MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Sept. 15–22)
CROSS COUNTRY: Greg Bell Memorial Night Race
By Jason Nihles, Boscobel Dial/Fennimore Times/The Platteville Journal
Boscobel hosts Greg Bell Memorial Night Race
BOSCOBEL — The Boscobel cross country team hosted its second invitational in nine days with last Thursday’s running of the 27-team Greg Bell Memorial Night Race.
“For the Greg Bell Memorial Night Meet, it was a slightly different course for the fourth year in a row,” said Boscobel head coach Matthew Fritz. “Now that construction is done, the course should be very similar from year to year from here on out.
“A huge positive from the night meet was that 17 of our 18 runners that competed ran a season-best time. A large number of these season-best times were also lifetime bests for a number of our runners. We are figuring it out as we go and getting better every day!”
The Boscobel boys (218) finished seventh out of 22 complete teams, behind champion Monroe (42), runner-up Richland Center/Ithaca (93), Dodgeville/Mineral Point (133), Fennimore (138), Iowa–Grant (192) and La Crosse Central (206).
Junior Kiptyn Brown paced the Bulldogs with a 16th-place finish in the field of 158 boys, while freshman Greg Frey (39th, 18:41.2) and junior Graydon Richter (41st, 18:42.60)
“On the guys side, we are one of the top teams in both the conference and the sectional,” said Fritz. “With having such a young team, we are going to be making some big jumps in the next few weeks.”
Richland Center’s Owen Drier won the boys’ individiual title with a winning-time of 16:11.20.
On the girls’ side, Boscobel only had four runners and thus not a complete team.
Freshman Paige Karnopp led the Bulldogs with a 35th place finish at 21:29.10.
La Crosse Aquinas (98) held off runner-up Monroe (105), Southwestern/Benton (121), Darlington (135) and Platteville (147) to win the girls’ team title.
Southwestern/Benton sophomore Mackenzie Knuckey (18:54.5) won the girls’ individual title ahead of Darlington sophomore Alaina McGowen (19:03.9).
“On the girls side, we are looking forward to competing as a full team again,” said Fritz. “We have been missing a couple runners due to injury. They have shown so much improvement over the course of the season!”
Boscobel will return to action Friday at the 47-team Stratford Night Race.
The Bulldogs will then race at the annual Platteville Dick McKichan Invitational Saturday, Oct. 3.
“It has been a busy couple weeks of hosting here at BHS,” said Fritz. “We are incredibly fortunate as a program to have so much support when it comes to putting on our meets. It truly takes a village to make these events happen, and I want to take a moment to recognize some of the people who played a huge role the past couple of weeks.
“Our maintenance crew does a tremendous amount behind the scenes; from painting course lines and organizing garbage to moving porta potties and helping with whatever else needs to be done. Our administration helps with everything from handing out packets to directing bus parking and keeping things organized.”
“We also had a large number of staff members working the chute and other busy areas throughout the course, helping keep everything running smoothly,” added Fritz. “Todd Bell and Todd Miller did a great job running the lead and trail carts, while Randa Bell, our assistant coach, continues to help with a variety of tasks that make our meets run more efficiently.
“Finally, a huge thank-you goes to the parents and athletes who helped turn on the lights and prepare things for our night meet. There are so many moving parts that go into hosting an event, and I truly appreciate everyone who stepped up and helped make this week a success. We are very fortunate to have such a supportive community behind BHS cross country!”
Greg Bell Memorial Night Race
(from Thursday, Sept. 17 @ Boscobel)
(Girls, 5,000 meters)
Team standings: 1.La Crosse Aquinas 98, 2.Monroe 105, 3.Southwestern/Benton 121, 4.Darlington, 5.Platteville 147, 6.Lancaster 180, 7.La Crosse Central 189, 8.Fennimore 206, 9.Dodgeville/Mineral Point 211, 10.Richland Center/Ithaca 274, 11.River Valley 323, 12.Virorqua 346, 13.Westby 350, 14.River Ridge 359, 15.North Crawford 336, 16.Iowa–Grant 475, 17.Prairie du Chien 495, 18.Viroqua Youth Initiative 514, 19.Argyle/Pecatonica 535, 20.Wauzeka–Steuben 542, 21.Cuba City 576, 22.Kickapoo/La Farge 584, 23.Cashton 609, Boscobel inc.
Top individuals: 1.Mackenzie Knuckey (SW/B) 18:54.4, 2.Alaina McGowen (Dar) 19:03.9, 3.Natalie Horsfall (Fennimore) 19:23.0, 4.Emily Bagniefski (Aquinas) 19:25.1, 5.Maci Reichmann (SW/B) 19:30.2.
Boscobel (inc.): 35.Paige Karnopp 21:29.10, 85.Kylie Kinserdahl 23:32.3, 98.Nakia Stitzer 24:23.10, 113.Hannah Dilley 25:13.0.
Boys, 5,000 meters)
Team standings: 1.Monroe 42, 2.Richland Center/Ithaca 93, 3.Dodgeville/Mineral Point 133, 4.Fennimore 138, 5.Iowa–Grant 192, 6.La Crosse Central 206, 7.Boscobel 218, 8.Platteville 221, 9.Viroqua 284, 10.Southwestern/Benton 316, 11.La Crosse Aquinas 317, 12.Lancaster 320, 13.Hillsboro 366, 14.Argyle/Pecatonica 381, 15.Darlington 393, 16.River Valley 407, 17.Kickapoo/La Farge 409, 18.Cuba City 419, 19.Prairie du Chien 472, 20.Riverdale 583, 21.Westby 592, 22.Cashton 657,
Top individuals: 1.Owen Drier (RC/I) 16:11.20, 2.Kamrin Gerber-Reamer (Monroe) 16:14.6, 3.Johnny Robinson (D/MP) 16:19.6, 4.Ace Rossing (Monroe) 16:39, 5.Josh Richardson (SW/B) 16:47.3.
Boscobel (218): 16.Kiptyn Brown 17:39.50, 39.(38).Grey Frey 18:41.2, 41.(40).Graydon Richter 18:42.60, 57.(55).Owen Bacon 19:09.20, 71.(69).Maxwell Dickman 19:54.10, 74.(71).Julyin Jongquist 19:59.3, 75.(72).Brayzen Updike 19:59.5.
