by Zachary Uhl, GHS Blue Ink
Last week Thursday, Garretson Cross Country sprinted across the finish line in Parker for their Big East Conference meet, ending the regular season. The Blue Dragons ended their season with regions in Madison on October 14.
The only varsity runner at the Big East Conference was Sam Schleuter at 21:33 in 24th place.
Next was junior varsity with Erin Steen at 21:57 in 10th, Claire Crepelle at 23:02 in 18th, Eliza Potter at 22:21 in 13th, Serie Risty at 22:49 in 17th, and Lucie Frewaldt at 22:45 in 16th. Also Chris Wynia at 18:55 in 16th, Noah Schotzko at 18:25 in 11th, and Nick Wynia at 22:34 in 43rd.
Since Preston Bohl is out due to injuries, Schleuter was the only boys varsity runner to go to regions in Madison.
Schleuter said, “It’s definitely tough because I have no one out there to really push me.”
Coach Jason Bohl had a follow up discussion with The Blue Ink. “We’re going to put only one kid in a varsity race and you know what, Sam is going to be the only kid that will have the opportunity to go to the state meet and hopefully he can sneak away with it.”
The Madison Country Club proved to be a tough course for the Blue Dragon runners, with no Dragons qualifying for State.
Schleuter ended his junior campaign with a time of 21:23, finishing in the middle of the pack. Chris Wynia and Noah Schotzko both improved on their JV times from last year, coming in at 17:23 and 17:25 respectively.
On the girls’ side, Sarah Welch stepped up to represent Garretson on varsity. She has been in cross country since eighth grade and while she admits that practices are sometimes hard, the meets are enjoyable. Welch finished the 5K with a time of 29:06.
Five different girls ran in the JV meet during Regions. Leading the way for the Blue Dragons was senior Erin Steen with a time of 20:01, Lucie Frewaldt (20:32), Claire Crepelle (20:34), Serie Risty (20:37), and Eliza Potter (20:42) were behind her within a minute.
Regions was the last meet of the season for the Garretson Cross Country team, and, sadly, the last meet for seniors Sarah Welch and Erin Steen.
