Colfax runners compete in Rice Lake Invite and Nightfall Classic
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Ashton Yarrington of Colfax trails behind a runner from Ladysmith at the Rice Lake Cross Country Invitational held on September 13. He finished 56th overall with a time of 18:47.86. —photo by Missy Klatt
by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
The Colfax cross country runners traveled to the Rice Lake Invitational September 13 with four girls and four boys, and according to head coach Joe Doucette, they ran their best race of the year so far.
They followed up with a Friday meet under the lights at the Nightfall Classic, held in Marshfield but hosted by Stratford September 16.
Rice Lake
The race was divided into Large and Small school divisions but it didn’t matter to Colfax senior Molly Heidorn. Not only did she win the Small division, she bested the whole field of 184 individuals, including runners from Division 1, 2 and 3 schools. Heidorn finished with a time of 19:41 which was five seconds faster than runner up Marah Benedict of New Richmond. Fellow senior Aynsley Olson was fourth in the Small division and 27th overall with a time of 21:48, followed by Kaysen Goodell in 10th and 49th overall at 22:59. Lauren Becker placed 36th in the Small division and 129th among all competitors with a time of 26:14.
Overall champion ansd Colfax Viking, Molly Heidorn finished in a time of 19:41 at the Rice Lake Cross Country Invitational on Tuesday, September 13th. —photo by Missy Klatt
198 boys raced together in both divisions with Ashton Yarrington leading the Viking boys with a 56th place overall in a time of 18:47. Charlie Charbonneau came in at 19:59 for 109th place followed by Mark Sonnentag in 149th at 21:54 and David Lyrek in 166th at 23:03.
“Heidorn has great instincts and ran a smart race to beat a lot of good runners,” Doucette said. “It was one of her best races ever. Olson and Goodell were both medal winners and Olson is hoping to be a four-time, all-conference selection later in the year. And Becker is improving every time out. If we had another runner we would have won the team meet handily but we are just going to keep working hard and keep improving.”
“The boys ran by far their best meet of the year..” he continued. “Yarrington again led the way and we are super impressed with freshman Charbonneau. Sonnentag and Lyrek had their best races so far. It is a great bunch of kids who are close knit and pull for each other,” he concluded
Nightfall Classic
The race was again split into a Large and Small Division and Heidorn was pretty impressive once more, placing fourth in the Small Division with 106 other competitors. Heidorn ran a time of 19:52, while Autumn Michalski of Chequamegon-Park Falls won the race in 19:03. Olson was next in line for the Vikings in 18th place at 22:28 and Goodell was one place shy of earning a medal in 21st at 22:38. Becker came in at 25:40 for 59th place.
Yarrington crossed the finish line first for the Viking boys in 14th place at 18:30 which was a career best time, while Charbonneau placed 35th at 19:51, Sonnentag was 64th at 21:49, Lyrek finished in 21:49 for 65th place and Logan Swartz was the fifth boy in for Colfax taking 103rd in 24:50. With five boys running, Colfax took eighth out of 12 teams. There were 119 runners in the division which was won by Taylor Kartz of Crandon in 15:45.
“It was really a neat concept, running under the lights,” coach Doucette said.”It was a neat atmosphere and we had a great time.”