - 7th Best D1 Team in the State!!!!

The culmination of the 2015 Boys CC Season took place on Saturday at the Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. The race included 20 of the best division one teams and 50 of the best division one athletes. This season the Madison Memorial boys team participated in the State Meet for the 16th time in school history. The season began in August but the work for this one day started for most of these athletes in June. Many of these kids have been working towards this event since their freshman year and multiple years of hard work, long mileage, fast workouts, countless strength exercises, endless hours of stretching/icing, and many sacrifices were rewarded with seventeen minutes of racing on one of the hardest courses in the state of Wisconsin in muddy and wet conditions. To many people outside of the sport of cross country (and some even in the sport) it doesn't make sense to work that hard and be that wet but the smiles on the faces of the kids cheering along the course and the boys who finished the race explain that it is all worth the effort. Our team, like every team, had its fair share of ups and downs this season with illness and injuries but throughout it all we kept our team goals in sight and this is what led to our good end of the season. The JMM CC boys team was not satisfied with just making it to state but instead wanted to make sure they had one more good race to end their 2015 campaign. Our team did exactly what we did all season long, run like a TEAM, and this led to a strong 7th place finish. As we turn the page on the season the questions become can we seek out the hard work and dedication that can earn us a spot back at this meet again next season, who will step in to replace our seniors, and can we improve upon this 7th place finish?

The Madison Memorial boys team was comprised of 67 athletes this season and on Saturday that team was well represented by the boys who toed the line at the WIAA State Championships. Luke V (56th overall - 17:01), Rory S (58th - 17:02), Casey GT (62nd - 17:05), Jonas B (69th - 17:08), Jack Z (86th - 17:14), Trevor R (119th - 17:33), and Zach H (148th - 17:47) put forth a great effort on a difficult course in even more difficult conditions. Our work throughout the season and the meets on the tough course in difficult conditions helped this team improve on their 10th place ranking to finish with 213 points in 7th place. Kimberly (80 points) and Madison LaFollette (99 points) earned state trophies on the day and the Big 8 was represented amazingly by LaFollete (2nd), Middleton (4th), Madison Memorial (7th), and Sun Prairie (10th). Our team plan all season long was to keep an eye on your teammates and move together as a group. This is difficult to accomplish at the state meet with 190 of the best athletes jammed into a small window but our guys did it better than ever on Saturday. Our team split of 13 seconds between 1 - 5 is what earned us the 7th place finish. Jonas did an amazing job of getting the team out to a strong start through the mile. His teammates followed the lead and we saw great kicks from the likes of Luke, Rory, & Casey as they fought for every point in the finish. Jack had a great race as he moved through the pack to be our 5th runner, he passed 42 people between the mile mark and the finish. Trevor R ended up being the 3rd best #6 runner in the state while Zach H was also the 3rd best #7 runner...Trevor bumped up the score of every team behind us (13 teams) and Zach would have been in the top 5 of 7 teams today. To take that next step as a team we need to move this group forward. It is just small amounts that accomplish it, notice the 13 seconds that separated Luke & Jack was 30 places. I look forward to seeing what the returning juniors in this group can do and wonder which athletes will step up to be the next runner to represent JMM at the State Championships.

This season our JV team reached its goal of winning the Big Eight Championship and our Varsity reached the goal of earning a trip to the State Meet. We have one last team goal left and that takes place in the classroom. Let's make sure we finish the 1st quarter strong and keep up the hard work in the classroom all school year long. We hope to have every athlete with a 3.0 or better GPA and a team GPA over 3.4.

THANK YOU to the fans who braved the weather to be a part of this special day...lots of proud Spartans out there today!

STATE RESULTS

Boys D1 Interactive Results

Boys D1 Team Results

Boys D1 Individual Results

COVERAGE
Video from 1 1/3 mile mark
Video from the 2 mile mark
VIP Photos (official WIAA photographer)

END OF YEAR NOTES
- Please send pictures that can be used for an end of year slideshow on a memory stick/flash drive to Coach Casey at school ASAP
- End of year banquet will be Thursday November 5th @ Rocky's - starts @ 5:30pm ($10 per person pay at door) RSVP to jmmcc@rocketmail.com
- Athletes who have not yet turned in $10 to captains for Thanksgiving Baskets & Coaches' Gifts...please do so ASAP

END OF YEAR SURVEYS
End of Season Survey (PARENTS)
End of Season Survey (ATHLETES)

Order JMM Cross Country Clothing

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Sectionals - 2nd place - Headed to STATE!

2015 Sectional Runner Ups - State Qualifiers

Madison Memorial headed to Ripp Park in Waunakee Saturday morning for the Division 1 sectional where the top 2 teams and 5 individuals earn the right to advance to the WIAA State Championship. The weather was overcast and rainy and the course was hilly and difficult but all the teams had to face the same adversity and the Spartans were ready to compete. The work for this day was put in over the last five months and the boys just had to trust their training and each other. Our team ran as a group again today putting 5 runners within 28 seconds of each other and all 7 runners within 37 seconds. Middleton finished a strong first place scoring 42 points and Madison Memorial earned the runner up finish scoring 74 points outdistancing Madison West by 11 points. Our team was the only squad to have all 7 runners under 18:00 as we place all our runners in the top 28. This great team performance earned the Spartans a trip to the WIAA State Meet next weekend in Wisconsin Rapids. This will be the boys 16th appearance at the WIAA State Championships, the first since 2009, and this marks only the 3rd time in school history that both the boys & girls team will compete at the state meet (1979, 1985, & 2015).

The large hills in the first 1/2 mile led to a conservative start to our race but by the mile our group found their positions and were running well in the front part of the race. The long climb to the two mile mark is where the race was decided and it was obvious the hard work our team had done throughout the year paid off as all runners looked gassed going into the last mile but our guys were in great position to earn a state berth and closed well to wrap up that trip to Wisconsin Rapids. The sectional meet has one purpose...to decide who goes to state. Times aren't important, places and team scores are the story of the day. JMM was led to the finish line by Rory S (8th - 17:18) who earned a top 10 finish with his strong closing kick. He was quickly joined in the chute by Luke V (12th - 17:24), Casey GT (14th - 17:28), and Jonas B (17th - 17:30) who all earned top 20 finishes. Zach H (23rd - 17:47) led our strong finish of our 5th - 7th runners who helped us put distance on the other teams today. Trevor R (27th - 17:53) and Jack Z (28th - 17:56) would have been in every team's top 5 or better today except for Middleton. This group ran solid today and are ready to have a really good race at the state meet.

THANK YOU to all the parents, families, runners, alumni, teachers, administrators, community members and more who cheered on the JMM teams at Ripp Park....it was an AMAZING show of support for the teams and helped both the boys & girls teams on a difficult course with dreary weather. I hope we can have just as many fans or more who make it to the Ridges in Wisconsin Rapids to cheer on these runners who represent our whole program.

SECTIONAL RESULTS
Waunakee Sectional
All Sectional Results

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday October 31st
WIAA State Championships
@ Ridges Golf Course - Wisconsin Rapids
Bus - TBD (info will be shared with athletes at practice)
12:00pm - 1st race
1:20pm - Girls D1 Race
3:10pm - Boys D1 Race
4:30pm - Awards Ceremony @ Lincoln HS

Fan Bus Sign Up - HERE (permission slips & payment will be done through the athletic office)
Bus leaves JMM @10:15am on Saturday morning
Sign up ASAP to ensure a seat on the bus

Spectator Driving/Parking Instructions - HERE

END OF YEAR NOTES
- Please send pictures that can be used for an end of year slideshow on a memory stick/flash drive to Coach Casey at school ASAP
- End of year banquet will be Thursday November 5th @ Rocky's ($10 per person - pay at door) RSVP to jmmcc@rocketmail.com
- Athletes who have not yet turned in $10 to captains for Thanksgiving Baskets & Coaches' Gifts...please do so ASAP

Order JMM Cross Country Clothing

Click HERE and order clothes

JMM Boys & Girls State Meet Qualifiers

(1st time both JMM teams have qualified in the same year since 1985)

Big 8 Conference Meet - Varsity = 4th, JV1 = Champions, JV2 = 3rd

The first fall frost greeted the Big 8 Conference as they converged on Blackhawk Golf Course in Janesville to compete in the 2015 Conference Championships. The brisk temperatures led to a hard running surface but combined with blue skies and sunshine made for great running temperatures. The course was in good conditions, the competition was amazing, and the Madison Memorial Spartans performed at a high rate Saturday leading to 39 lifetime PRs and 14 additional season bests. The meet for many of the runners was a culmination of a great nine week experience in cross country it was great to see many memories shared during the days events. The team finished a strong 4th place in varsity, brought home the CHAMPIONSHIP in JV1, and finished 3rd in the JV2 race. The athletes performed great in each race and should be proud of their accomplishments.

The meet started with the varsity competition which featured LaFollette (#1 ranked in state), Middleton (#6), Sun Prairie (#7), Memorial (#10), & West (#12) and two very strong teams in Verona & Janesville Craig. LaFollete (missing 1 runner) & Middleton locked in a close 1 point battle and showed that they both with be state title contenders this season with their combination of strong front runners and solid depth. Our team locked in a battle with Sun Prairie in a show of teams that both have great depth. After losing to Sun Prairie two week ago by 26 points at the Stoughton Invitational today our team gave them a much better battle that came down to the final straightaway with our team narrowly finishing fourth to Sun Prairie by 2 points. Our strong performance put more than 50 points between ourselves Verona, West, & Craig. The team was led today by All-Conference performers Luke V (8th-16:04 PR) and Jonas B (12th-16:21 PR). Rory S (16:30) and Casey GT (16:36 PR) ran together throughout the race finishing in 18th and 22nd respectively. Jack Z (29th-16:45 PR) and Zach H (30th - 16:48 PR) moved up through the race both earning top 30 finishes. Austin W rounded out the top 7 by being the 2nd best #7 runner in the race with his 36th place finish of 17:17. The strength of our team all season has been keeping a close gap between our runners and that continued today with all 7 runners being within 1:13 of each other and our 1 - 5 gap being only 41 seconds.

The JV1 race had a Madison Memorial effect on it right from the beginning as this group was determined to win back the Big 8 Championship our team had won in 2013. Trevor R was determined to earn back his varsity spot which he did by winning the JV1 individual title with a winning time of 16:52. Madison Memorial was the ONLY team on the day who had 7 runners finish under 17:00 minutes! The remainder of our JV1 group firmly planted themselves in the lead pack and ran hard as a group throughout the race. Their strong team mentality led to 7 runners finishing in the top 18 and a great team score of 34 points to outdistance Middleton & West. This means that although our JV group did not go undefeated this season they were able to beat every team they faced in the state this year. Trevor was supported with top 10 finishes by Dominic G (5th - 17:16 PR), Benton DD (7th - 17:27 PR), and Jared G (10th - 17:29 PR). Senior Sam Z (11th - 17:33 PR) rounded out the scoring five and he was closely followed by Joel F (14th - 17:40) and Ty B (18th - 17:44). This group represented well our team depth and the hard work our JV has put in all season to support our varsity runners and continue to challenge them to do their best.

The final race of the day was the JV2 race which really highlights the team depth of a cross country program. JMM won this race in 2013 but lacked the same depth this season as we had then but had a nice combination of senior leadership and upcoming youth that performed well in this race. In 2013 we had a lot of frosh/soph runners who ran well and now in 2015 our leading our varsity & JV1...hopefully some of today's young runners in JV2 will put in the work to be our top guys next year and in the future. The JV2 finished a strong 3rd place behind perennial strong JV2 program West and a deep Middleton squad. The group was led by senior Calvin J who earned a top 5 finish with his sub 18:00 performance of 17:59. This gave Memorial 15 runners under 18 minutes on the day (tieing West for the most in the Big 8). Also scoring for our JV2 was sophomores Elliot B (13th - 18:11 PR), Stryder C (18th - 18:15 PR), & Eli T (25th - 18:19) and freshman Peter V (15th - 18:13). Rounding out the top 7 were Ben T (26th - 18:23) and Ray G (28th - 18:25 PR). This group saw lifetime PRs by: Chris X (1:41), Jack T (1:10), Ameya K (1:00), Kevin T (:47), Richard T (:42), Kyle W (:39), Yazi Y (:39), Grant J (:34), Finn J (:26), Joey DR (:26), Zane R (:25), Walker V (:24), Nathan S (:23), Nic L (:19), Henry C (:19), Pete B (:19), Peter S (:15), James B (:13), Nathan W (:12), Andy T (:10), Matt B (:09), Martin V (:06), and Eli H (:01).

Saturday was a great finish to the season for our JV athletes. Everyone should come out to Waunakee next weekend to cheer on the varsity team as they attempt to earn the right to compete at the WIAA State Meet. I encourage everyone to finish the quarter strong and take care of their classwork throughout the whole season. All athletes should continue to build upon the successes we had this season and build to a better future in running, the classroom, and in life.

CONFERENCE RESULTS
Varsity
JV1
JV2

Senior Sam Z won the annual Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament over fellow senior Rory S in a classic sudden death 5th round final in which Sam bravely won using paper after the first 4 rounds were all won using scissors

Monday October 19th - Mandatory Team Meeting for ALL athletes - 3:45 - 4:15pm
Athletes will receive important end of the season information -- must attend!
If you forgot to turn in your uniform - BRING IT MONDAY
Bring $10 to captains for end of year coaches' gifts and Thanksgiving Baskets

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday October 24th
Sectional Championships (varsity only)
@ Waunakee - Ripp Park - Waunakee
Bus Time - 8:45am
11:00am - Girls Varsity
11:45am - Boys Varsity (2014 Results)
12:30pm - Awards (Top 2 teams & 5 individuals not on teams = qualify for State)

NEWS & NOTES

Order JMM Cross Country Clothing

Click HERE and order clothes

City Championships - Varsity = Runner Up, JV = Champions

The 2015 Championship Season began Friday night as Madison Memorial traveled back to Lake Farm Park for the last time this season to compete in the Madison City Championship Meet. A five team meet wouldn't be something that usually draws much attention but when you have the defending D1 State Champions (West - also currently ranked #12 in D1) and the current #1 ranked team in the state of Wisconsin (LaFollette) in the same city competing against the current #10 ranked D1 team (Memorial) and the #9 ranked D2 team (Edgewood) you get yourself a very competitive small championship meet. Madison cross country has a storied history of distance running that continues to be written still each year and Friday night we had an opportunity to compare ourselves to some of the best teams in the state and prove ourselves at the same time. The City Championships is just one step closer to meeting our season goals.

The varsity competition started off the meet and LaFollette showed why they are the #1 ranked team in the state today. We were in a battle with West for 2nd place and ran a great race to take 2nd scoring 47 points to West's 67 points. Our team was led by Luke V who broke up LaFollette's perfect score by finishing 5th in 16:31. He was closely followed by Jonas B who ran a PR of 16:34 for 7th earning All-City honors. Just missing out on All-City was Rory S (11th - 16:48) and Casey GT (13th - 16:49) who ran solid races as our 3rd & 4th runners. Jack Z ran a PR of 17:04 to be our # 5 in 16th place. Our gap of :33 seconds between #1 - 5 was very solid but what was even more impressive was our finish of our #6 and #7 runners who also came in during the next :16 seconds. Austin W was right behind Jack finishing 17th in 17:07 and Trevor R finished 21st in 17:20. Our varsity competed well all-around from our first to our seventh runner and we will need to continue to do this in the coming weeks to place our best at each championship race.

In two tries this season our JV took 2nd each time against West's JV team. Tonight our team scored an impressive 30 points and edged West by 2 points to earn the JV City Championship. The JV crew was led by JV City Champion Zach H who ran a PR of 17:15 for the victory. Teammate Dominic G ran a PR of 17:30 to place runner-up in the race. Sam Z (17:40 - 5th) and Jared G (17:50 - 9th) both ran PRs to earn top 10 finishes and Benton DD wrapped up our scoring with his 18:03 for 13th place. Joel F (18:06 - 16th) and Ty B (18:09 - 19th) rounded out the scoring seven runners in JV. Their were 46 season bests run on the day and they included the following lifetime PRs: Clayton K (1:08), Richard T (1:00), Peter S (:57), Garrett K (:51), Joey DR (:49), James B (:43), Liam H (:35), Kevin T (:34), Sam M (:29), Finn J (:28), Nathan S (:25), Stryder C (:24), Grant J (:17), Adrian A (:16), Kyle W (:16), Ameya K (:14), Nathan W (:13), Pete B (:12), Henry C (:08), Zane R (:06), and Elliot B (:04). As this group prepares for the Conference Championships they are peaking at the right time. Take care of yourself in the coming days, get some good rest, and be ready to end the season on a high note in Janesville on Saturday.

CITY RESULTS
Varsity & JV
Interactive Results

TEAM PRACTICE
Saturday October 10th - Team Practice - 8:00am ~ 9:15am @ Ice Age Trail & Military Ridge Trail Junction Park & Ride in Verona - MAP

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday October 17th
Big 8 Conference Championships
@ Janesville Craig - Blackhawk Golf Course - Janesville
Bus Time - 7:15am
10:05am - Boys Varsity (top 7) (2014 Results)
11:10am - Boys JV1 (8 - 14 runners) (2014 Results)
12:20pm - Boys JV2 (remainder of team) (2014 Results)
1:00pm - Awards Ceremony
***Bring $$$$...we will stop to eat***

All JV runners will turn in their uniforms Saturday at the meet (bring a change of clothes) - If you are not attending the Conference Meet please turn in before Friday - Any uniforms not turned in will result in an academic hold on your student record ($35 - for lost/damage uniform top, $35 - for lost/damage uniform bottom)

Monday October 19th - Mandatory Team Meeting for ALL athletes - 3:45 - 4:15pm
Athletes will receive important end of the season information -- must attend!

NEWS & NOTES
Bring $10 to captains for end of year coaches' gifts and Thanksgiving Baskets

Carpooling - Families interested in participating in a cross country carpool for practice &/or meets should contact Sherri Swartz (sherrribeth@gmail.com) - whether you are willing to drive or just looking for help with rides

Bucket Hats - available for $25...bring $ to Casey ASAP

Order JMM Cross Country Clothing

Click HERE and order clothes

Stoughton Invitational - Varsity = 5th, JV = 2nd

Madison Memorial descended upon Stoughton High School Saturday morning arriving to cool fall temperatures, a brisk wind, and sunny skies. The meet guaranteed to be competitive as 7 of the top 20 teams in the state were attending the 14 team meet (LaFollette #1, JMM #5, SPASH #6, Sun Prairie #7, Middleton #9, Verona #15, & Baraboo #20). Coming off of a race Tuesday and contending with homecoming week festivities the boys look to put their best foot forward as we took this last stepping stone before starting the championship season. Good times were run by both groups leading to a 2nd place finish in junior varsity and a 5th place finish in varsity. The JV was able to take down SPASH who beat us at Smiley but lost to Middleton in a close race. Luckily we see Middleton one more time at Conference & two weeks and we will have a good chance to best the in that meet. The varsity finished 5th out of the 7 ranked teams but all 5 teams could be top 8 teams at the state meet. It will be important for this group to continue what they are doing over the next three weeks to insure the opportunity to prove this at the state meet. As a team it is important we get our rest and get back to full strength in the coming days. The last weeks of the season will be competitive but exciting and all of our team goals are still attainable.

The racing began with the JV race that pitted Middleton (beat us at Verona) and Stevens Point (beat us at Smiley) against our JV squad. Our group got stuck a little back at the tight start but moved up well throughout the race. They were led by Austin W (17:44 - 4th) and Dom G (17:47 - 5th) who earned top 5 finishes. Our next three all finished in the top 20 as Jared G (17:57) finished 10th, Benton DD (18:00) finished 11th, and Sam Z (18:13) finished 20th. Unfortunately Middleton had all their scorers in the top 15 but are well within reach over the coming weeks. Seniors Ben T (30th - 18:32) and Calvin J (38th - 18:44) rounded out the top 7 on JV today. This group had 23 season best performances including lifetime PRs by Zane R (1:08), Walker V (1:01), Pete B (:37), Imaad S (:32), Finn J (:22), Garrett K (:18), Joey DR (:14), Matt B (:13), Adrian A (:10), James B (:08), and Stryder C (:01). This group has two races remaining against good competition at potentially fast courses...looking forward to even more and bigger PRs in the coming weeks.

In the varsity race our squad got out to a good position in the early part of the race but just lacked the extra energy on this day to move up throughout the race. Our team had 5 runners under 17:20 and that should not take 5th place at a normal 14 team meet but the competition on Saturday was not a normal 14 team meet. There were just not enough teams in this field for our team to benefit from our strong 4 - 5 runners and therefor led to our 5th place finish. Our top 5 had another strong finish with a spread of only 36 seconds. They were led today by Luke V (16:43 - 14th),  Rory S (16:55 - 20th), and Jonas B (16:57 - 22nd) who all earned medals with their top 25 finishes and sub 17:00 performances. This group was followed closely by Casey GT (17:09 - 27th) and Trevor R (17:19 - 35th). Jack Z had another nice race being the 2nd best #6 runner in the race finishing 40th in 17:26 and Zach H joined him in the top 50 with his 49th place 17:47 performance.

Take care of business in the classrooms (check out those progress reports), get some rest after homecoming week, and mentally prepare for the upcoming championship run. The hard work over the summer and last couple months is ready to be used to end with some spectacular times and finishes for this season.

STOUGHTON RESULTS
Varsity

Junior Varsity

NEXT COMPETITION
Friday October 9th 

City Championship @ Lake Farm Park

Early Release - 1:45pm

Bus - 2:00pm

4:00 - Meet Begins

4:30 - Boys Varsity (2014 Results)

5:40 - Boys JV (2014 Results)

NO BUS HOME - EVERYONE IS INVITED TO ALL-CITY CELEBRATION
All City Boys Cross Country Post Meet Celebration
Madison LaFollete HS @ 702 Pflaum Road  
$6.00 for all you can eat Pizza Oven pizza
Begins immediately after the awards (~6:45pm) and goes until you are full - Awards presentation at about 7:15pm

UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday October 10th - Team Practice - 8:00am ~ 9:15am @ Ice Age Trail & Military Ridge Trail Junction Park & Ride in Verona - MAP

NEWS & NOTES
Carpooling - Families interested in participating in a cross country carpool for practice &/or meets should contact Sherri Swartz (sherrribeth@gmail.com) - whether you are willing to drive or just looking for help with rides

Bucket Hats - available for $25...bring $ to Casey ASAP

JV Athletes last day of practice is Monday October 19th

Order JMM Cross Country Clothing

Click HERE and order clothes