MARSHFIELD – The Tomahawk High School cross country team took part in three races earlier this month.
This year, Tomahawk mixed it up with two completely new races, first going to the Marshfield Invite on Tuesday, Sept. 8 and and then the Night Fall Classic in Neenah on Thursday, Sept. 11. Both races had elite competition and performances.
The Marshfield race saw the Hatchets take on 17 teams with 90-plus runners in both races, and the Night Fall Classic race featured a whopping 23 teams with 240-plus runners in both races.
Coach Connor Ahrens said the Night Fall Classic was a unique race, as it took place in the evening hours with lights specific to each turn of the course and music playing throughout the course, making for a memorable racing atmosphere.
Following the new races, the Hatchets took part in the annual Smiley Invitational.
Marshfield Invite
At Marshfield, the Hatchet girls were up first and were led by Sophomore Charlee Lund, who took 16th in a time of 22:26.
Lund was followed by Elise Gibeault (23rd-22:52), Ellie Micke (40th-24:18), Aliyah Nelson (57th-25:31), Victoria Towle (60th-25:34), and Joa Reilly (70th-26:14). The girls varsity team took 6th with 189 points. In the junior varsity race Tomahawk had Lucy Nelson (18th-27:40) and Alaina Stogbauer (27th-29:19).
The Tomahawk boys’ varsity squad was led by Sophomore Connor Zorn, who took 36th in a time of 20:03.
The rest of the varsity team was Luke Morrison (48th-20:47), Dawson Jones (49th-20:53), Karson Hanse (62nd-21:32), Will Boneck (63rd-21:34), Drew Voermans (65th-21:45), and Joe Zastrow (74th-22:14). The varsity boys would take 10th with 239 points. In the junior varsity race Tomahawk had Ryan Montag (11th-21:33), Max Childers (22nd-22:46), Levi Cerkas (29th-23:19), Orin Erickson (34th-23:41), Hector Luna-Perez (38th-24:06), Jonathan Crossman (42nd-24:47), Chastin Dziura (43rd-24:48), Michael Lucas (47th-26:32), Liam Fossum (48th-27:22), Eli Scott (52nd-28:56) and Vallyn Ott (58th-35:38).
The boys’ junior varsity squad finished in 3rd place.
“It was great to see the kids have energy again to race,” said coach Steph Ahrens. “They laid it all out there on a beautiful course.”
Night Fall Classic
At the Night Fall Classic, the Lady Hatchets were led by the state elite performance of sophomore Lund taking 9th place in 20:04.
Lund was followed in the evening light by Elise Gibeault (26th-21:06), Ellie Micke (62nd-22:31), Abbie Rosenmeier (74th-23:03), Norah Mann (118th-24:14), Aliyah Nelson (125th-24:24), Victoria Towle (129th-24:37), Joa Reilly (137th-24:58), Lucy Nelson (171st-26:20) and Alaina Stogbauer (216th-28:14).
The Tomahawk girls took 9th in a stacked field that included Kewaskum and Winneconne, managing to beat conference rivals Merrill, Eagle River and Antigo.
Racing in the dark were the Tomahawk boys, who were led by junior Jordyn Carew, who placed 53rd with a time of 18:46.
Carew was closely followed by teammates Connor Zorn (55th-18:48), Dawson Jones (65th-19:10), and Joe Zastrow (67th-19:11). Rounding out the Hatchet runners were Luke Morrison (87th-19:43), Ryan Montag (103rd-20:13), Karson Hanse (113th-20:32), Will Boneck (129th-20:58), Max Childers (133rd-21:09), Hector Luna-Perez (148th-21:31), Orin Erickson (164th-22:25), Levi Cerkas (171st-22:41), Jonathan Crossman (178th-22:59), Chastin Dziura (196th-24:01), Michael Lucas (216th-24:51), Liam Fossum (221st-25:13) and Eli Scott (225th-25:25).
The Hatchet boys finished 10th in a loaded field that included Shorewood and Campbellsport, managing to beat conference rivals Northland Pines, Antigo and Merrill.
“The atmosphere at the Night Fall Classic was electric and was exactly what our team needed,” said coach Jerett Flynn. “They responded well, and as a result ran fantastic times on legs that are far from fresh.”
“Marshfield was a tough day for the Hatchets, but the team turned around to had some fantastic races at the Night Fall Classic,” said coach Connor Ahrens. “If the team can capture the energy they had at the start of the Night Fall Classic and continue the momentum felt after that race, we will be in great shape to push through our training and races leading up to our home invite.”
“Lots of stand out performances this week, from gritty performances by veterans to newcomers really pushing their hypothesized limits to find new heights,” said coach Kurt Reinke.
Smiley Invitational
On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Hatchet harriers went south to Wausau East High School for the annual Smiley Invite.
Over 50 teams and nearly 1,400 runners from across the state came to compete in divisional races. Tomahawk competed in D2/D3 races for varsity, and D1/D2/D3 were all merged for the junior varsity races.
“We knew going into the race that time wouldn’t be the main goal, as we wanted our student-athletes to focus on racing for place within a big crowd and finding key competitors from other schools,” said coach Connor Ahrens. “Even though we didn’t have a lot of standout performances, three of our student-athletes did take home some hardware.”
The Tomahawk varsity girls placed 14th in the overall D2/D3 race, while t he varsity boys placed 13th overall.
Tomahawk’s JV girls didn’t place because only two runners ran, and the JV boys took 25th in the D1/D2/D3 races.
The varsity girls squad was led by senior Elise Gibeault in a time of 20:46 placing 11th.
Charlee Lund (14th-20:50), Abbie Rosenmeier (73rd-23:38), Ellie Micke (84th-23:57), Aliyah Nelson (90th-24:16), Norah Mann (91st-24:30), and Victoria Towle (112th-26:50) rounded out the Hatchet girls’ squad.
The Hatchet boys were led by Sophomore Connor Zorn, who placed 38th in a time of 18:30.
Other varsity finishers for the Hatchets included Jordyn Carew (49th-18:51), Dawson Jones (64th-19:27), Ryan Montag (69th-19:48), Luke Morrison (73rd-20:04), Joe Zastrow (91st-20:55) and Will Boneck (95th-21:05).
The leading runner for the JV girls was freshman Lucy Nelson, taking 17th in a time of 26:06. The other female JV competitor was Alaina Stogbauer, who took 30th in a time of 27:39.
Setting the tone for the JV boys was Sophomore Orin Erickson, who took 35th with a time of 22:08.
The complete JV boys team included Jonathan Crossman (38th-22:16), Bodie Olsen (47th-22:49), Levi Cerkas (52nd-23:34), Chastin Dziura (56th-23:58), Tripp Tabbert (57th-24:08), Liam Fossum (65th-25:34), Vallyn Ott (72nd-27:15) and Eli Scott (73rd-27:24).
“Not the most ideal weather to race in,” said coach Jerett Flynn. “Combine the constant drizzle and muggy conditions with some of our student-athletes being sick doesn’t equate to great races. That being said, we had several student-athletes who had excellent performances.”
This week’s action
The Tomahawk runners are slated to compete at Big Stone Golf Course southeast of Three Lakes on Thursday, Sept. 24. The meet gets underway at 4 p.m.
Athletes of the Week
Liam Fossum – “The male cross country athlete of the week is freshman Liam Fossum. A great addition to the team, he is friends with virtually everyone and has had an excellent training mentality. This has benefited his progression, as he started the season running a 30-minute 5k, but has since dropped one to two minutes every race since. Recently, he dropped two minutes the last two meets to end up with a new 5k personal record of 25:13. As Liam continues to learn how to race a 5k and run efficiently, look for him to continue to drop time and become a stable positive influence on the team.”
Aliyah Nelson – “Speaking of positive influences, look no further than junior Aliyah Nelson. The girls have a lot of smiling faces and Aliyah is certainly one of them. A negative comment, or even thought for that matter, has never come from Aliyah, resulting in a cheerful and optimistic girls’ team. Aliyah is what most coaches call a ‘glue person,’ a necessary individual for the team to function together as a unit. This description fits, and to boot, she has also contributed mightily to the girls’ race efforts. She has been a varsity runner and has also reduced her 5k time in every meet. Her new 5k personal record came at the Night Fall Classic, where she ran a 24:24. With Aliyah in the ranks, this team will continue to be one cohesive unit moving ever forward and faster to their goals.”
Elise Gibeault – “Senior Elise Gibeault is off to a great final season of cross country. She has been healthy enough to run in every race thus far, largely due to her offseason regimen. She led the Lady Hatchets and ran a season best in the Smiley Invite. She got out to a great start in the beginning and went from 23rd at the first mile, 20th at the second mile, and finished 16th within the combined D2 and D3 results, proving she fought her way throughout the race to earn a 20:46 5k. A great senior leader for the girls’ team this year, Elise has had an excellent, cheerful attitude since the start. As Elise enters into the elite cross country runners, look for her to be a standout performer down the stretch, as she has always been a true competitor when it matters most.”
Connor Zorn – “Skipping the 19-minute 5k thus far this season, sophomore Connor Zorn has proven to be an extremely valuable asset to the up-and-coming boys squad. Running his early season 5k races in 20 minutes and then busting out an 18:30 at Smiley was an exciting treat for the Hatchets. Connor has put in the offseason mileage and has made some lofty goals for himself. All things considered though, these high goals aren’t unrealistic, and after watching Connor race at Smiley, one can truly believe he is on his way to attaining them.”
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