9/24/2008 4:29:00 PM DHS cross country takes on the Badger Challenge
IT’S ALL DOWN HILL — DeForest High School cross country runner Kyle Eisler runs down a hill during last week’s Badger Conference Challenge in Waunakee. Eisler finished the race in 18 minutes, 38 seconds to help the DHS boys’ finish fifth overall. — Sam Rodriguez photo.
Picture perfect weather greeted runners at the Badger Challenge on Sept. 16, but the course at Ripp Park in Waunakee was not as friendly to the plethora of high school cross country runners that turned out for the event.
The course included several large hills that proved to be very challenging.
The DeForest girls' cross country team had a disappointing ninth-place finish, and coach Chris Smith felt the course was a problem for his team.
"All in all we did not have a very good meet. The lack of a good facility to train for a hilly course probably put us at a disadvantage," said Smith. "The course was an eye opener for us, and it's clear we need to focus on our hill training. We have four good weeks to get better, stronger and read for a similar course at the conference meet at Devil's Head Golf Course."
The Norski boys' squad handled the conditions a little better, and finished in fifth place.
"Our guys ran a solid race on a warm, difficult course. We finished second amongst the Northern schools which is where I hope to finish the season minimally," said boys' coach Joe Parker.
At the Badger Challenge, runners are split into two divisions, including freshman-sophomore and junior-senior, but the Top 5 times for each team are added up for a final team total.
The Lady Norskies finished the day with a cumulative time of 89 minutes, 50 seconds, while the boys' team finished at 95:59.
Reedsburg won the girls' team title with a time of 84:08, while Monroe (90:06) won on the boys' side.
Leading the charge for the Lady Norskies was Anna Howery, who was ninth in the junior-senior division with her time of 16:49.
DeForest then had Sarah Hoekstra turn in a time of 18:02, which put her 11th
in the freshmen-sophomore race.
Freshman Taylor Legried added a time of 18:14 to the Norskies' total, and she finished 14th in her division.
Katie Williams (18:15) was just :01 behind Legried's time, and she finished 25th in the junior-senior division.
Closing out the total for DeForest was Rachel Campbell (18:30), who was 19th in the freshmen-sophomore race.
Meanwhile, Josh Knuteson had the top time for the DeForest boys' team as he clocked in at 18:10.
Rounding out the total time for DHS was Kyle Eisler (18:38), Adam Woods (19:27), Tyler Grinstead (19:41) and Matt Engelhardt (29:03).
BELLEVILLE INVITE
Both DeForest teams also participated in the Belleville Invite this past Saturday, and both registered Top 3 finishes.
The Lady Norskies finished in second place with 38 team points, which put them only two behind champion Baraboo (36).
"We moved closer to Baraboo even without one of our Top 5 runners. That was a positive sign of improvement," said Smith. "We go to this meet specifically to run this course. It's a great blend of some hills and flats, where you can recover and get your rhythm back. This was our third race in eight days, so we knew everyone would not be sharp. Overall it was a good day,"
Pacing the Lady Norskies on Saturday was Howery as she finished third overall in a time of 16:47.
Legried (5th, 17:13), Hoekstra (8th, 17:38) and Larissa Schlitz (10th, 17:45) also had Top 10 finishes for DeForest.
Williams (18:04.20) took 12th place overall to round out the scoring for the Lady Norskies, who also had Lizzyt Owen (15th, 18:21) and Janelle Skora (29th, 19:34) compete on varsity on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the DHS boys finished with 53 team points to take third place behind both Madison East (30) and Baraboo (48).
"Our guys ran the race plan that they were given. I figured that it could cost us second in the meet but I was ok with what they gained physically and mentally when they face hills again at the conference meet," said Parker.
Eisler (17:53) and Knuteson (18:31) both had superb efforts at the Invite, and they finished third and fifth, respectively.
Grinstead just missed out on a Top 10 finish as he was 11th with his time of 19:19.
Woods (14th, 19:28) and Engehardt (20th, 20:14) closed out the scoring.
Both Norski squads will be back in action on Saturday, when they take part in the Janesville Invite at 9:15 a.m. at Blackhawk Golf Course.
