For the Tomahawk Leader
MEDFORD – The Tomahawk Middle School (TMS) cross country team competed at the Great Northern Conference (GNC) Invitational in Medford and the Three Lakes Invitational last week.
GNC Invitational
The middle runners traveled to Medford for the GNC Invitational on Monday, Sept. 18.
The Tomahawk girls came in as the reigning champions to defend the title against Antigo, Lakeland, Medford, Mosinee, Northland Pines and Rhinelander. In a tight battle for the top four spots, Tomahawk will once again be home to the Conference Championship trophy.
Team scores were Tomahawk 52, Rhinelander 67, Medford 68, Lakeland 72, Mosinee 160 and Antigo 198.
Leading the Hatchets was Conference Champion Charlee Lund with a time of 14:08. Hallie Pierce (7th) and Lexi Palmer (10th) also secured medalist honors with their performances.
Hatchet scoring runners also included great times posted by Aliyah Nelson (16th), Camryn Kraklow (18th), Joa Reilly (25th) and Autumn Pankow (29th). Completing the squad for the conference champs were Leigha Vassar (32nd), Giordana Cammisuli (34th), Victoria Towle (36th), Alaina Stogbauer (47th), Lily Meuer (57th), Lilli Marheine (60th), Lucy Nelson (64th), Savannah Reinke (65th) and Kortney Busterud (66th).
On the boys’ side, Medford would take the top honors with 45 points, followed by Northland Pines 73, Mosinee 101, Rhinelander 114 and Tomahawk in 5th with 137 points.
The Hatchet finishers were Dawson Jones 15th with a time of 14:59, followed by Joe Zastrow (19th), Abe Flohr (22nd), Levi Cerkas (35th), Zach Scott (37th), Max Childers (40th), Vallyn Ott (41st) and Tripp Tabbert (42nd).
Three Lakes Invitational
On Thursday, Sept. 21, the TMS harriers lined up for the Three Lakes Invitational at the Big Stone Golf Course.
In summer-like conditions, the Hatchets turned in another solid performance despite having run two meets in one week.
The Hatchets were led to victory again by 7th grader Charlee Lund, scoring her second overall win in as many races in the week, covering the two-mile course in a personal best time of 13:36. The Lady Hatchets put three more runners on the podium with Lexi Palmer placing 8th, Camryn Kraklow (9th) and Hallie Pierce (10th), all earning medals for their efforts.
The Hatchets also saw fantastic races by Aliyah Nelson (11th), Giordana Cammisuli (19th), Autumn Pankow (23rd), Joa Reilly (24th), Leigha Vassar (29th), Victoria Towle (30th), Reagan Gorell (32nd), Lily Meurer (35th), Alaina Stogbauer (36th), Lucy Nelson (40th), Savannah Reinke (42nd) and Kortney Busterud (44th).
Team scores were Tomahawk 35, Lakeland 48, Three Lakes 68, Northland Pines 69 and Crandon 133.
In the boys’ race, Brayden Clark from Lakeland would take the overall win and secure the team title. Leading the Hatchets in their 4th-place team result was 8th grader Joe Zastrow with a 7th place medal, finishing in a time of 13:33. The Hatchet boys also had a number of great races by Dawson Jones (15th), Abe Flohr (25th), Levi Cerkas (31st), Zach Scott (36th), Trip Tabbert (37th), Vallyn Ott (39th) and Max Childers (42nd).
This week’s action
The middle school runners will take part in an invitational in Medford on Thursday, Sept. 28.