9/25/2008 8:00:00 AM BERKHOLTZ BEST
In Wausau Invitational Boys find Big Eight teams challenging
By Karl Raymond
Sports Editor
Sophomore cross country runner Liz Berkholtz had herself quite a memorable weekend. Running in last Saturday's Smiley Invitational at Wausau's American Legion Golf Course - former site of the WIAA state cross country meet - Berkholtz competed against nearly 800 runners and beat all of them to the finish line. Berkholtz posted a winning time of 15 minutes, 17:03 seconds - a personal best.
Berkholtz pulled away from a Pulaski runner at the 1-1/2 mile mark to reach the finish line first. According to assistant SPHS girls cross country coach Paul Frank, only four other girls have posted faster times on the same course.
As a team, Sun Prairie placed ninth among the 13-team Division 1 Large School teams with 241 points. Mequon Homestead won the meet with 74 points and La Crosse Central was a point away in second place with 75 points.
"Steve (Riggins - head coach) and I were talking the other day and we're five-for-five with no bad team races," said Frank. "It's not like we're a high-powered team. But we had good performances across the board. I wouldn't say it was a really tough course, but it was a challenging course. All 14 girls we took had a good time and it's probably a meet we'll go to next year.
"With the massive crowd and large number of runners, it had a state meet like atmosphere. There were 410 JV runners and 800 varsity runners. The best part was seeing new teams and the girls enjoyed that."
Finishing behind Berkholtz were Tamara Wolfgram 60th - 16:51; Maura McManus 62nd - 16:52, personal best; Jennifer McCabe 103rd - 17:25, personal best; Tanya Dring 150th - 18:42, personal best; Caitlyn Berndt 158th - 18:46; Brianna Stacey 161st - 18:55; and Melissa Assalone 168th - 19:10.
Sun Prairie JV runners were Lizzie Bartow 143rd - 19:35; Allison Ives 155th - 19:42; Kati Ford 190th - 20:03; Raechel Vandehey 202nd - 20:10; Shannon Lynch 233rd - 20:25; and Angela Knauf 241st - 20:29.
What Sun Prairie High School girls cross country coach Steve Riggins discovered last Tuesday afternoon at Janesville's Blackhawk Golf Course, he already knew: The Big Eight Conference ranks right at the top as the best conference in the state for girls cross country.
All the Big Eight Conference teams assembled for the Big Eight Conference Grade Level Meet which combined the senior and junior runners in one race and the freshmen and sophomore runners in the other race. Janesville Craig emerged as the overall winner with 29 points. The Cougars were followed by Madison West 37, Middleton 53, Madison Memorial 69, Janesville Parker 71, Madison La Follette 74, Sun Prairie 117, Madison East 141 and Beloit Memorial 210.
Individual winners were Middleton's Maggie Bollig (senior), La Follette's Sarah Baltisberger (junior), Verona's Nicole Kollman (sophomore) and Madison West's Olivia Pratt (freshman).
"What this meet showed is that we are in a conference that is very, very tough," said Riggins, "and we have to be firing on all cylinders to finish above eight place. Right now, we are a better team than Madison East and Beloit and we're close with Madison La Follette and Janesville Parker.
"Right now, we're missing quality runners in the middle spots. We're too inconsistent to finish in the middle of the conference. Janesville Craig, Middleton, Madison West and Verona are head and shoulders above us. Those teams maybe are among the top 15 ranked teams in the state. That just shows our conference is arguably the best in the state."
In the sophomore/freshmen race, Sun Prairie was led by Liz Berkholtz who placed second in 15:28 and received a medal for finishing among the top five. Following Berkholtz were Maura McManus 15th - 16:54, Caitlyn Berndt 50th - 19:23, Brianna Stacey 55th - 19:28, Allison Ives 59th - 19:36, personal best, Kati Ford 61st - 19:41, personal best, Angela Knauf 71st - 20:02, personal best and Paige Butler 108th - 22:32, personal best. There were 120 freshmen/sophomore runners.
Leading Sun Prairie in the junior/senior race was Tamara Wolfgram, who placed 18th in 17:04. Following her in order were Jennifer McCabe 32nd - 17:48, Raechel Vandehey 84th - 19:34, personal best, Shannon Lynch 88th - 19:59, personal best, Quinn Watson 89th - 20:02, Nikki Henderson 97th - 20:25, Courtney Ollerman 106th - 21:02, personal best and Shifee Vang 132nd - 23:31. There were 145 senior/junior runners.
"Our conference is the strongest I've seen in it a while and this was a learning experience for us," said Riggins.
Sun Prairie will compete in the Reedsburg Invitational this Saturday at the Hartje Learning Center starting at 9:30 a.m. The Cardinals then travel to the Portage Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 30 starting at 4 p.m.
Big Eight brings out the best By Karl Raymond
Sports Editor
Last Tuesday's Big Eight Conference Grade Level Meet at Blackhawk Golf Course in Janesville is why Jim Buhr has continued coaching boys cross country for over 35 years. Perfect weather and perfect running conditions to accommodate what Buhr feels is the best boys cross country conference in the state.
"This meet was as intense of a meet that I've seen in many years," said Buhr. "It was just a great day on a nice course with what I think are two of the best teams and two of the best runners in the state."
Led by senior Brett Kelly, who posted an overall winning time of 15:47 and won the senior race, Madison West scored a low 38 points to edge Madison La Follette and Janesville Craig - both a point off the pace with 39 points. La Follette's Alex Brill was second overall with a time of 15:53.09.
"Those two were nose-to-nose for the whole race," said Buhr, "and Spencer Houk was right with them for the first two miles, but they had a little more juice in the final mile. Those two are the best in the state and that's what's fun watching those two go at it. But Spencer was right with them for quite a while."
The class meet pitted seniors vs. seniors, juniors vs. juniors, etc. Finishing behind Madison West, La Follette and Janesville Craig were Middleton 53, Madison Memorial 59, Verona 60, Sun Prairie 74, Madison East 103, Janesville Parker 122, Beloit Memorial 243. The top five runners in each class race received medals.
"It's a tough league and a tough meet," said Buhr, "but I felt good about it. I did some bright spots. As I've said before, you might as well see the best teams and the best guys around because it's the only way you are going to get better. It's by far the toughest conference in the state and it's because of the emergence of Madison West and Madison La Follette. Because of those two teams we all have to get better to compete with them.
'Overall, I thought it was a good meet for us. We just have to keep plugging away."
Added the head coach, "Janesville Craig just did a fabulous job running the meet. This was like a big time invitational and things ran very smoothly."
The top five Sun Prairie runners in the freshmen race were Dillon Weber 4th - 18:30, medalist, Dan Gyorog 37th - 21:54, Jacob Vandehey 38th - 21:56, Zach Ditchey 40th - 22:18, Dan Corcoran 56th - 24:43. There were 79 freshmen runners.
The top five Sun Prairie runners in the sophomore race were Joel Kaminski 14th - 18:53, Matt O'Connor 15th - 18:56, Jordan Christian 29th - 20:13, Bryce Opps 33rd - 20:22, Joey Gyorog 40th - 20:48. There were 75 sophomore runners.
The top five Sun Prairie junior runners were Tyler Hart 10th - 18:07, personal best, Dylan Walsh 14th - 18:022, Derek Brandt 15th - 18:34, Sam Moran 18th - 18:44, Brandon Jazdzewski 43rd - 20:38. There were 69 junior runners.
The top five Sun Prairie senior runners were Spencer Houk 3rd - 16:34, Mike Wipperfurth 14th - 17:38, Ryan Connelly 15th - 17:41, Will Goss 31st - 18:40, Tyler Beduhn 34th - 18:58. There were 67 senior runners.
Sun Prairie will compete in the Reedsburg Invitational this Saturday at the Hartje Learning Center starting at 9:30 a.m. The Cardinals then travel to the Portage Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 30 starting at 4 p.m.
