By Dwayne Corry
October 27, 2012
Wisconsin Rapids–The Stevens Point Area High School represented itself well at the the 100th State Cross Country Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Ridges Golf Course in Stevens Point.
“We wanted to go out there strong. I gave it all I had. I am happy with my effort,” said McKenzie Taggatz.
The SPASH ladies turned in a strong showing. But the young team, returning all but one runner next season, came in ranked 13th, and finsihed 12th with a team time of 1:19:34.62.
“We had hoped to finish higher. We will build off of this, and come back even better next season,” said head coach Mike Olson.
Here is how the girls from SPASH finished:
Autum Shurbert-Hetzel 15:28.32
McKenzie Taggatz 15:45.38
Sarah Rosenthal 16:03.71
Abbey Hyland 16.07.91
Kim Klein 16:09.30
Hannah Beilke 16:12.81
Maggie Pozorski 16:32.84.
The SPASH boys ran well, finishing with a score of 1:22:25.41.
SPASH’s team score was just over a minute behind the state champion’s score of 1:21:21.06. Madison West and Madison LaFollette finished first and second, respectively.
“Any other year and our time might have been good enough. We bled out hearts out there today. I want to thank all our fans for coming. I want to to thank coach for getting me into cross country, as it has changed my life. I especially want to thank our team leader, and our inspiration Michael Larson for all he has done for the program,” said Sam Sheibley.
Here is how the boys from SPASH finished:
Michael Larson 15:59.36
Sam Anderson 16:13.93
Evan Hatton 16:43.57
Sam Sheibley 16:44.16
Isaiah George 16:44.39
Derek Cruz 16:54.27
To see the full results, click this link.
WIAA Notes: This race marked the 100th anniversary of the State CC meet… Pam Ross of Wisconsin Rapids belted out a wonderful version of the National Anthem… Special thanks has to go to Todd Goska of the Ridges for hosting the event. It marks Todd’s 16th year, and the Ridges 25th year of hosting the event. Todd’s biggest concern is people walking on the course with frost on the ground… Over 200 people volunteered to help. This could not have been done with out them… Jim Newman of Wisconsin Rapids, the race on site coordinator, starts prepping the Ridges 6 weeks before the race. What dedication for the past 25 years.. Marcy Thurwater of the WIAA did a great job as Tournament Manager… Rapids will need more popcorn machines next season… Devin Greiner and Buck Jones of Rapids finished with times of 17:06.84, and 17:14.01 respectively.
