Amery Invite gets teams ready for conference meets

Talk about it

It’s known as the Amery Invitational, but it may as well be called the “pre-conference cross country meet.”

The Oct. 4 running of the Amery Invitational was the final race for most teams as they gear up for their conference meets. Both the Middle Border Conference and the Dunn-St. Croix Conference will be running their meets this Thursday. The Middle Border Conference Meet will be held in Osceola and the Dunn-St. Croix Conference Meet will be held in Boyceville.

New Richmond, Somerset and St. Croix Central all ran at Amery, getting some high quality competition to get ready for conference meets.

For New Richmond, the results couldn’t have been more promising. The Tiger girls had an outstanding race, winning the meet with 51 points. The Tiger boys placed fourth in the meet.

The Tiger girls won without senior Hannah Utzman, and her status for the rest of the season is in question. Over the weekend she was diagnosed with mononucleosis. Tiger coach Beth Kelly said they will proceed cautiously concerning Utzman’s return.

Even without Utzman the Tigers were a powerhouse at Amery. The top six Tiger runners finished before any other team had three runners complete the race.

Senior McKenzie Kelly again was the team leader, placing fourth overall. The Tigers then had two packs of varsity runners. Anna Zietlow, Morgan Kelly and Katelyn Walker finished 10th, 11th and 12th. The second pack was made up of Maria Soderquist, Kat Keller and Bailey Matthys, who took 19th, 21st and 24th.

“I think the girls’ chances (to win conference) are good, even without Hannah,” Coach Kelly said. “We have a pretty strong lineup.”

The Tiger boys are also coming on. Strengthened by the return of Jake Wickham, who placed fifth at Amery, the Tigers can’t be counted out in the race for the MBC title. Wickham and Nick Stenske give the Tigers a dynamic 1-2 set of runners. Coach Kelly said the Tigers’ success at conference will rest on how far the next three runners can move up in the pack.

Somerset

This wasn’t the final race before conference for the Spartans, who ran Saturday in Eau Claire. But it was an important race, particularly for the Spartan girls. In their best showing of the season, the Spartans tied for fourth place.

“It was a breakthrough meet for the girls,” said Spartan coach Diane Belter.

The Spartans got a strong showing from their top four runners, who all placed among the top 45 in the race. Tia Belter and Monica Emerson were 14th and 15th. Johanna Smith and Megan Mitchell also made big moves up in the pack, placing 34th and 45th.

Somerset’s boys placed 10th among the 17 teams at Amery. Coach Belter said Gavin Germain made a nice improvement as the Spartans’ fourth runner to help solidify the lineup. She said the development of a fifth runner will determine the team’s fate in the conference meet.

St. Croix Central

The Amery meet was significant for the Panthers because it was the first time that the Central boys had been defeated this season.

The Panther boys took third place, behind Webster and Osceola. Webster is considered a contender for a state title. Osceola and the Panthers have been close throughout the season.

Brett Johnson led the Panther boys with a third place finish. Derrek Pedersen ran 15th.

Central coach Bill Emery said the cold, wet conditions bothered the boys more than it should have in this race.

Emery was happy with the fourth place showing of the Panther girls, particularly Michelle Brunshidle taking fourth place.

“Michelle is running like a machine right now,” Emery said. He pointed to the improvement by Martha Landry as another key for the Panthers success.

Emery said he considers the Panther boys the favorite heading into the Dunn-St. Croix meet on Thursday. He said the girls race will boil down to a two-team battle between Central and Colfax.

2008 Amery Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 4

Girls Team Scores: New Richmond 51, Amery 89, Bruce 137, St. Croix Central 147, Somerset 147, Osceola 150, Frederic 181, Grantsburg 214, Baldwin-Woodville 234, Hinckley-Finlayson 250, Prescott 265, Menomonie 303, Elmwood 357, Spring Valley 373, Webster 384, St. Croix Falls 434

New Richmond finishes

4. McKenzie Kelly 16:42; 10. Anna Zietlow 17:10; 11. Morgan Kelly 17:11; 12. Katelyn Walker 17:12; 19. Maria Soderquist 17:34; 21. Kat Keller 17:36; 24. Bailey Matthys 17:38; 32. Maggie Evans 18:08; 38. Laura Troftgruben 18:19; 65. Ariel Berres-Green 19:31; 71. Sonia Utzman 19:48; 96. Emily Osterbauer 20:55; 104. Ellen Junko 21:12; 114. Graycee Lindell 21:51; 117. Nicolette Mason 22:01; 119. Sarah L’Allier 22:04; 129. Valerie Bruner 22:31; 130. Ashlie Orr 22:32

St. Croix Central finishes

5. Michelle Brunshidle 16:56; 36. Abby Delander 18:18; 37. Anna Langer 18:19; 39. Martha Landry 18:21; 47. Corynne Nelson 19:00; 60. Janel Jacobson 19:27; 131. Maddie Skaalrud 22:34

Somerset finishes

14. Tia Belter 17:23; 15. Monica Emerson 17:27; 34. Johanna Smith 18:14; 45. Megan Mitchell 18:59; 57. Sara Henry 19:25; 70. Kaylee Roettger 19:47; 73. Emily Parent 19:54; 77. Stephanie Kelsey 20:06; 87. Rylie Diedrich 20:42; 98. Nicole Donohoe 21:00; 100. Ibby Ottman 21:06; 110. Lauren DeGeer 21:37; 118. Krissy McIntyre 22:02; 121. Torie Land 22:08; 132. Jenna Green 22:38; 141. Anne Plourde 22:30; 143. Casey Land 23:56; 146. Jessica Nosbish 24:15

Boys Team Scores: Webster 46, Osceola 95, St. Croix Central 104, New Richmond 122, Amery 138, Menomonie 182, Prescott 193, Bruce 208, Glenwood City 255, Somerset 257, Chetek 338, St. Croix Falls 352, Unity 359, Boyceville 362, Spring Valley 371, Baldwin-Woodville 4-3, Elmwood 453

New Richmond finishes

5. Jake Wickham 18:39; 7. Nick Stenske 18:56; 32. Andy Steffen 20:06; 42. Jason Staples 20:38; 46. Dylan Novitzke 20:44; 56. Tyler Wilson 21:09; 58. Colton Simpson 21:10; 59. Zeb Johnson 21:10; 70. Ben Matthys 21:39; 79. Charlie Kleiner 22:00; 88. Leonard Hedlund 22:17; 89. Josh Green 22:17; 108. Walter DeKock 23:05; 127. Luke Mason 24:02; 130. Alex Anderson 24:08; 142. Matt Lindberg 24:38; 158. Patrick Holland 26:10; 177. Jocque Warner 28:23

St. Croix Central finishes

3. Brett Johnson 18:13; 15. Derrek Pedersen 19:28; 20. Ryan Hansen 19:46; 23. Stephen Brunshidle 19:49; 49. Alex Halvorson 20:53; 64. Logan Snyder 21:20; 66. Ethan Hofland 21:26; 71. David Butler 21:46; 73. Jonathan Mielke 21:49; 92. Derek Ray 22:23; 135. Alex Bu 24:20; 172. Thomas Arneson 27:53; 174. Luke DeGross 28:16

Somerset finishes

30. Michael Meyer 20:01; 36. Caleb Belter 20:22; 57. Dakota Butler 21:09; 82. Gavin Germain 22:07; 85. Steven Bracht 22:15; 144. Trevor Mondor 24:46; 151. Tye Lyons 25:31; 155. Tyler Lindquist 25:51; 156. T.J. Pauley 26:02

Tags: sports, crosscountry, amery, invite