Hatchet freshman Charlee Lund competes in State meet

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – On Saturday, Nov. 1, Tomahawk High School freshman Charlee Lund headed south to Wisconsin Rapids to compete in the WIAA Division II State cross country meet.

This year’s girls Division II State meet was a cold, but sunny day that saw the 16 best Division II teams in the state compete for the WIAA State Championship.

After previewing the course and taking in the sights and sounds of the State meet, Lund prepared for her race. Lund was placed in box 11 with the other Merrill Sectional individual qualifiers.

The Division II girls’ race kicked off at 2:25 p.m. Lund would get out to a good start, hitting the first chaotic and crowded mile in 6:11 in 51st place. Coach Connor Ahrens noted that this was a “great spot to be in, considering she was ranked to take 50th place overall.”

Lund would do an excellent job of hitting the challenging second mile of the course in 6:46, passing seven runners to move herself into 44^th place. She continued to press on in the final mile, running a 6:35 last mile of the course, but would be surpassed by four stronger finishers.

 Lund finished the race in 48th place with a final time of 20:26, her fourth-fastest time of the season.

“We are extremely proud of Charlee,” said coach Steph Ahrens. “To end her season at the State meet was a fitting finish for her first year of high school cross country, even better knowing she ran sub-21 minutes six times this season, and her personal record of 19:37 places her third on the all-time Hatchet girls’ 5k list. That being said, we know she won’t be satisfied with this and will keep herself and her teammates hungry for the next season to compete.”

“Charlee has been a special runner since day one,” said coach Connor Ahrens. “Her commitment to the sport and sheer competitiveness have been greatly welcomed onto our girls’ team. She has been a great student-athlete to coach and someone we can count on to keep raising the bar for this program.”

There were 151 runners in the girls’ race, with finishing team results as follows: Mount Horeb 90, McFarland 112, Monroe 128, Kettle Moraine Lutheran 138, Notre Dame 173, Assumption 184, Berlin 198, Lakeside Lutheran 214, Kiel 218, New Berlin Eisenhower 232, Saint Croix Central 249, Osceola 252, Winneconne 278, Wittenberg/Birnamwood 305, Shawano Community 318 and New Berlin West 319.

Other Great Northern Conference performances included the Lakeland boys taking 10th in the boys’ Division II race. Rhinelander’s Avrom Barr took 41st in a time of 17:00, and Jackson Weinzatl took 83rd in a time of 17:48. Northland Pines’ Ethan Miller took 97th in a time of 18:06. Antigo’s Shepard Snider took 142nd in a time of 19:23.

In the girls’ race, Lakeland’s Emerson Rubo took 19th in a time of 19:40, Medford’s Lindsay Kahn took 12th in a time of 19:31 and Rhinelander’s Macy Myers took 32nd in a time of 19:59.

“With the end of the State meet, this wraps up the 2025 Tomahawk cross country season,” Ahrens stated. “The team and coaching staff would like to thank the entirety of the school staff, parents and community for their support. The team’s success is a result of so many supportive and helping hands throughout their journey, and we couldn’t have had the success we did without all of your help. Thank you.”