Appleton West competes at WIAA Division 1 Stevens Point cross country sectional
AppletonSportsPage.com
STEVENS POINT – Appleton West was shut out of any state qualifiers at a WIAA Division 1 cross country sectional at Standing Rocks Park on Saturday.
The top two teams and top five individuals not on those qualifying teams move on to the 2025 WIAA State Cross Country Championships, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 1, at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.
Stevens Point won the boys sectional team title with Neenah second, and the Neenah girls finished first with Hortonville second to advance to the state meet.
Stevens Point’s Cooper Erickson won the boys race in 15:42.8, 19 seconds in front of Wausau West’s Eli Akey.
Neenah’s Sam Zilm was the girls sectional champion, running in 18:26.0, 18 seconds ahead of teammate Elsa Gruber. Neenah had four of the top six finishers.
Kegan Phalin placed 23rd in 17:12.9 and Roan Hesselman was 41st in 17:58.5 for Appleton West’s top two boys finishes.
Caroline Breed took 39th in 21:46.1 and Marlo Seefeldt was 43rd in 22:03.2 to top the Appleton West girls.
The Division 1 boys race will be at 1:10 p.m. and the girls race at 3:05 p.m. at the state meet.
WIAA Division 1 Cross Country Sectional
Oct. 25, at Standing Rocks Park, Stevens Point
(*denotes state meet qualifier)
Boys
Team scores: 1. *Stevens Point 27; 2. *Neenah 86; 3. Marshfield 99; 4. D.C. Everest 116; 5. Hortonville 123; 6. Wausau West 138; 7. Sparta 158; 8. Wisconsin Rapids 238; 9. Tomah 249; 10. Appleton West 277; 11. Wausau East 279; 12. Menasha 385.
Top 10, and Appleton West finishers: 1. Cooper Erickson (SP) 15:42.8; 2. *Eli Akey (WW) 16:03.6; 3. Garrett Strong (SP) 16:06.3; 4. Fisher Carroll (SP) 16:07.3; 5. Zach Verhagen (NE) 16:08.1; 6. *Cade Mansfield (HOR) 16:16.1; 7. *Will VanSlyke (DC) 16:21.3; 8. *Marshall Neve (MAR) 16:29.4; 9. John Jazdzewski (SP) 16:35.8; 10. Alex Dziak (SP) 16:35.8; 12. *Chris Berg (MAR) 16:37.1; 23. Kegan Phalin (AW) 17:12.9; 41. Roan Hesselman (AW) 17:58.5; 69. Bauer Seefeldt (AW) 19:40.4; 70. Bryant Fowle Jr. (AW) 19:41.8; 74. Elijah Keller (AW) 19:57.8; 75. Dorian Skaleski (DAW) 20:10.0; 82. Charles Johnson (AW) 20:48.0.
Girls
Team scores: 1. *Neenah 22; 2. *Hortonville 65; 3. Stevens Point 94; 4. Marshfield 94; 5. D.C. Everest 107; 6. Wausau West 179; 7. Menasha 234; 8. Wisconsin Rapids 245; 9. Wausau East 248; 10. Sparta 282; 11. Tomah 295; Appleton West incomplete.
Top 10, and Appleton West finishers: 1. Sam Zilm (NE) 18:26.0; 2. Elsa Gruber (NE) 18:44.0; 3. Hannah Huza (HOR) 18:52.4; 4. Elsa Weiland (NE) 18:56.5; 5. *Morgan Pagel (DC) 18:57.0; 6. Izzy Malloy (NE) 18:57.1; 7. Ellie Young (HOR) 19:02.4; 8. *Tessa Bruckhart (SP) 19:11.1; 9. Maddie Schoonover (NE) 19:14.0; 10. *Adeline Lonsdale (MAR) 19:15.2; 11. *Emersyn Wavrunek (SP) 19:15.5; 13. *Kathryn Merritt (DC) 19:16.6; 39. Caroline Breed (AW) 21:46.1; 43. Marlo Seefeldt (AW) 22:03.2; 48. Elizabeth Clark (AW) 22:17.2; 71. Chloe Zwicker (AW) 24:55.2.