Williams returns to lead GC boys to third in Cumberland, win at Colfax
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TOPPER TEAMMATES Connor Berends (left) and Anthony Nelson are shown running side-by-side during the Colfax Cross Country Invitational held last Saturday at Whitetail Golf Course. Berends took ninth while Nelson finished tenth to help the Glenwood City boys win the race which was a preview of the Dunn-St. Conference meet that will be held at the same cite on October 13. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
After a brief illness sidelined JJ Williams for a couple of meets, the senior made a triumphant return to the area cross country scene.
William added more wins to his 2022 race resume with victories at the Cumberland and Colfax Invitationals last week. Those performances helped the Glenwood City boys’ team finish third in the Tuesday, September 27 Cumberland competition that was held at the Timberland Hills/CASTA Ski Trail near Barronett and then capture first place in the Colfax Invitational held at the Whitetail Golf Course this past Saturday morning, October 1. Whitetail will serve as the venue for this year’s Dunn-St. Croix conference championships which are slated for October 13.
The Topper teams will have a pair of meets this week as they prepare for that conference meet. Glenwood City competed in Amery yesterday (October 4) and will then race in the Old Abe Invite which will be held this Saturday, October 8 at South Middle School in Eau Claire.
Cumberland Invite
The Glenwood City boys had seven runners finish in the top 24 in a field of 84 racers that competed in the Cumberland Invitational September 27.
That allowed the team to secure a third-place finish with 69 points in the eight-team meet. Bloomer took the victory with 31 points and Grantsburg came in second with 47 points.
Williams won the individual title to lead the Hilltoppers that day. The senior finished the 5K course in 17:08.5, seven seconds faster than runner-up Anders Michaelson of Bloomer.
Fellow seniors Elek Anderson and Anthony Nelson were the second and third Glenwood City runners, respectively, to cross the finish line. Anderson ran a 19:18.6 to take 13th while Nelson was 18th in a time of 19:47.7.
A RACE TO THE FINISH — Freshman Gabriella Williams dashed to the finish in the October 1 Colfax Invitational. She was Glenwood City’s top girl runner taking 11th place. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Completing the scoring for the Topper team were sophomore Zeb Holden, who placed 20th in 19:58.2, and senior Sal Stillday who was 21st with a time of 20:05.2.
Just a second and a half and one place separated the next two GC runners, sophomore Ilan Anderson and freshman Clayton Hoffman. Ilan Anderson took 23rd in 20:06.0 and Hoffman came across in 24th after a time of 20:07.4.
Seven other boys competed and finished for the Hilltoppers. Freshman Connor Gross was 32nd in 20:49.2, sophomore Tyler Harrington ran a 20:59. 7 to take 34th, freshman Ben Standaert came across in 53rd place with a time of 22:40.4, fellow freshman Micah Simmons ran a 22:59.9 and finish 58th, sophomore Justin Rogers copped 66th in 23:33.9, senior Owen Bauman was 60th after a run of 23:50.9 and sophomore Evan Hojem was 76th after turning in a time of 24:24.5.
Due to illness and injuries just two girls competed for the Hilltoppers last Tuesday. Sophomore Elsja Meijer finished 20th after a timing of 23:37.9 and freshman Gabriella Williams placed 23rd in a time of 23:39.1.
Senior Fran Peterson of Barron turned in a winning time of 20:34 to lead her squad to a second-place finish with 85 points. With six runners finishing in the top eight, Amery easily won the girls’ team championship with a low tally of 22 points.
Colfax Invitational
With all of the Dunn-St. Croix conference’s cross country teams participating, last Saturday’s Colfax Invitational at Whitetail Golf course was a preview of the upcoming conference tournament which will be held at the same location on October 13.
With four of the top ten finishes in the October 1 race, the Glenwood City boys were able to best its top conference competitor, Elk Mound, for the team title.
The Toppers posted a winning total of 38 points with the Mounders taking second with 45 points.
Senior JJ Williams was once again the boys’ victor as he ran a 15:56.91 to easily out race fellow senior Ian Hazen of Elk Mound who finished in second with a 16:25.6.
Senior Elek Anderson was the Toppers’ second runner to finish taking home sixth in 18:10.73. Next to cross for Glenwood City were junior Connor Berends (18:34.58) in ninth and senior Anthony Nelson (18:38.59) was tenth. The boys fifth and sixth-place finishers were Garrett Gross and Clayton Hoffman with times of 19:16.18 and 19:23.2, respectively. Ilan Anderson placed 22nd in 19:50.61.
The Toppers boys had eight others finish the race. Sal Stillday (31st, 20:38.55), Zeb Holden (34th, 20:454.69), Tyler Harrington (36th, 21:04.99), Elliot Springborn (37th, 21:11.6), Owen Bauman (39th, 21:33.96), Ben Standaert (40th, 22:03.71), Evan Hojem (41st, 22:08.77), and Tyler Rogers (45th, 22:23.46).
Gabriella Williams was the top finisher for the Lady Hilltoppers taking 11th in 22:32. She was followed by Elsja Meijer in 15th with a time of 22:47.94, Haylie Hannah was 20th in 24:51.53, Ava Multhauf placed 26th in 26:46.26 and Stephanie Anderson finished in 28:45.46 to take 32nd.
Those finishes gave the girls a tally of 86 points which put them fourth among the five schools that fielded full teams.
Colfax won the team crown by a single point – 43 to 44 – over three-time defending conference champion Durand. Mondovi’s Courtney Stadter was first among the 36 competitors with a time of 19:22.2.