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
