By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
In eighth grade, Chris Solinsky's father, Wayne, encouraged his son to join the junior high cross country team.
Wayne knew exactly what Chris would get into if he continued to run at Stevens Point Area Senior High - Wayne ran for SPASH coach Donn Behnke in high school too, as the team's No. 3 runner in 1978.
Now a sophomore, Chris is one of the top runners in the state and one of two second-generation runners to compete for the Panthers. Senior Josh Kujawa, whose father, Jeff, was the No. 5 runner when Behnke won his first state title in 1980, is SPASH's No. 5 runner this season.
"It's been a lot of fun for me. It's one of those milestones people hit if you stay in coaching long enough," said Behnke, whose teams have won seven state championships, 22 consecutive sectional titles and 23 Wisconsin Valley Conference titles.
"It also makes you realize how quickly time goes by. You look back and think, 'I've been coaching that long?' You look and see the next generation and see the years that have gone by."
To stretch the family connection even more, Chris' mother, Shelly Wheeler, was a captain of the SPASH girls team. Josh's mother, Tracey Skorseth, ran cross country and track at SPASH and his uncle, Pete Skorseth, won the 1978 individual state championship.
Solinsky, who has won every race this year except his first one, wasn't sure if he wanted to give up football in junior high for cross country. "The first week was torture. The whole team is very team orientated and that made it better. Nobody excluded me," Chris said.
"I originally didn't want to run. I tried it and fell in love."
At the end of his freshman season in cross country, Solinsky said he started to realize what he could do. His performance at last year's conference, sectional and state meets "was a big step forward," Behnke said.
"One of the things I remembered is he looked at the results on the bus at the state meet and saw that a freshman beat him," Behnke said. "I think it was a source of motivation for him. He didn't like it at all. We talked about it on the bus. He really took it to heart that he's going to be the top sophomore."
Hard work over the winter helped Solinsky finish fifth in the 3,200-meter run at the WIAA state track and field meet last May. And after running 7-to-10 miles a day over the summer, he started making a name for himself in cross country.
Since finishing third at the Marshfield Columbus Invitational on Labor Day weekend, he has dominated the cross country competition. At the sectional meet last Saturday in Green Bay, Solinsky set the course record while winning by more than a minute. That race came one week after he won the Wisconsin Valley Conference title by a wide margin.
There are six or seven runners that could be in the mix for the Division 1 individual title, Behnke said. Solinsky said he hopes he can finish in the top three and he's shooting for the fastest state meet time ever for a sophomore - 15:32.
"Chris had an excellent summer of training and that's what's put him at this level. He's running a minute faster than last year," Behnke said. "Some of it is experience, some is strength. He's just running much faster.
"Chris was good, but I didn't get an indication that he'd get this good, this fast. It's pretty dramatic."
Chris said his father pushed him during the summer to work even harder. "My dad kept telling me I wasn't doing enough," Chris said. "I worked during the day and then ran seven to 10 miles at night. My dad wanted me up to 12."
While Solinsky's father, Wayne, encouraged Chris to run, Josh - who played football at SPASH his sophomore and junior years - said his father "was neutral. He said whatever makes me happy.
"I didn't get a lot of playing time in football. I knew I'd get a chance in cross country. What originally made my decision was I went out for track last spring and loved running."
Kujawa's season has been a frustrating one. Behnke thought Kujawa was good enough to the team's No. 2 runner, but Kujawa got sick a week before the first race of the season. He had trouble shaking the illness and hasn't been able to train as much as he would've liked. "He's fought his way back to be a scorer for us," Behnke said.
"I was really looking forward to running up with Chris, maybe," Kujawa said. "I thought it would just pass.
"It was really frustrating. I know what I can do and I wanted to prove to myself and everyone else what I could do. I never got a chance to do that."