DURAND — The Aquinas High School girls cross country will get the chance to compete for a WIAA championship next weekend.
The Blugolds put three runners among the top 11 at the Division 3 Durand-Akransaw Sectional on Saturday, and those performances triggered a second-place finish and team score of 53 in a meet won by C-FC (47).
Aquinas is a state qualifier for the third year in a row and will follow up on a second-place finish in 2024.
Junior Caitlin Wengel placed sixth overall with a time of 20 minutes, 15.9 seconds as the Blugolds held off third-place Independence/Gilmanton (82) for a spot in the state meet at Wisconsin Rapids next Saturday.
Aquinas is a 12-time state qualifier and was eighth two years agio before last season’s runner-up performance.
Sophomore Sanjana Musafir was eighth in 20:19.9 and senior Alexis Myre 11th in 21:00.2 for the team’s other top finishes in a meet run at Rolling Green Golf Course.
The Blugolds also received scoring runs from junior Helen Onyeabor and Bethany Hale during the qualifying effort. Onyeabor was 19th in 21:44 and Hale 22nd in 22:10.4.
Musafir, Myre and Wengel all ran with last year’s second-place state team.
They will be joined by Melrose-Mindoro junior Caleb Arneson and Aquinas senior Kaleb Azene, who qualified out of the boys sectional race.
Arneson placed fifth overall with a time of 17:25.2, and Azene crossed the line seventh in 17:41.9.
The Aquinas boys were fourth in the team standings with a score of 125, and Onalaska Luther followed in fifth at 136. Melrose-Mindoro was seventh at 202.
Senior Roger Flege (14th, 18:36.6), freshman Nolan Vandenlangenberg (29th,18:59.7), senior Oliver Buck (35th, 19:20.1) and freshman Alexander Boland (54th, 19:58.2) also contributed scoring runs for the fourth-place Blugolds.
The Knights were led by sophomore Gavin Labus, who was 19th in 18:44.1, and junior Lukas Braaten, who was 20th in 18:46.1.
Junior Levi Braaten (31st, 19:06.2), junior Caleb Priem (36th, 19:25.2) and junior Nathan Dobberstein (43rd, 19:47.9) also contributed to Luther’s team score.
Freshman Carter Workman (24th, 18:52.1), junior Icean Hangartner (67th,20:51), junior Grayson Mulholland (69th, 20:53.4) and junior Dayten Wade (71st, 20:57.3) rounded out the Mustangs’ team score.
Melrose-Mindoro’s girls were seventh with a team score of 178, and Onalaska Luther was eighth with a 219.
Junior Sheila Johnson was the top runner for those two teams, and she was 26th overall for the Mustangs with her time of 22:26.3. Melrose-Mindoro also received scoring runs from senior Calysta Bautch (50th, 24:10.9), senior Ava Schweitzer (55th, 24:42.3), senior Mattison Foster (61st, 25:10.6) and freshman Grace Loecke (63rd, 25:30.3).
The Knights were led by senior Jacee Erickson’s 51st-place finish in 24:19.7. Junior Elizabeth Hunter (69th, 26:01.1), freshman Hannah Chambers (70th, 26:02.2), junior Athemia Horstman (26:11.3) and junior Corrina Rouvel (75th,26:25.) also scored for Luther.
