New Richmond girls kick it up at Rice Lake Cross Country Invitational

• Luke Miller

Junior Luke Miller (right) had one of his best races of the season, as New Richmond’s third finisher in the Rice Lake Invitational last Tuesday.

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When the New Richmond girls cross country team went to the Rice Lake Invitiational, the Tigers were looking to re-establish themselves as one of the top teams in the area.

The girls did just that, finishing in fifth place among the nearly 30 schools competing in last Tuesday’s meet. New Richmond’s boys were able to place ninth in the meet.

This was the Tigers’ first race since their own invitational, a meet where the Tiger girls weren’t at their strongest. At Rice Lake, the girls showed they can be the impactful team they want to be.

The Tigers have a consistent veteran top three runners in junior Maddie Kelly and seniors Ellen Meisner and Shelby Rolland. The pivotal runner for the Tigers at Rice Lake was senior Amanda Anez.

With several of the Tigers struggling with the heat that day, Anez recognized that she needed to step up. After the first mile, Anez quickened her pace, passing runner after runner. She moved up to be the Tigers’ fourth runner, placing 36th overall.

For the Tiger boys, a thrown shoe ended up hurting them in the team competition. Senior Alex Charbonneau lost his shoe early in the race. Instead of taking the time to put the shoe back on, he threw the shoe to Coach Beth Kelly and ran the rest of the race with one shoe. Charbonneau finished 76th, approximately 50 places back from where he’d been expected to finish.

Coach Kelly used this as a lesson for all the runners, instructing them to take the time to put their shoe back on if they should have this happen in a race.

The Tiger boys were still able to put together an upper half finish. Sophomore Jack Utzman led the team, placing 23rd. Freshman Austin Haseleu moved up to be the team’s second runner.

Somerset, Central

The heavy heat the day of the Rice Lake meet seemed to weigh down both the Somerset and St. Croix Central teams. The Somerset and Central boys teams were both hoping to make more of an impact in this meet, but they ended up in the middle of the pack. Both girls teams finished well back in the pack.

Central coach Bill Emery said his team needs to prepare better for racing on a hot, dry day.

“We ran flat and the times showed it,” Emery said.

Emery did find highlights from the race. Junior Max Kaul finished second among the small school runners in the junior varsity race, a performance that will move him to the varsity team for the Panthers’ next outing.

For the girls, McKenzy Johnson took a big step forward, being the second Panther to cross the finish line.

“McKenzy is running with a bit more self-confidence,” Emery said.

For Somerset, the best finish of the day came from senior Grace Becher, who placed 53rd in the girls race.

Rice Lake Invitational

Boys varsity scores: Hudson 59, Colfax 131, Menomonie 137, Eau Claire North 176, Grantsburg 186, McDonell Central 219, Unity 263, Ellsworth 269, New Richmond 302, Ashland 305, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 315, St. Croix Falls 347, Chippewa Falls 373, St. Croix Central 386, Boyceville 404, Somerset 429, Rice Lake 434, Elk Mound 437, Barron 514, Hayward 529, Osceola 541, Amery 549, Cameron 564, Glenwood City 593, Bloomer 609, Spooner 658, Hurley 682, Cumberland 797, Bruce 869

New Richmond finishes

23. Jack Utzman 18:33; 56. Austin Haseleu 19:32; 72. Luke Miller 19:59; 75. Ben Norman 20:00; 76. Alex Charbonneau 20:03; 139. Erik Gilkison 21:42; 142. Bailey Wilson 21:50

St. Croix Central finishes

47. Brett Briggs 19:18; 61. Jordan Bringgold 19:40; 73. Nathon Madlung 20:00; 80, Nathan Bringgold 20:07; 125. Logan Nelson 21:13; 127. Andrew Skala 21:16; 145. Tyler Johnson 21:53

Somerset finishes

63. Josh Verdeja 19:45; 83. Andrew Thurmes 20:11; 93. Ethan Baillargeon 20:21; 93. Keenan Strom 20:23; 98. Brandon Mondor 20:29; 126. Emmitt Foster 21:15; 147. Billy Schmitt 22:05

Girls team scores

Hudson 35, Rice Lake 136, Menomonie 168, Colfax 182, New Richmond 185, Amery 196, Osceola 253, Bloomer 290, Flambeau 296, Ellsworth 314, Glenwood City 317, Eau Claire North 345, Hayward 347, St. Croix Falls 356, Chippewa Falls 366, Cameron 378, Hurley 438, Spooner 478, Ashland 483, Ladysmith 497, Webster 504, St. Croix Central 525, Elk Mound 601, Somerset 603, Cumberland 650, Shell Lake 653, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 700, Unity 748

New Richmond finishes

12. Maddie Kelly 21:28; 23. Ellen Meisner 22:17; 33. Shelby Rolland 22:49; 36. Amanda Anez 22:56; 81. Audrey DeKock 24:55; 118. Meghan Watkins 26:55; 147. Kennedy Kling 28:31

St. Croix Central finishes

45. Courtney Kramer 23:15; 111. McKenzy Johnson 26:41; 117. Hope Hoolihan 26:54; 121. Ashley Kopacz 27:04; 131. Ella Scott 27:38

Somerset finishes

53. Grace Becher 23:36; 113. Yosselyn Moncada 26:44; 130. Maggie Becher 27:31; 144. Carrie Kulibert 28:25; 163. Laura Smith 30:34

Tags: cross country, sports, tigers, prep