Monona Grove Invite - Varsity = 1st & JV = 2nd

Great day of racing for the Spartans...22 lifetime PRs on the day...after a great week of practice!! The day started with our varsity having their best race of the season. The varsity squad got out more aggressively and with more confidence this week and worked together as a team throughout the middle of the race. Will L-S ran a gutsy race finishing 2nd and Charlie G earned a top 15 finish with his time of 16:56 for 7th place and his first sub 17 5k. Ian was 3rd for the team and ran a PR of 17:22. Max, Berndt, Paul, Patrick, and Anthony rounded out the team all running strong races with a PR for Patrick (17:48) and seasons best times for everyone else. Together this group finished 1st out of 16 teams and continues to make great progress toward our season and individual goals. We look forward to big things in the coming months.

The JV squad carried forward the positive momentum the Spartans had from the varsity race to place 2nd in the field. PRs were run in the JV race by Abhi, Mitchel, Eli B, Andy, Luke H, Ethan, Owen, Noah, Oliver K, Henry M, Devon, Luke S, Brayden, Declan, Elias K, Milo, Jaxon, Ryan, and Walter. Our JV continues to make leaps and bounds in their training and their racing. If this group stays healthy and continues to work hard at practice, the sky's the limit. Together this group is doing difficult things and being rewarded with great times and great experiences.

RESULTS
All results

NEXT COMPETITION

Saturday September 19th
Smiley Invite @ Wausau East HS - Wausau, WI (Course)
Bus = 5:45am (bring pillow/blanket for bus ride)
8:30am - First race of day
9:50am - Boys JV  (box 10)
11:10am - Boys D1 Varsity (box 10)
12:30pm - Awards - (top 20 individuals & top 2 teams)
**We will stop to eat on the way home...bring $$ or a sack lunch**
Approximate return to school is 4:30pm

NEWS & NOTES

Attendance & grade checks ongoing...great start to the quarter. Keep up the hard work in the classroom!
Lots of cold symptoms going around...get sleep, eat & drink well, wash your hands, get more sleep.

- 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

- Snap Raise... Try to get 20-emails uploaded! Fundraiser runs through 10/6

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

2-Weeks Until 2026 Cross Country Season

The start of the 2026 cross country season is only 2-weeks away! 

 Things to do this summer to prepare for the fall 2026 boys cross country season at Madison Memorial 

1) First day of practice is Monday August 17th 

Week 1 practices will be Monday-Friday at 4pm. Use the fieldhouse entrance and we will meet in the lower locker room 

2) Get out & run...take a teammate with you 

Summer running group will Meet 8am at Memorial Stadium Lot. Mondays will be a rotating location posted in SportsYou. 

 Weeks of 8/3 and 8/10 summer running meets Monday- Friday 

3) Fill out the Athlete Questionnaire (provides contact info to coaches) 

4) Fill out Online Athletic Forms 

5) Turn in Physical Cards 

- Physical card = physical from a doctor after April 1st, 2025 - 

For questions email our athletic director's office 

 Athletics Director Tim Richardson at ttrichardson@madison.k12.wi.us 

Associate Athletics Director Leigha Sponsel at lksponsel@madison.k12.wi.us 

6) Attend Spartan Sports Kickoff @ Memorial August 5th 6 - 8pm 

 Note: I will be in a tent somewhere near Mt. Hood in Oregon and Coach McIntyre will be out of state for a track meet so we won't have a cross country specific meeting at Spartan Sports Kickoff 

7) Sign up for SportsYou

 VPM coaches will use SportsYou (www.sportsyou.com) to communicate with athletes. Be sure to download the app and join our team page using Access Code S7VRW993

2026 Season Begins August 17th

 Things to do this summer to prepare for the fall 2026 boys cross country season at Madison Memorial

1) Get out & run...take a teammate with you
*Summer running group will Meet 8am at Memorial Stadium Lot. First Monday will be at Memorial. Following Mondays will be a rotating location posted in SportsYou.

Weeks of 6/22, 6/29, and 7/6 meet Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

Weeks of 7/13, 7/20, and 7/27 meet Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Weeks of 8/3 and 8/10 meet Monday- Friday

2) Fill out the Athlete Questionnaire (provides contact info to coaches)

3) Fill out Online Athletic Forms 
Helpful videos & docs from the athletic department

Parent video  and parent doc

Student video and student doc

4) Turn in Physical Cards 
- Physical card = physical from a doctor after April 1st, 2025
- Questions...email our athletic director's office 

• Associate Athletics Director Leigha Sponsel at lksponsel@madison.k12.wi.us
• Athletics Director Tim Richardson at ttrichardson@madison.k12.wi.us

5) Attend Spartan Sports Kickoff @ Memorial August 5th 6 - 8pm (Note: I will be in a tent somewhere near Mt. Hood in Oregon on 8/5 so we won't have a cross country specific meeting at Spartan Sports Kickoff)

6) Sign up for SporsYou. VPM, coaches will use SportsYou (www.sportsyou.com) to communicate with athletes. Be sure to download the app and join our team page using the QR code or Access Code (S7VRW993) 

First Day of Practice = August 17th, 2026

4 pm @ Madison Memorial HS

Must have all PAPERWORK completed before practices begin!

We will go for a run on the first day of practice...have your running shoes & watch!

Summer Running (Some are not)

Hello Spartan Cross Country!

I am Coach Ryan Pewowaruk, and I am the head boys' cross country coach at VPM after having been an assistant coach for the past 3 seasons. Coach Brian McIntyre will also be returning as an assistant coach for this upcoming season. We are so grateful for everything Coach Casey Hopp has done for the Madison Memorial boys' cross-country team, including his 20-year tenure as head coach. While we are sad to see Coach Casey step down, we are extremely excited for this upcoming summer and fall cross country season.

 SUMMER RUNNING --> Lay the foundation NOW for a successful season later. Summer miles bring fall smiles

Consistency and building from week to week are essential to a successful fall.

Meet 8am at Memorial Stadium Lot. First Monday will be at Memorial. Following Mondays will be a rotating location posted in SportsYou.

Weeks of 6/22, 6/29, and 7/6 meet Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

Weeks of 7/13, 7/20, and 7/27 meet Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Weeks of 8/3 and 8/10 meet Monday- Friday

Tuesdays and Thursday's athletes will be able to attend a strength training session at VPM supervised by UW Health and VPM coaches. This will take place right after summer running and athletes should be finished by 9:30. These strength sessions are a great opportunity to become a stronger and more well-rounded athlete!

Training Plan (Also posted in SportsYou)

Bring athletic clothes, shoes, and a water bottle. Led by upperclassmen.

Not being able to attend the summer workouts is not an excuse to skip training! You can go for a run anywhere you are!

SportsYou

In alignment with the rest of the athletic department at VPM, coaches will use SportsYou (www.sportsyou.com) to communicate with athletes. Be sure to download the app and join our team page using the QR code or Access Code (S7VRW993) 

Thanks for the Memories!!! - Coach Casey signing off

 Dear JMM/VPM runners, alumni, families, friends, fans, & followers -

In 2003 I called Stan Richter and asked for a chance to volunteer at Madison Memorial high school. I stepped into an opportunity that led me on a wonderful 23 year journey (the last 20 as head cross country coach). My time coaching track & field and cross country at Madison Memorial was nothing short of an amazing experience. I treasured this time to give back to a sport that had provided me so many opportunities in my lifetime. I have worked with countless young men & women who have developed as students, runners, and people both on the competition field and in the world of life. I hope I have inspired many of you to create a journey with running that is a lifelong event. I was asked by a neighbor why I was retiring and I said I am only stepping into my next phase of the journey. I have stepped away from coaching cross country so that I can be a cross country parent as my two children embark on their high school and middle cross country experiences. I hope to make as many memories with them that I made with all the Spartans at Memorial. I will never forget countless miles run, hours spent on the bus, mini-golf championships, valedictorians, team championships, rain soaked evenings, getting a newbie to finish their first 3 miler, full ladder workouts, rock-paper-scissor champions, searching for the lost runner, sprinting around the Ridges GC, celebrating a PR, handing out varsity jackets, and more and more and more. I will never be far away from the sport, so I hope to see you on the cross country course someday soon.

The next journey begins for the 2026 team as Coach Ryan Pewowaruk and Coach Brian McIntyre take over the program both have been with the Spartans over the last couple years and I expect nothing but great things this season and into the future. Every Runner Every Run Every Day

Madison Memorial Makes it to State
(click to watch video from 2009)