Hilltopper boys repeat as Dunn-St. Croix Conference cross country champions
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HILLTOPPERS Garrett Gross (front) and Eli Oberle (back) are shown running in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference cross country meet held Thursday, October 17 in Boyceville. Gross placed sixth and Oberle finished 14th. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
by Renee Bettendorf
Sports Correspondent
BOYCEVILLE -– Even though they faced tough competition from Durand-Arkansaw, the Hilltopper boys’ cross country team defended their conference title at the Dunn-St. Croix cross country meet held at Tiffany Creek Elementary in Boyceville last Thursday, October 17.
“At the start of the season, our goal was to win the conference race again for the boys’ team,” said Glenwood City head cross country coach Matthew Schutz.
With all of their top five runners finishing the race in under 20 minutes, they made quick work of the competition scoring just 47 points. Durand-Arkansaw took second with 59 points, Colfax was third with 84, Boyceville was fourth with 108, Elk Mound was fifth with 116, Mondovi scored 119 and Spring Valley scored 135.
Schutz noted that going into the meet the boys’ team was favored to take the title. However, it was important that the fourth, fifth and sixth runners on the Hilltopper team be ahead of Durand’s fourth and fifth runners. This was because Durand’s top three runners were going to be right up there with the top three Glenwood City runners.
Clayton Hoffman, Elliott Springborn and Garrett Gross were the top three runners on the Hilltopper team. Hoffman placed second with a time of 17:13.27, Springborn took fifth with a time of 18:14.11 and Gross came in sixth at 18:14.30.
Sophomore Zayne Richardson of Durand-Arkansaw won the varsity boys 5,000 meter race in 16:42.81 and their second and third runners took third and fourth place.
“The Durand team did perform better when it came to their top three versus our top three, but our next three runners got the job done by beating their fourth and fifth runners to gain those points back at the front of the race and in the end put more points on Durand for the win,” said Schutz.
Eli Oberle was the team’s fourth runner coming in at 14th place with a time of 19:06.14. Ilan Anderson was the fifth runner for the team, he placed 20th with a time of 19:40.28. And Zeb Holden was the sixth runner, he finished 23rd with a time of 19:52.41. All of them stayed in front of Durand’s fourth and fifth runners who placed 24th and 27th.
GLENWOOD CITY senior Zeb Holden ran toward the finish line at the 2024 Dunn-St. Croix Conference cross country meet held October 17 in Boyceville. Holden placed 23rd in the race. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
HILLTOPPER runners Erica Bauman (front) and Aletta Meijer (back) competed in last Thursday’s Dunn-St. Croix Conference cross country meet in Boyceville. Meijer placed 23rd while Bauman finished 27th. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
“It was definitely a team effort. These boys have had a lot of success since middle school and seeing them put it together once again was exciting for our program,” said Schutz.
Hoffman, Springborn and Gross made first-team all conference since they placed in the top seven and Oberle earned a second-team all conference medal.
“They should be proud of their accomplishments. It was nice to see three of our boys make first-team all conference and Eli Oberle was able to secure that final spot for second team,” said Schutz.
With just three runners, the Hilltopper girls were two athletes short of a team. Aletta Meijer, Erica Bauman and Elsja Meijer ran the race nonetheless placing 23rd, 27th and 32nd respectively.
“As for the girls team, unfortunately, we were not able to get any all conference runners, but Erica Bauman and Alletta Meijer were pleased with their runs,” said Schutz.
The Glenwood City teams now turn their attention to the WIAA sectional meet which will be held this Saturday, October 26 at Whispering Pines Golf Course in Cadott. The girls’ race is set to begin at 11 a.m. with the boys’ run to follow.
The State cross country championships will be held in Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday, November 2.
Middle School
Jaycie Oberle won the middle school girls 3K competition with a time of 12:05.96. Other runners were: Emilyn Hoffman who placed seventh, Mariah Bolden who placed 21st and Jordan Millermon who placed 34th. They also did not have enough runners to form a team.
The middle school boys placed sixth. Runners on that team were: Gavin Bacon who placed 17th, Lyle Wagner who placed 18th, Trevor Gross who placed 40th, George Lorenz who placed 42nd and Gavin Lovgren who placed 55th.
Glenwood City Girls’ Results
23. Aletta Meijer, 24:48.19; 27. Erica Bauman, 25:09.42; 32. Elsja Meijer, 25:48.74.
Glenwood City Boys’ Results
2. Clayton Hoffman, 17:13.27; 5. Elliott Springborn, 18:14.11; 6. Garrett Gross, 18:14.30; 14. Eli Oberle, 19:06.15; 20. Ilan Anderson, 19:40.28; 23. Zeb Holden, 19:52.41; 34. Micah Simmons, 20:55.47.