Tigers run in the middle of pack in Division 1

• Tiger boys

Alex "Chaz" Charbonneau (561) and Jason Staples (567) were the lead runners for the Tiger boys in the sectional meet at Tomah.
• Tiger girls

Tigers Audrey DeKock (left) and Ellen Meisner work up one of the hills on the Hiawatha Golf Course that served as the site for the Division 1 sectional meet.

Talk about it

New Richmond’s cross country teams stepped up to the Division 1 level for the WIAA tournaments. The Tigers continue to find it a huge step to make.

New Richmond’s girls were hoping to improve upon the eight place finish they had in the 2009 sectional meet. They weren’t able to improve, taking eighth place again at this year’s Division 1 sectional in Tomah on Saturday.

The Tiger boys finished in 12th place in their sectional race.

Tiger coach Beth Kelly said there were highlights to Saturday’s rainy running. Emily Bischof and Luke Miller both posted the best times of their careers and senior Jason Staples ran his best time of the season during the sectional race.

The quality of the teams in Division 1 is exceptional, led by superb programs in River Falls and Hudson.

In the girls race, junior Morgan Kelly was the lead runner for the Tigers for much of the race. She ran out of steam late in the race and her younger sister, Maddie, passed her, finishing 39th overall. Morgan placed 41st, with Kat Keller and Bischof right behind in 42nd and 43rd. Bailey Matthys was the Tigers’ fifth runner, placing 47th. She was a step in front of Ellen Meisner, with Audrey DeKock taking 53rd.

Sophomore Alex “Chaz” Charbonneau was the lead runner for the boys, taking 56th place. Staples ended up in 61st. Dylan Novitzke took 69th, Casey Schuh 72nd and Miller 78th as the Tigers’ five scoring runners. Alec Knox ran 80th and Walter DeKock finished 82nd.

“The effort was there. I don’t think either team as a whole had their best race,” Coach Kelly said in summation.

The girls team will return all its varsity runners next year while the boys team loses a handful of seniors.

Kelly said this was a memorable season and not just in what was accomplished while running.

“This was probably one of our best seasons in terms of camaraderie,” Kelly said.

Tags: cross country, sports, tigers, prep