Sectionals - Team = 5th, Jake Z Earns Trip to State

Annika C & Jake Z Qualify for State

The WIAA creates ten Division 1 sectionals based off of geography each year to qualify two teams and five individuals for the WIAA State meet. Our geography has always landed us in a difficult sectional...this is both bad & good. It is bad because it is hard to get out of our sectional to state but it is good because if we make it to state we know we will be one of the top teams/individuals at the state meet. This season Middleton, Madison West, DeForest, Verona, & Madison Memorial have all been ranked by the WCCCA coaches association. All these teams are teams that are capable of competing at the state meet but only 2 qualify out of this sectional. Our sectional is one of (if not the most) most competitive sectionals in the state. How do you get out of this sectional? Make sure your team is at a level to finish in the top 10 in the state or even be ready to compete for a trophy at the state meet. This year, we were not at that level but we hoped to get some individuals through to the state meet. 

The boys race was competitive from the gun as some individuals who were looking to qualify individually and hoping to pull a low number for there team took out the pace hard & fast. Our team settled into the next group of runners & were right in the mix with the top 5 teams in the race. Jake Z moved towards the front of the race finishing 7th overall and since no #2 runners were ahead of him we knew that 2 of these guys would qualify with a team and leave Jake as a top 5 individual qualifier. Jake ran 16:54 to earn his first trip to the state meet in Rapids. AJ came in 7 seconds later just missing out on being an individual qualifier (he was the 4th best #2 runner in the race). Mick was our #3 runner in 17:20 (4th best #3 runner in the race). Jakob M and Henry B finished together as our #4 & 5 runners in 17:56 (both as the 5th best runners for their # in the race). Nick Z ran 18:01 in his first of hopefully many Sectional races and Jonathan finished his first varsity season with an 18:14 as a sophomore. Our #6 runner was the 3rd best runner in the race and our #7 was the 2nd best seventh runner in the race...our depth was strong. Overall, we need to shift up our front of the race to put more guys running in the top 10 and with the leaders from the start. Our depth and our strength will follow to keep up with a tight pack. Who will step up and make that happen for us?? That is why we run the races and that is what off-seasons are all about.

This race was a very solid race for our team. We had higher hopes at the start of the season but where our team was at the end of the season kind of matches where we are at. This season we beat multiple teams who made it to state and only loss to teams that made it to state (except LaFollette who took 3rd at their sectional). We are one of the top 25 teams in the state...the next step, be one of the top 2 teams in our sectional and show that we are a top 10 (or better) team in the state. Jake will represent us well at the state meet and all team members should help celebrate and cheer on this effort. 

RESULTS
DeForest Sectional
All Sectionals

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday October 30th
WIAA State Championships @ Ridges Golf Course - Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Van - 8:00am
12:00pm - First Race - Boys D2
12:35pm - Boys D1 Race (2019 Results) (Jake is in Lane 3)
2:25pm - Girls D1 Race (Annika is in Lane 3)
3:40pm - Awards - top 2 teams and 10 individuals

SPECTATOR INFORMATION
Come cheer on Jake & Annika AND see some amazing Cross Country running!
Tickets = $9 --> Must be purchased in advanced through a mobile device
Parking & Shuttles = $5 per vehicle --> Arrive early to park & ride shuttle to the course
Course Map - HERE
Live Results - Link should be located HERE on race day

Big 8 Conference Championships - Varsity = 6th, JV1 = 3rd, JV2 = 3rd

The Big 8 Conference is one of (if not the) best boys conferences in the state of Wisconsin. Year in and year out it produces 4 - 6 top 20 ranked teams and sends 3 - 4 teams to the state meet each year. To be competitive in this meet you have to have a good team and be on the day of the meet. This year we had a good team but Saturday was not our "on day" and that happens in cross country. At many meets that means you slip 1 or 2 spots...this year, it probably cost us more. Such is life in athletics and we learn from it and move forward. We celebrate the wins we did have, we learn from the struggles of the day, and we head back out into the world as better people because we showed up and competed. I'm proud of the Spartan CC boys for what they have endured during this 2021 season and our efforts we put forth at the Big 8 meet on Saturday in Sheehan park. Our varsity finished 6th place, our JV1 was 3rd, an our JV2 was 3rd. We stamped our finish on the season for the JV runners and prepare our varsity for one more go round at DeForest for Sectionals. Many athletes have begun looking at the off-season or talking about next year...but first take a moment to enjoy this season. The many triumphs, struggles, and funny stories along the way. Congrats JMM CC 2021!

The varsity race was led by Senior Mick S who earned All-Conference honors with his 17:25 and 13th place finish. He was followed by AJ who placed 17th in 17:31 just missing out on All-Conference. Henry B had a great race finishing in 17:49. Jakob M continues to run well finishing in the top 30 with his time of 18:01 in 29th. Nick Z ran to a 34th place finish in his first of hopefully many Big 8 races (but hopefully future races he runs with both shoes on the whole way). Jonathan B was close behind in 18:20. This varsity group has worked hard all year long and depending on the week we have beaten some great teams but have also shown we have some vulnerabilities. We will look to put together a great race for all 7 runners next week at Sectionals.

The JV1 ran a competitive race and weren't quite enough for West and LaFollette had a freshman have a great day which helped them sneak ahead of us for 2nd. Our 3rd place finish was a strong finish as we took down some great Big 8 teams in the process. Freshman Finn (8th) and Soph Tommy S (9th) led the team to the finish with top 10 places in 18:25 & 18:26 respectively. Rees, Charlie, Alvaro all finished within 7 seconds of each other to take 19th, 20th, & 22nd. Our scorers were within 30 seconds of each other which was great to see today. I look forward to some of the underclassmen helping us winning some JV races next year or maybe even helping us out in Varsity. Felipe (19:09) ran a great last race in his senior finale. Jack G was our final JV1 finisher on the day for our team that took 3rd.

Our JV2 depth took a hit over the last 2 years as our numbers have dipped some but this group is also the group that made the most improvements this season. I was very pleased with how well this group worked in practice and competed on race day...big things are on the horizon. For 2021 we weren't quite deep enough to take down West or Middleton but again finished solidly in 3rd out of 10 teams. Diego had a great race earning top 10 with his 19:04 for 7th place. Alex Br was next in 19:18 for 12th. As Alex T and Alex Ba helped complete the Alex, Alex, Alex finish by coming in 19:34 and 19:41. Logan gave us 5 scores under 20:00 and rounded out scoring 5. Derek R and Max L ran season bests on today's difficult course. While Will T, Fred S, MacCoy L, Jack C, Sai, and Tommy H all ended the season with lifetime PRs. Many great performances were had today and I hope they lead to big goals for the off-season and even faster times in the future. The next All-Conference runner may just be from this group of runners (Mick S placed 18th in JV 2 just a few short seasons ago) dream big and train harder. 

Alex V won our annual Rock Paper Scissors Championships in dominating fashion that hasn't been seen in decades only losing one match on the day. He took out Senior Elliot I in the finals 3 - 0 stories of this day will be told for years to come...congrats Alex.

RESULTS
All Races (click on links for your race...you can see mile/2mile splits)
Varsity Team Scores
JV1 Team Scores
JV 2 Team Scores

NEXT COMPETITION (Varsity Only)
Saturday October 23rd
WIAA Sectional @ DeForest - Linde Soccer Complex - DeForest, WI 
Bus - 8:30am
10:30am - Boys Race (2019 Results)
11:15am - Girls Race
12:00pm - Awards - top 2 teams and 5 individuals not on those teams
** We will not stop to eat...arrive back at Memorial around 1:00pm

No pets at the meet! - Thanks

NEWS & NOTES
Captains are collecting money - $30 for 2021 Long Sleeve shirt & coaches gifts OR $10 for coaches gifts
October 18th - EVERYONE meets at 2:45pm (JV runners turn in uniforms & short meeting...Varsity runners will practice like normal)
End of Year Awards Ceremony - TBD (more info to be emailed to families)
Clothing Orders - Sweatshirts were canceled (another 2 - 4 weeks wait) you should be getting a refund on your credit card. Shorts are hopefully delivered on Monday.
Sectionals - Everyone should try to come out to DeForest to cheer on the varsity for a chance to race at State
Last chance Mile for JV runners...4:15pm Tuesday Oct 19th (meet at the track ready to race)

City Championships - Varsity = 2nd & JV = 2nd

 On a warm Friday evening the best runners from the Madison area converged on Lake Farm County Park for the annual running of the Madison City Championships. The cloud cover arrived just as races were beginning and their may have been a sprinkle in the air but it was a warm October afternoon. Memorial took on West, LaFollette, East, & Edgewood for 2021 bragging rights and the start to our championship season. Our runners were ready to go and ran great on the day as we saw 15 runners race to season or lifetime PRs. The varsity race saw us take down LaFollette (who had beaten us at Stoughton & Midwest) and put Jake Z and Mick S on the 1st team All-City Team. Our JV had the City Champion in Jakob M and the City Runner Up in Rees H and just missed pulling off the victory by 2 points but made great strides on a team that had beat us pretty handily earlier in the year...we get one more shot at them in the Big 8 race. Overall it was a good day for the Spartans and a nice start to the weekends Homecoming events.

The varsity race saw a patient first mile and everyone was represented early in the race. As things stretched out Jake Z and Mick S represented JMM in the lead group. Jake Z had a great finish securing City Runner Up honors while Mick's kick got him all the way back into the top 5 and earning All-City 1st team honors. AJ ran tough today just missing out on All-City finishing in 11th. Henry ran a PR of 17:25 to earn a top 15 finish. He was followed by soph Jonathan B in a PR of 17:42 and freshman Nick Z also in a lifetime best of 17:43. Freshman Finn rounded out our top 7 on the day with his finish in 23rd. It is important to win individual battles in a small race like today's City meet. We accomplished that with LaFollette but couldn't quite match the depth of West. We have some stiff competition again next week at the Big 8 Championships but how our team performed today shows that we are ready to run fast and compete for every spot down the stretch. Looking forward to the last couple weeks of the season.

The JV race was a two team competition as we tried to match the depth of West. When we raced against them at Midwest they placed 4 runners before our #1 and beat us by over 70 points. Today we were ready to race up front better and seniors Jakob M & Rees H led the charge. Jakob pulled away midrace to win the JV City Championship in 17:54 giving JMM back to back JV City Champs. Rees finished with a great kick to earn his Runner Up finish in sub 18 as well, crossing the line in 17:58. Then the battle began as West's pack was right on Rees's tail. Tommy S had a great race running a lifetime PR of 18:12 finishing 8th and Alvaro battled for every spot along the way giving us 4 finishers in the top 10. Charlie M charged hard in the end crossing the line in 15th. In the end only 2 points separated first and second place but West earned the victory today. I was excited to see our improvement as a team since Midwest and glad we get one more shot at the Big 8 meet. Felipe R and Jack G will join these top 5 to compete in the JV1 race at next week's Big 8 championship. Our JV kids had lots of good races as many came close to or beat their season PRs including: Derek R (20:31), Daleep S (26:15), Peter S (19:56), Logan S (19:27), Fred S (21:38), Alex V (22:32), Sai A (23:55), David B (21:52), Liam B (22:47), Jack C (23:56), and PJ M (21:01). These guys are running fast at the right time of the season and we hope to get everyone one more fast race at Sheehan Park next week at Conference. Make sure to get some good sleep this week, take care of your body, and eat/hydrate well so we can put one more good effort out there with our JV runners. JMM CC Every Runner, Every Run, Every Day!

RESULTS
Varsity - Overall - Team

JV - Overall - Team

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday October 16th 

Big 8 Conference Championships @ Sun Prairie - Sheehan Park - Sun Prairie, WI

Bus - 7:30am

9:30am - First Race

10:05am - Boys Varsity (2019 Results)

11:10am - Boys JV1 (2019 Results)

12:20pm - Boys JV 2 (2019 Results)

1:00pm - Awards - top 15 individuals

**We will NOT stop to eat...plan accordingly. We should return to JMM around 2:00pm

WIAA Regulations state NO DOGS at events...please help out with this by leaving your pets at home.

NEWS & NOTES

--> Captains will be collecting money this week for coaches gifts & team shirts...more info to be posted

--> Monday practice - right after school = finished by 5:15pm (practices this week will be a little shorter for JV runners...use this extra time to get caught up on school work and get extra rest)

--> JV Runners will have a required practice on Monday Oct 18th @ 2:45pm...uniforms & other checked out items must be returned at this time. Only varsity runners preparing for Sectionals will have required practice the rest of the week of Oct 18th

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

 Another fall Saturday with another great opportunity to compete over the 5k distance. The competition was stiff at the Stoughton Invitational but our boys were up to the challenge. We weaved through the course as quickly as we could and saw some great performances. The course setup may have not allowed for many PRs but in head to head competitions our athletes improved from the last time we had seen some of these teams and that is all we can ask for from the runners. This was a good final tuneup for our championship series run that begins next week with the City Championships. Time to put in that little bit of extra focus to getting good sleep, eating well, and being ready for race days. Big things to come for everyone over the last couple weeks of the season. Every runner, every run, every day - JMM CC

The varsity race had a loaded field including SPASH (ranked #3), Middleton (#9), Madison LaFollette (#12), Oconomowoc (#16), and our own Madison Memorial (#19). Our guys competed great as Jake Z led the way with his 7th place finish and AJ was the 2nd best #2 runner on the day shortly behind in 9th. It was great to see two JMM jerseys at the front of the race. Mick was right with conference foes Middleton & LaFollettes pack earning a medal in 20th place. Henry & Jonathan closed out our scorers finishing 41th & 42nd and they were quickly followed by Finn & Rees who finished together in 46 & 48th. Stevens Point is the only team that had 7 runners faster than us today and that showed through in the JV race too. This group now prepares to compete against LaFollette & West in a much smaller race at the City championships where individual races for positions will be very important. Today was a good step forward for this group and an improvement over the last couple weeks.

The JV race was taken over up front by SPASH but our team made a nice presence in the top 10 at Nick Z (7th) and Jakob M (9th) led the way. Alvaro held on for a medal in 14th as Tommy S just missed out on one in 16th. Felipe held on strong as our scoring 5th to secure the 2nd place team finish over Big 8 foes Middleton & LaFollette. We will need to see if we can step up our game next week to take on West at City and beat LaFollette again and then we see West & Middleton with a Big 8 Conference title on the line in two weeks. Derek R, Daleep, and Tommy H all contributed season best performances on the day and lots of guys beat some of their competitors who got the better of them last week at Midwest. I look forward to the City race where it will be important to continue to run hard with our teammates and then we will finish the season in Sun Prairie at the Big 8 meet. Exciting & fast times ahead...keep up the good work.

RESULTS
Complete Results (scroll to see your race)

NEXT COMPETITION
Friday October 8th 
City Championships @ Madison West - Lake Farm County Park - Madison, WI
Early Release - 1:15pm
NO BUS --> Carpool from JMM to Lake Farm County Park
2:00pm - Arrive at Lake Farm
3:30pm - Boys Varsity (2019 Results)
4:30pm - Boys JV (2019 Results)
5:45pm - Awards - Varsity - top 10 individuals & 1 team, JV - top 10 individuals
* Athletes should plan to be at the meet through the team cool down which will conclude around 5:45pm

** WIAA Regulations state NO DOGS at events...please help out with this by leaving your pets at home.

NEWS & NOTES
Monday practice -> right after school...finished up by 5:15pm
Clothing order...we are still waiting on a couple items (jackets, sweatshirts, shorts...I think)
JV athletes will have practice through/including Monday Oct 18th
Championship season...JV = City & Conference, Varsity = City, Conference, Sectional, & State