JANESVILLE, Wis. – Middleton won the alternate season State Girls Cross Country team championship, and Stevens Point captured the boys team title at Blackhawk Golf Club Saturday.
The Cardinals won the girls meet consisting of eight teams with 41 points. Oregon finished second in the team standings with 76 points, and Madison West was third with 79.
Middleton was paced by two runners finishing in the top three. Lauren Pansegrau won the individual title with a time of 17:07.3 after finishing runner-up in Division 1 in 2019. Her performance is the fastest 5,000-meter time ran in the State Meet in the history of the event. Her teammate, Zaira Malloy-Salgado, finished third with a time of 18:45.3.
Genevieve Nashold from Madison West was runner-up in the race, finishing with a time of 18:27.0, and Madelynn McIntyre of Brodhead/Juda finished fourth in 18:51.7.
It’s the fifth time Middleton has won the girls team championship, and its first since winning the Division 1 crown in 2006. They also won three consecutive Division 1 titles from 1995-97.
Stevens Point won the boys championship with a team score of 32, Sun Prairie finished second at 69 points, and Green Bay Preble was third with 91.
The Panthers were led by Josh Bourget, who won the individual gold medal in a time of 15:38.6 after finishing 14th in Division 1 last year. Bode Erickson also placed in the top-5 to help lead Stevens Point to the title, finishing fifth in a time of 15:48.6.
Griffin Ward of Middleton finished runner-up with his time of 15:43.2, and teammate Ryan Schollmeyer placed third in 15:43.9.
It’s the 11th time the Panthers have won the boys team championship. There previous titles came in Class A in 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1985; and in Division 1 in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013.
The alternate season is an option provided be the Board of Control for member schools who did not compete in the fall sports season in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
