WIAA Sectional - 6th Place - Will L-S & Nick Z Qualify for State

 

Will L-S & Nick Z 

punched their tickets to State

On Saturday the WIAA sent us on a 1/2 trip (no it shouldn't be that long but we took the scenic route?) to Verona for our Sectional competition. We have competed on the course before which is a great course but also a challenging race, especially for a meet where a birth to the state meet is on the line. Our guys were ready for the day and the weather for the most part cooperated. Race leader Manny P (#1 ranker runner in the nation) set a hot early pace and things immediately got stretched out. As the race went on it looked like Will L-S had put himself solidly into a state qualifying position and Nick & Berndt had setup our race plan to be ready for a feverish chase the last mile of the course. The long hill on this course leads you to the 2 mile mark and it took its toll on a lot of runners today, including a couple Spartans. Will L-S came through looking good and cruised to a 3rd place finish qualifying for his second straight WIAA State meet. Nick Z came out of the woods charging but looked like maybe he had left himself too much work to do in the last mile. Undaunted, he ran down guys just like we planned and headed into the last hill of the course with just one more group to pass. Catching them in the woods he came off the hill with momentum heading to the finish line easily distancing himself from the other individual qualifiers by over 8 secs...what a great last mile. There was a bit of panic as we realized Middleton had put 6 runners in front of West's 4th runner but West had done enough to take second and Nick's plan worked out perfectly to punch his first ticket to the WIAA State meet. Berndt battled hard through the last mile to help our team save each point while fellow underclassmen Max B and Anthony L helped guide our team to a 6th place finish. 4 of our 5 scoring runners will be back to help this team in the future and gained valuable racing experience today at a Sectional meet. Seniors PJ M and Finn A completed great 4 year careers at Memorial representing our varsity. Our alternates for the meet were Ian G, Jack C, & Jamie I who all had great seasons for the Spartans. THANK YOU to all the runners, families, & alumni who came out and cheered on the guys...it helped us have such a great race. Will & Nick head off to Wisconsin Rapids next week (would love to see some Green & White cheering them on their too) to keep a great streak of Spartan racers competing at the pinnacle race of the season. This will be the first time since 2016 that we have had multiple runners in the race and we are excited to see what they can do at State. 

RESULTS
Verona Sectional Results
All Sectional Results

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday November 2nd
WIAA State Meet @ Ridges GC in Wisconsin Rapids (Course)
Van - 10:30am
12:00pm 1st Race
1:20pm - D1 Girls Race
3:10pm - D1 Boys Race (2024 Results) (Box 24 for Will & Nick)
3:45pm - Awards - top 2 teams & top 10 individuals

SPECTATOR INFORMATION
Come watch some great cross country & cheer on Will & Nick at the WIAA State Meet
Tickets = $9 (+ processing fee)...must be purchased in advanced & on a mobile device
Parking & Shuttles = $5 (pay with cash) per car --> Arrive early to park & ride shuttle to the course (come watch all the races too)
Course Map - HERE
Live Results - HERE (available the day of the meet)

NEWS & NOTES
Sectional runners...Monday practice = turn in uniforms, last chance mile, & run with Will & Nick
All runners...get your $$ to captains for 2024 team shirts and coaches gifts
End of year awards ceremony will be Wed Nov 6th @ 5:45pm...more info to come soon via email

Big 8 Conference - Varsity = 7th, JV1 = 7th, JV2 = 7th

 
2024 Spartan Seniors

Full Write Up Coming

RESULTS
All Results
Varsity Boys
JV1 Boys
JV 2 Boys

Big 8 All-Conference Runners
Nick Z (2nd team) Will L-S (1st team)

NEXT COMPETITION (Varsity Only)
Saturday October 26th
WIAA Sectional Meet @ Verona HS (Course)

Bus = 9:30am

11:00am - Girls Varsity

11:45am - Boys Varsity (2023 Results) (2024 Team Assignments) (Box 12)

12:30pm - Awards = Top 2 teams & top 5 individuals not on top 2 teams
** We will not stop to eat...arrive back to Memorial around 1:15pm

SPECTATOR TICKETS ($7) - Purchase online https://gofan.co/event/1975096?schoolId=WI13632

NEWS & NOTES
Captains are collecting money $22 for 2024 team shirt & $10 for coaches gifts
Mon Oct 16th - EVERYONE meets at 3:45pm (JV runners turn in uniforms (put in a bag w/name) & short practice....varsity runners, practice like normal)
End of year awards ceremony...more info to be emailed to parents/athletes when finalized (will be Wed Nov 6th)
Sectionals...everyone should try to come out to Verona to cheer on the team as we try to qualify for State (get a ticket HERE)
University of Wisconsin will be hosting NCAA D1 Nationals on November 23rd...great opportunity to see some amazing racing in your backyard (more info can be found HERE)

City Championships - Varsity = 5th & JV = 4th

 
Will L-S finishes Runner-Up at the
Don Loker Cross Country Championships

The top runners from Madison, WI migrated to Lake Farm Park for the annual running of the Don Loker City CC Championships. Our meet has grown in size as we add more private schools to the mix. Which also makes an interesting clash of mascots as this year we saw a competition between the Crusaders, Guardians, Spartans, Purgolders, Regents, Lancers, Eagles, & Challengers...that would be quite the scene in a drawing. Every year the Madison area produces some of the top runners in all three divisions and this year looks to be the same. This tough competition leads to some fast times and our Spartans were more than happy to run fast including 10 season best times from our group. The varsity was led by a great race from Will L-S as he finished runner-up and was the top underclassmen in the race. Berndt was just a second off his lifetime best running a great race as our number 2 runner. Nick Z had his second best time of the season and is showing he is ready to finish his senior year on a solid note. Freshman Max B continues to step up to help out our varsity being the 4th Spartan across the line and Jack C had a great finish to be our 5th scorer on the day. PJ helped get these guys through the first part of the race and stayed close with his finish as Anthony also was within seconds of these Spartans. 

The JV race saw Finn A run a season best time committing to a solid plan from the start and holding on all the way to the finish. Ian G closed really well just off his season best and being our 2nd JV finisher. Andy E crossed the line next in a lifetime best and Mitchell was hot on his trail in a season best time. David rounded out our scoring five in JV who continues to improve each week and is looking for a strong finish to their season at Conference next week on this same course. Other season and lifetime best run by JV runners included Nathan Z dropping another 20 seconds, Grey & Kaiden dropping about 40 seconds each, Asher W dropping about 1 minute lifetime best and Oliver O dropping a minute season best for a new lifetime PR, Elliot D having a 2 minute PR, Ben L battling back from injury to have a 3 minute improvement and a lifetime PR. Big things for these guys next week at conference and in future seasons.

RESULTS
All of the Races
Varsity Boys
JV Boys

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday October 19th
Big 8 Conference Championship @ Lake Farm Park (Course)
Bus = 8:00am
9:30am = First Race
10:05am = Boys Varsity (2023 Results) (Box 3-4)
11:15am = Boys JV (2023 Results) (Box 3-4)
12:00pm = Awards - Top 16 Varsity, Top 15 JV1 & JV2
** We will NOT stop to eat... back to school around 1:00pm

NEWS & NOTES
--> 10/12 (Sat) - Team Practice at Elver Park - 8:00am - 9:30am
--> Seniors will be collecting money the week of conference for coaches gifts ($10) & team shirts ($15)
--> Weather rollercoaster coming next week...be prepared...get the warm gear, rain gear, and extra clothing out and at practice(s) to avoid getting sick/injured due to the weather
--> JV Runners will have a required practice on Monday Oct 21st...uniforms & other checked out items must be returned at this time. JV runners will run on Monday
--> Only varsity runners preparing for Sectionals will have required practice Oct 22nd & beyond 

Nightfall Classic - 10th place

That was different! For the first time in team history, the Spartans ran in a cross country meet after dark as we traveled to Lake Mills for the Nightfall Classic. The energy was off the walls as teams from all over the area ran on a golf course that was lit up like a decorated holiday scene. The boys really enjoyed the experience even though not all quite figured out the best way to control their energy to put into the race. We competed in the D1/D2 race which was a really strong field of 22 teams. Our team ran to a 10th place finish in the D1 race led by Will L-S who finished 4th amongst the D1 runners. Our seniors had a good night with Liam B running a season best and David B, Jack C, & PJ M adding in lifetime best times. Nathan Z continues to improve each meet with another season best performance. Elliot D and Asher W ran great grabbing lifetime PRs on the night. Andy E just missed breaking 20 minutes but set a lifetime PR nonetheless while Grey H and Kaiden S also saw lifetime PRs. It was great to see so many smiling faces (even in the darkness) and was a fun competition as we prepare for the stretch run of the season. We head next to Lake Farm Park for both the City & Conference meets as our JV team has just 2 weeks left...time to get serious and take care of some business. 

Ben L's sweet light up sign &
Will L-S earning 4th place finish in D1 race

RESULTS
D1 Results
D1 Team Results

All Results

NEXT COMPETITION

Thursday October 10th
Don Loker City Cross Country Championships @ Lake Farm Park (Course)
NO BUS - Early Release = 2:00pm
2:30pm - Arrive at Lake Farm Park
3:30pm - 1st Race
4:00pm - Boys Varsity (2023 Results) (Box 5-6)
5:10pm - Boys JV (2023 Results) (Box 5-6)
5:45pm - Awards - Varsity = 10 individuals, JV = 15 individuals
**We will NOT stop to eat...approximate return to VPM is 6:45pm

NEWS & NOTES
Saturday 10/5 Practice = Captain's Practice @ 10:00am at Pheasant Branch Conservancy

Championship season...JV = City & Conference, Varsity = City, Conference, Sectional, & State
JV athletes will have practice through/including Monday Oct 21st