By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Four local teams and a pair of individuals are heading to the WIAA State Cross County Meet in Wisconsin Rapids Saturday.
The Stevens Point Area Senior High boys and girls teams both qualified in the Division 1 race while the Amherst boys and Rosholt girls made it to state in Division 3. The Amherst duo of Jane Ovanin and Samantha Diver qualified as individuals for the Division 3 race.
The meet at The Ridges Golf Course gets under way at 11 a.m. when the Division 3 race starts. Division 1 girls start at 12:10 p.m., Division 3 boys are at 12:45 p.m. and the Division 1 boys race at 1:55 p.m.
The SPASH boys, who are the two-time defending state champs, are not among the favorites to take the Division 1 crown. But senior and two-time Wisconsin Valley Conference champ Josh Garbe is looking to be with the frontrunners.
"I think we fit somewhere in the mid-pack. If we can pack into the top eight, that would be a very good performance for us," SPASH coach Donn Behnke said. "Waukesha's been ranked No. 1 all season. They've got great runners and depth."
As for Garbe, the senior would like to take home some hardware.
"He'd like to get into the lead pack and see how things fall into place in the last mile. The goal is to get him into the top six and get on the award stand," Behnke said.
The Panthers, who enter the meet ranked No. 8 in the latest Wisconsin Cross County Coaches Association Poll, will have plenty of new faces at state this year. Garbe is the only returnee from last year's state title team. Making their first appearances at state are Quinn Baumberger, Chris Jahntz, Curt Mitchell, A.J. Moen, Kyle Patoka and Chris Salinsky.
"At the start of the season we didn't think we'd get this chance," Behnke said. "They're gaining experience for the future so we want to have a good performance to build on."
The SPASH girls appear to be peaking at the perfect time after finishing second in their WIAA Sectional last Saturday. The Panthers scored 55 points to Marinette's 51 and Coach Mike Olson said it was the team's best meet of the year.
Kjersten Johnson and Alexis Sustman will be making there third trips to the state meet while Kim Klosno and Ashley Francis will run their for the second time. Laine Willkom, Christy Griffen and Katie Ziehr will be making their debuts at state.
"We're hoping to finish in the top half of the field. Realistically, I think Waukesha West will run away with it," Olson said. "We hope to run PRs (personal records) and finish better than last year.
"We're looking for improvements each year so we can inch up toward the top."
The Rosholt girls are shooting for at least a top five finish. The Hornets, fresh off of a WIAA Sectional title, are currently ranked fifth in the WCCCA Poll behind favorite Cochrane-Fountain City as well as Fall Creek, Fennimore and Darlington.
"If we can get under 100 team points that might get us in the top three. If we can get there, anything above that will be icing on the cake," Rosholt coach Mike Trzebiatowski said.
"The key will be our third, fourth and fifth runners. Nicki Bembenek came on like a gangbuster. She's been a big plus."
During their sectional title, Tami Scott led Rosholt with a second place finish in 15:14. Jen Zdroik (fifth in 15:57), Bembenek (10th in 16:46), Jackie Yenter (18th in 17:08) and Lisa Yenter (23rd in 17:13) completed the top five. Lyndsey Peplinski (32nd in 17:44) and Amy Scott (34th in 17:47) also ran.
All seven will be back at it Saturday and it will be the fourth and final time Zdroik will compete at state. Scott, the team's No. 1 runner, should be among the top finishers.
"Tami should get in the top seven. The top 10 could be a talented field. She should crack that for sure," Trzebiatowski said.
For Amherst, Ovanin and Diver are running as individuals and Ovanin, the defending Division 3 3,200-meter track and field champ, will try to add another gold medal to her resume. The pair both finished in the top 10 at sectionals to keep their seasons alive. Ovanin was fourth in 15:18 and Diver, a junior, took seventh in 16:19.
"She's looking to use her strength," Amherst coach Rob Sparhawk said. "It's going to come down to the last half of the race."
The entire Amherst boys team is heading to state after finishing second to Gillett at its sectional in Rosholt last Saturday, 75-87. The Falcons will try to crack the first five.
"We're looking to improve on last year's finish," Sparhawk said. "We're hoping for a top five finish. We're looking to put everybody between 17:20 and 18:30. That'd be a good run for us."
Dan Ehr, who paced the Falcons at sectionals with a seventh place finish in 17:33, has been Amherst's No. 1 guy all year.
"Top 15 in the individual standings would be a good goal," Sparhawk said. "If we get him in the top 15, we have a chance to get into the top three."
Behind Ehr will be Jeremy Leck (17th in 18:31 at sectionals), Jeremy Sherf (18th in 18:33), Jordan Selbo (21st in 18:35) and Jonathan Bronk (24th in 18:42), who comprised Amherst's top five last Saturday. Dan Werner (28th in 18:54) and Jeff Cloninger (31st in 19:02) will also run at state.
"Belleville might be the team to beat," Sparhawk said. "We're the deepest team in the race."
Pacelli High School also competes at the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association cross country meet Saturday. The meet is held at UW-Parkside in Kenosha.
While the boys are not among the favorites, senior Franz Klein could finish in the top five.
The girls do not have a full team and Katie Hansel will likely be Pacelli's top finisher.
The season ended for two area teams Saturday - the Amherst girls and Rosholt boys. As a team, the Falcons were fourth with 151 points. Ashley Bavery (37th in 17:58), Jenny Woyak (48th in 18:37) and Leah Hunter (55th in 18:50) were in the top five with Ovanin and Diver. Jackie Hucke (59th in 18:54) and Karen Ehr (64th in 19:04) also ran.
The Rosholt boys finished eighth with 203 points. Freshman Brady Staszak led the way with a 27th place finish (18:52), while Pat Knutson (29th in 18:59), Rob Cherek (41st in 19:44), Joel Skornia (44th in 19:47) and Bob Omernik (62nd in 20:40) completed the top five.