VERONA, Wis. — Onalaska High School senior Manny Putz and the Aquinas boys and girls cross country teams followed up a big day by West Salem’s boys and girls cross by earning the chance to run for WIAA state championships next Saturday.
Putz, who helped the Hilltoppers win a team title as a freshman and followed that up with two consecutive individual championships, comfortably won the Verona Sectional by beating the competition by nearly a minute Saturday at Stewart’s Woods.
Putz was timed at 15 minutes, 23.2 seconds and wasn’t challenged by second-place Aaron Yarbro of Verona (16:17.4) or third-place Will Lisowski-Sem of Madison Memorial (16:35.7). Central senior Bode Nessler (16:44.9) and Holmen sophomore Matthew Hoff (16:46.7) will join Putz at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids next weekend.
Nessler finished seventh and Hoff eighth at a meet that was won by Verona (49). Madison West finished second with 62 points, and Holmen led area teams with a fourth-place score of 133.
Holmen’s girls ran to a team score of 79 and just missed out on a chance to run together at state. Madison West won with 43 points, and Waunakee followed at 62.
Holmen junior Sabrina Lechnir qualified individually with a sixth-place finish and time of 19:37.5. Junior Naomi Wedan also qualified by placing 10th (20:08.7), while freshman teammate Jolee Valiska (20:16.4) just missed the state field by crossing the finish line 12th.
Aquinas won boys and girls sectional championships in a Division 3 meet hosted by Westfield. The boys scored 42 points behind a winning performance by senior Declan Gregg, and the girls scored 59 to clip second-place Wisconsin Rapids Assumption by one point.
Gregg was timed at 16:31.9 and won by 5.1 seconds. Senior teammate Thomas Gorman III was also fourth (17:49.4) to help the Blugolds win by 18 points.
Junior Kaleb Azene (sixth, 17:54.7), junior Oliver Buck (12th, 18:39.6) and senior Trevor Paulson (19th, 19:04.9) also scored for the Blugolds. Bangor senior Evan Buchholz (10th, 18:25.1) and freshman Grays Truskowski (11th, 18:30.9) grabbed state spots as individuals.
The Aquinas girls had two runners in the top 10 and all five in the top 19.
Freshman Sanjana Musafir led the way by placing sixth (20:04), and she was followed by sophomore Emily Bagniefski, who was 10th (20:45.4). Junior Alexa Myre (15th, 21:12.9), sophomore Caitlin Wengel (16th, 21:13) and sophomore Hope Hawker (17th, 21:25.6) also scored for the Blugolds.
Bangor senior Anna Fronk is an individual qualifier after finishing eighth in 20:24.4.
This all came a day after West Salem’s boys and girls qualified by sweeping Division 2 team championships at Skyline Golf Course in Black River Falls. The boys won with a score of 30 and the girls with a score of 69.
Senior Carter Quackenbush won the boys race with a 16:35.4 as his team placed four runners among the top seven. Senior Tom Stenberg was fourth (17:13.2), junior Carter Gronemus sixth (17:20.2) and sophomore Andrew Lorenz seventh (17:21.3) as the Panthers beat second-place Mauston by 16 points.
Senior Brennon Anderson also scored for West Salem with a 12th-place finish (17:48.2). Logan sophomore Gabe Passe is a Division 2 individual qualifier after placing 14th (17:53.4).
West Salem’s girls were led by senior Faith Minard, who was sixth in 21:11.7. Sophomore Sam MacRogers was ninth (21:48.7), senior Maclaine Heilman 14th (22:22.6), senior Victoria Lysne 17th (22:33.4) and sophomore Anna Knudson 23rd (22:56.1). The Panthers beat second-place Prescott by two points.
The top girls individual from the area was Viroqua freshman Allyeh Schwen, who was third overall at 20:04 and earned her own spot at state. Senior Rivyn DiPadova just missed becoming a qualifier with a 21:15.2, and Logan sophomore Kareena Ramakrishnan followed DiPadova across the line in 21:59.5.
