Hatchet runners compete in Menomonie relay

/ Sports

For the Tomahawk Leader

MENOMONIE – The Tomahawk High School cross country team recently traveled southwest to Menomonie to compete against Division I, II, and III schools in the 49th annual Menomonie Cross Country Relay.

Amongst elite competition, the Hatchets had a solid day with many new season bests and personal records.

“It was great to see the kids compete against some larger, Division I and II schools,” said coach Kurt Reinke. “We also got to see some great Division III schools to help challenge our kids in a high mileage week.”

“King’s Hill workout is one of our most difficult workouts of the season,” said coach Jerett Flynn. “These kids handled it without any dropouts, then moved on later into the week with 1,000-meter repeats before racing in Menomonie. The mustang course is a challenging one, but we saw many of our kids excelled up the hill, benefiting their emotional and physical performance in the race.”

The invite featured a unique racing format so that, for example, Tomahawk’s 6th, 7th and 8th runners would only run against the other team’s 6th, 7th and 8th runners before the next race would begin. Yet at the end of all the races, the times would all be put together on paper in classic cross country scoring fashion to determine team scores.

The Hatchet boys were led by varsity runners Sam Zastrow (41st-18:15), Beau Stromberg (63rd-19:04), Jeremiah Johnson (68th-19:13), Drew Voermans (73rd-19:20), Dominic Boos (81st-19:36), Joe Zastrow (82nd-19:38), Nathan Rosenmeier (87th-20:15) and Luke Morrison (101st-20:49). They would finish in 12th place as a team, edging out three other schools.

The junior varsity student-athletes were Mason Riebe (58th-21:11), Karson Hanse (59th-21:15), Dawson Jones (61st-21:18), Ryan Montag (88th-21:57), Bruce Peetz (89th-22:01), Elliot O’Connor (99th-22:22), Will Boneck (111th-22:47) and Gerard Gorell (119th-23:30).

Photos courtesy of Connor Ahrens.

Tomahawk’s girls were paced by varsity runners Alli Palmer (18th-20:51), Lydia Shaney (37th-21:46), Ellie Micke (59th-23:19), Reese Molitor (61st-23:23), Norah Mann (64th-23:31), Abbie Rosenmeier (66th-23:38), Faith Derleth (72nd-23:58) and Elizabeth Arnott (82nd-25:15. The girls landed just below mid-pack by placing 9th as a team.

Junior varsity student-athletes were Kailynn Hanse (25th-25:16), Aliyah Nelson (38th-26:27), Reagan Gorell (48th-27:20) and Jennie Frederickson (51st-27:47).

The Tomahawk runners competed in Menomonie earlier this month.

“Some of our girls used some excellent race strategies to their advantage,” said coach Steph Ahrens. “Just two examples were Jennie and Kailynn, who moved up their place every mile.”

“Despite our boys finishing in the same place as last year, they beat two additional teams and overall had a better average time than the previous season,” said coach Connor Ahrens. “Our girls had a lower team place than last season, but had vast amounts of time improvements.”

Athletes of the Week

Lydia Shaney – “Dropping over three minutes from her previous year’s time at the Mustang Relays, junior Lydia Shaney found herself yet again having a solid race for the girls’ team. She has already set a personal record this season, but with much of the season ahead of her, it could be a year to remember. Consistency has been her trademark this season, finishing as our 1st or 2nd runner every race. Teams need dependable athletes, and that’s exactly what Tomahawk is getting through Lydia’s hard work and effort.”
Joe Zastrow – “A new Zastrow to the boys squad, Joe is already finding ways to improve nearly every race so far. A fine achievement, when one considers the conditions of the Marathon Invitational to the Mustang Relays. Going from borderline varsity starting the season to earning the 6th spot on the team, running a 19:38 5k, the coaching staff believes this isn’t the end of Joe’s progression. The young freshman is just coming into his own at the high school level, and a great future distance running career potentially awaits.”
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