MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Oct. 8–15)
PREP CROSS COUNTRY: SWAL Championships
By Jason Nihles, Boscobel Dial / The Platteville Journal / Fennimore Times
Team effort lifts young Bulldogs to boys' SWAL title
MUSCODA — Boscobel won a pair of conference titles at last Thursday’s SWAL Cross Country Championships at Riverdale Elementary School.
Senior Nora Jillson began the Bulldogs’ day of championships by cruising to her second individual conference title in the girls’ race with a winning time of 18:44.0. Not to be outdone, the Boscobel boys took to the course less than an hour later and won the program’s first conference title since 2021 with 61 points, outdueling both Iowa–Grant (80) and Fennimore (92).
Led by junior Adalee Berget, the Darlington girls (40) placed five runners in the top 13 to win the girls SWAL title rather easily ahead of Fennimore (63) and Boscobel (68). This was the Lady Redbirds' second-straight SWAL cross country title.
Bright leads Boscobel boys
Sophomore Bodey Bright led the Bulldogs to the finish line, placing a team-best seventh 17:33.6. The rest of the Boscobel varsity team ran as a pack the majority of the race, finishing 12th through 17.
“Our athletes showed up ready to race at the conference meet,” said Boscobel head coach Matthew Fritz. “Generally, the SWAL is one of the most competitive conferences in our division, so walking out of there with a conference title was a huge deal.
Freshman Graydon Richter (12th, 17:48.9) and juniors Alex Kreul (13th, 17:48.9), Carter Molzof (14th, 17:56.2) and Tyler Miller (15th, 17:57.2) joined Bright on the boys cross country all-conference team. The top 15 runners earn All-SWAL honors. Sophomores Ahston Udelhoven (16th, 18:03.7) and Harrison Davis (17th, 18:10.6) just missed out on a place on the all-conference team.
“The last title for our boys occurred in 2021, so getting another opportunity to win one with such a young group of guys is a huge deal,” said Fritz. “Iowa-Grant and Fennimore didn’t allow it to come easy, but I am really proud of the guys for following our race plan and running really tough!”
Iowa–Grant senior Bret Connolly (16:38.5) beat Fennimore senior Ben Varela (16:53.7) to the finish line to win the boys' individual conference title.
Jillson wins girls' individual title, but runner-up Berget leads Darlington to girls' team crown
In the girls race Jillson beat Adalee Berget (19:15.9), the 2023 individual SWAL champion, to the finish line by more than 30 seconds. Fennimore’s Natalie Horsfall (19:49.3) and Kylee Mumm (20:02.0) finished well behind Jillson for third and fourth place.
“Nora was dominant in the girls race from start to finish,” said Fritz. “She ran with a special confidence that allowed to her be strong throughout the race and never waver. Winning the conference meet by 31 seconds in a very competitive field is very impressive.”
While Jillson won the individual accolades for the Bulldogs, it was Berget and the Redbirds
Junior Aubrey Seep finished ninth at 21:25.9 to join Jillson on the girls’ all-conference team. Freshman Payten Sander (22:08.7) finished 16th for the Bulldogs (68), who placed third as a team behind Darlington (40) and Fennimore (63) in the girls’ team standings.
Sophomore Brianna Vazquez (20:52.6) and junior Piper DePauw (21:14.1) finished seventh and eighth for the conference champion Redbirds, while sophomores Madison Welacha (10th, 21:27.7) and Austin Stauffacher (13th, 21:36.3) finished in the top 15 to place five Darlington runners on the girls all-conference team.
Boscobel will now split up this weekend for the WIAA Sectionals. The Boscobel girls, who were bumped up to Division 2 by the WIAA’s new success factor competitive balance rule after winning the D3 2021 state title, finishing sixth at state in D3 in 2022 and third at sectionals last fall, will race Friday afternoon at the 16-team WIAA Division 2 Black River Falls Sectional.
Meanwhile, Darlington and the Boscobel boys will compete in the 23-team Division 3 Prairie du Chien Sectional Saturday morning. The top two teams, and top five runners not on a qualifying team, will advance to next week’s WIAA State Championships in Wisconsin Rapids.
“We are looking forward to the sectional meets,” added Fritz. “We find ourselves in a unique situation having to go to two different sectionals, but the kids are ready to focus on their races, but also travel along to cheer their teammates on. We have had these two dates circled in our calendar all season, so we are ready to go compete to the best of our abilities and try and punch our ticket to the State Meet!”
SWAL Conference Meet
(from Thursday, Oct. 18 @ Muscoda)
(Girls, 5,000 meters)
Team standings: 1.Darlington 40, 2.Fennimore 63, 3.Boscobel 68, 4.Southwestern/Benton 94, 5.Argyle/Pecatonica 156, 6.Iowa–Grant 164, 7.Riverdale 166, 8.Cuba City 175., Albany inc.
Top individuals: 1.Nora Jillson (Boscobel) 18:44.0, 2.Adalee Berget (Dar) 19:15.9, 3.Natalie Horsfall (Fen) 19:49.3, 4.Kylee Mumm (Fen) 20:02.0, 5.Maci Reichman (SW/B) 20:14.5.
Boscobel (68): 1.Nora Jillson 18:44.0, 9.Aubrey Seep 21:25.9, 16.(15).Payten Sander 22:08.7, 22.(20).Nakia Stitzer 22:44.9, 24.(23).Mallory Miles 22:57.6, 29.(26).Kira Kinney 23:13.3, 30.(27).Madi Kinnett 23:24.1.
Darlington (40): 2.Adalee Berget 19:15.9, 7.Brianna Vazquez 20:52.6, 8.Piper DePauw 21:14.1, 10.Madison Welacha 21:27.7, 13.Austia Stauffacher 21:36.3, 18.(14).Stella McGowan 22:26.3, 20.(17).Paige Douglas 22:30.0.
(Boys, 5,000 meters)
Team standings: 1.Boscobel 61, 2.Iowa–Grant 80, 3.Fennimore 92, 4.Riverdale 118, 5.Albany 119, 6.Cuba City 121, 7.Darlington 174, 8.Argyle/Pecatonica 184, 9.Southwestern/Benton 225.
Top individuals: 1.Bret Connolly (IG) 16:38.5, 2.Ben Varela (Fen) 16:53.7, 3.Noah Wood (CC) 17:02.6, 4.Josh Richardson (SW/B) 17:05.3, 5.Isaac Henkel (Fen) 17:10.7.
Boscobel (61): 7.Bodey Bright 17:33.6, 12.Graydon Richter 17:43.2, 13.Alex Kreul 17:48.9, 14.Carter Molzof 17:56.2, 15.Tyler Miller 17:57.2, 16.Ashton Udelhoven 18:03.7, 17.Harrison Davis 18:10.6.
