SPASH boys surprise, finish fifth at state By MIKE KEMMETER of The Gazette WISCONSIN RAPIDS – With only one runner returning from last year's state championship team, Stevens Point Area Senior High boys cross country coach Donn Behnke wasn't sure his inexperienced team would even make it to the WIAA State Meet. Not only did the team qualify, but the Panthers surprised Behnke and many other cross country observers by finishing fifth with 182 points. "That would've been completely unrealistic," Behnke said when asked if he could've predicted his team's finish. "I said to the guys realistically, top eight, maybe top seven. "This team at the beginning of the year was nowhere. We had so few back with varsity experience." The one returnee from last year made a big difference and may have set the tone for SPASH. Senior Josh Garbe finished fourth overall (3rd in team scoring) in 16:05. "I don't think anybody had a better race than Josh did," Behnke said. Chris Solinsky concluded his phenomenal freshman season, taking 25th overall (11th team) in 16:40. He was the first freshman to finish. Senior Chris Jahntz was SPASH's No. 3 man, coming in 39th overall (19th team) in 16:51. Junior Kyle Patoka was 102nd overall (70th team) in 17:37 and sophomore Curt Mitchell finished 111th overall (79th team) in 17:43 to complete the first five. "Chris has run 16:40 as a freshman - that's just phenomenal," Behnke said. "Jahntz has been our unsung hero all year. Kyle Patoka and Mitchell really saved us. They spend two-and-a-half miles picking people off. It can be intimidating to have 140 people ahead of you. "I'm really sort of amazed with the progress we've made this year. We've won this a bunch of times but I can't say I've ever been more proud with what the guys did today," he said. Waukesha West broke SPASH's string of two straight titles, scoring 81 points. La Crosse Central (121), Homestead (139) and Franklin (166) were second, third and fourth respectively. Also running for the Panthers were sophomore Quinn Baumberger, who was 119th overall (87th team) in 17:51, and senior A.J. Moen, who took 128th overall (96th team) in 18:02. Behnke said Moen was not healthy, which could have cost the Panthers 40 points and possibly fourth place. The SPASH girls team fell a little short of its goal for a top 10 finish, taking 11th with 259 points. The Panthers had hoped to knock off Wisconsin Valley Conference champion D.C. Everest, who as 10th with 249. "I was a little disappointed we didn't get Everest," SPASH coach Mike Olson said. "We did have three girls that had PRs (personal records)." Laine Willkom was one of the three that ran her best time. Willkom, a junior, finished 41st overall (28th team) in 15:42. "Laine Willkom ran an awesome race, just phenomenal. She PR'd by almost 30 seconds," Olson said. "She's been putting it together, she's just so focused." Kim Klosno was SPASH's No. 2 runner, taking 69th overall (47th team) in 16:00, Kjersten Johnson finished 76th overall (53rd team) in 16:04, Alexis Sustman was 90th overall (63rd team) in 16:14 and Christy Griffen took 95th overall (68th team) in 16:19 to comprise the top five. Also running were Katie Ziehr (100th overall, 71st team in 16:21) and Ashley Francis (110th overall, 81st team in 16:31). Division 3 The Rosholt girls team didn't have its best day Saturday and finished sixth in Division 3 with 159 points. "We had a very nice season and the only Division 3 teams to beat us were at the State Meet," Rosholt coach Mike Trzebiatowski said. "Yes, it would've been nice to race well at the State Meet and finish in the top three or two, but to have an off-day and finish sixth is a tribute to the girls' spirit and talent." Senior Jen Zdroik capped off her cross country career by leading the Hornets with a 17th place overall finish (7th team) in 15:56. "I thought I ran okay. I wanted better," Zdroik said. "I didn't go out too conservative or too fast. Maybe I should've shifted earlier." Tami Scott was Rosholt's No. 2 runner, taking 30th overall (15th team) in 16:20. Rounding out the top five were Jackie Yenter (61st overall, 38th team in 17:12), Nicki Bembenek (71st overall, 48th team in 17:27) and Lisa Yenter (74th overall, 51st team in 17:45). Amy Scott (75th overall, 52nd team in 17:48) and Lindsey Peplinski (84th overall, 61st team in 18:42) also ran. Amherst had a pair of individuals in the race, Samantha Diver and Jane Ovanin. Diver finished 12th in 15:45 and Ovanin was 22nd in 16:06. "(Diver) started slow as usual and worked here way up. She couldn't have placed any better," Amherst coach Rob Sparhawk said. "She was a big surprise. I think the girls up front beat themselves up and she just mopped up." Ovanin, the defending state champion in the 3,200-meter run in track and field, hoped to make a run for the individual title. "Jane just had a tough race," Sparhawk said. "In track, you can predict what can happen, you can know what will happen. This wasn't a track meet." On the boys side, Amherst had an off day and took 10th with 198 points. "I think everybody wanted to race and they tried but we didn't run as well as we thought we could," Sparhawk said. "I don't know how to explain it." Senior Dan Ehr led the Falcons with a 38th place finish (25th team) in 17:56. Completing the top five were Jeremy Leck (53d overall, 37th team in 18:20), Jeremy Sherf (55th overall, 39th team in 18:23), Jonathan Bronk (62nd overall, 45th team in 18:40) and Dan Werner (69th overall, 52nd team in 18:50). Also running were Jeff Cloninger (73rd overall, 55th team in 19:17) and Jordan Selbo (76th overall, 58th team in 19:25).