New Richmond runners get the chills at Chippewa Falls

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There have been some wickedly cold and wet conditions for cross country races over the years, but New Richmond coach Beth Kelly said she’d never experienced conditions like those that the Tigers ran in last Thursday.

The Tigers competed in the Chippewa Falls Invitational last Thursday, which was held at the Wissota Golf Course, on the shores of Lake Wissota.

The weather was windy and cold when the Tigers left home that afternoon, but that was mild compared to what they faced.

“It’s probably the worst weather I’ve had at a meet,” Kelly said. “The wind was the biggest factor, you just couldn’t get away from it.”

The Tiger girls placed fourth among 11 teams in the meet, while the Tiger boys ranked ninth among the 11 teams in their half of the meet.

This meet will not go down as one of the Tigers’ favorites. The race formerly was held at Wissota State Park, where the scenery and trails made it an annual favorite. This year the race was moved to the golf course. There was only room for a one-mile loop around the golf course, so the runners had to run the loop three times. Kelly said that by the end of the fourth race, the loop was pretty badly torn up.

The coaches had hoped to use the three laps as a chance for the Tigers to work on their pacing. They went as far as writing pace times on the hands of each runner. The idea was a washout, because the rain erased the numbers before they could run their races.

The Tiger girls were led by senior Morgan Kelly, who finished 11th in 21:27 on the 5K course. Joining her in the varsity seven were Emily Bischof in 21:46; Maddie Kelly in 21:51; Ellen Meisner in 22:18, Bailey Matthys in 22:29, Amanda Anez in 22:23 and Audrey DeKock in 22:23.

Junior Alex Charbonneau was the leader among the Tiger boys, finishing 22nd in 18:21. Next was Ben Norman in 19:02, Jack Utzman in 19:40, Matt Lindberg in 20:01, Luke Miller in 20:03, Walter DeKock in 20:11 and Alex Anderson in 20:021.

Coach Kelly said Lindberg’s finish was a definite bright spot, coming on the heels of a good performance at the Roy Griak Invitational.

“He ran a lot this summer and his results are starting to show it,” Kelly said.

The end of the season is approaching quickly for the Tigers. They don’t run again until they compete in the Middle Border Conference meet, which will be held at Amery High School on Thursday, Oct. 13.

Tags: cross country, sports, tigers, prep