Colfax high school CC teams finish third at D-SC meet; middle school girls second, boys 12th

By Cara L. Dempski

COLFAX — The Viking boys’ and girls’ cross country teams have consistently practiced better than they have competed according to coach Joe Doucette.

That was until the Dunn-St. Croix conference meet held last Thursday, October 12 on their home course at Whitetail Golf Course, when both squads ran to third-place finishes after what Doucette called their best races of the year.

“The coaching staff was excited,” he said the day after the race. “Everybody improved, everybody tried hard, and everybody wanted to run well.”

Girls’ runners Erica Kalstrom and Mackenzie Jensen were named first-team all-conference, and boys’ team member Luke Heidorn was named to the D-SC second team for his race.

Doucette said he was happy to Kalstrom and Jensen running well, noting Jensen had the best race of her high school career after fighting injuries. The whole girls’ team was solid in the race.

“They’ve really improved from when we ran there earlier,” the Vikings’ coach said. “Glenwood City is very good, they are state ranked, and Elk Mound is solid also. We were hoping for third, and excited that we ran well.”

The girls copped third place with 81 points after Kallstrom led them home to finish fourth overall in the race with her 21:16.42 effort. Jensen was sixth after running a 21:38.87 over the winding course at the Whitetail Golf Course.

Freshman Addisyn Olson pounded out a 23:48.48 race for 25th, and Hailey Prince raced to 26th with a time of 23:50.82. Juelia Berger finished in 24:26.84 to take 32nd in the race.

The overall race winner was Elmwood/Plum City senior Kassye Todd, who cruised to a 19:39.99 finish.

The Glenwood City girls’ took home yet another team trophy after six of the Hilltoppers’ runners finished among the race’s top ten. The Toppers scored 27 points to easily outdistance runner-up Elk Mound who finished with 56 points.

Much like the girls’, the boys’ team ran its best race of 2017 at the Whitetail last Thursday.

“All 10 boys ran faster than they did at the pre-conference meet,” Doucette said the next day. “Luke Heidorn had a great race; he has been our leader all year, and we had a nice group behind him.”

The team finished behind Durand, currently ranked third in the state, and Elk Mound, who continues to run good races. Doucette said he hopes the boys realize just how good they can be and continue to improve.

Heidorn led the Vikings to the finish line to take 11th overall for his 18:25.88 race. Younger brother Noah Heidorn was 18th with his 19:02.44 race, Brady Lawrence placed 19th after running to the finish in 19:03.51, and Cole Seehaver finished in 19:09.07 for 20th.

Sophomore Trey Hovde completed his race in 19:18.92 to take 23rd, Sawyer Best was 27th after finishing in 19:45.10, and Trevor Rothbauer completed the group with a time of 20:02.72 for 33rd. Dennis Sonnentag, Jacob Jensen, and Eli Ralph also competed in the race.

Durand walked away with its second straight conference title after accruing just 20 points, and Panther junior Isaac Wegner crossed the line in 16:24.74 for the individual win.

With the conference season complete, Doucette’s teams will focus on the WIAA Division 3 sectional meet which will be held this Saturday, October 21 at Tiffany Creek Elementary in Boyceville. This year’s state meet is slated for October 28 in Wisconsin Rapids.

GIRLS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 4. Erica Kallstrom 21:16.42, 6. Mackenzie Jensen 21:38.87, 25. Addisyn Olson 23:48.48, 26. Hailey Prince 23:50.82, 32. Juelia Berger 24:26.84.

GIRLS’ TEAM RESULTS: 1. Glenwood City 27, 2. Elk Mound 56, 3. Colfax 81, 4. Durand 111, 5. Boyceville 117, 6. Spring Valley 140.

BOYS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 11. Luke Heidorn 18:25.88, 18. Noah Heidorn 19:02.44, 19. Brady Lawrence 19:03.51, 20. Cole Seehaver 19:09.07, 27. Sawyer Best 19:45.10, 33. Trevor Rothbauer 20:02.72, 45. Dennis Sonnentag 21:18.07, 49. Jacob Jensen 21:36.42, 53. Eli Ralph 22:07.46.

BOYS’ TEAM RESULTS: 1. Durand 20, 2. Elk Mound 47, 3. Colfax 91, 4. Spring Valley 92, 5. Glenwood City 119, 6. Boyceville 129, 7. Mondovi 211.

Middle school

The Vikings’ middle school teams also had a chance to run a 3.2-kilometer race at the October 12 meet, with the girls’ team finishing second overall with 51 points but tops among the middle school girls’ squad for a second straight year, while the boys’ ran to a 12th-place finish with 132 points. 

Molly Heidorn and Jasmine Best were first and third in the race with times of 12:06.47 and 12:28.26. Jayce Bowe was the next Viking middle-school girl to finish, earning sixth for her 12:56.40 race, Emilee Burcham-Schofield took 19th with a 13:53.68 race, Kaysen Goodell ran in 14:03.26 for 24th, Jillian Bowe took 28th after a 14:09.43 race, and Aubrey Rihn finished in 14:57.26 for 35th.

Josie Seehaver and Mariah Smith were 37th and 64th after finishing in 15:02.54 and 19:11.8.

On the boys’ team, Luke Blanchard was the first to finish, taking sixth for his 11:47.68 race. Theo Hovde was 17th after a 12:22.91 run, Aiden Fisher was 22nd with a time of 13:07.52, and Eli Ralph finished in 15:03.32 for 46th.

Otto Winnings took 47th for his 15:18.90 effort, and Ashton Yarrington completed the team with a time of 15:48.37.

Glenwood City’s JJ Williams won the boys’ race in 10:52.88, helping the Hilltopper boys’ to a first-place team finish in the mixed middle school race. The GC middle school boys also won the 2016 race.