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MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U GAME OF THE WEEK (Cross Country): SWC Championship Meet
Platteville girls win first conference title since 2000
Platteville Girls XC champs
The Platteville varsity girls cross country team of (from left) Payton Murray, Charlotte Nachscheim, Kinely Richard, Lexy Popp, Natalie Thiele, Ellie Brunton, Maddie Fritz and Elia Doyle-Morin won the Southwest Wisconsin Conference title Thursday at the SWC Championships in Prairie du Chien.

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Oct. 13–20)
CROSS COUNTRY: Southwest Wisconsin Conference Championship Meet
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal

Platteville girls win first conference title since 2000

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — For the first time in nearly three decades Platteville has the best girls cross country team in the conference.

Coach Renee Clark’s Hillmen toppled 2023 Southwest Wisconsin Conference champion Dodgeville/Mineral Point and reigning back-to-back SWC champion Lancaster to win this year’s conference title last Thursday at the Prairie du Chien Country Club.

The Platteville girls last won a conference title in 2000.

Freshman Kinley Bendorf (20:04.4) placed a team-best fourth to earn first-team All-SWC honors to lead the Platteville girls.

Junior Natalie Thiele (8th, 21:08.0), senior Ellie Brunton (10th, 21:17.5) and sophomore Elia Doyle-Morin (12th, 21:28.8) earned second-team All-SWC honors for the Hillmen.

Senior Lexy Poppp placed 17th at 22:02.4 to round out Platteville’s five-person scoring team, while juniors Payton Murray (20th, 22:22.7) and Charlotte Nachtscheim (22nd, 22:40.3) rounded out the winner’s varsity lineup.

And Platteville snapped its 26-year conference title drought without its top runner — senior Maddie Fritz, who suffered a season-ending foot injury earlier this year. Fritz finished sixth at last year’s conference meet to earn first-team All-SWC honors. She was received SWC honorable mention last week despite not being able to run at this year’s conference meet.

The Platteville boys (73) finished third behind Richland Center/Ithaca (41) and boys’ individual champion sophomore Owen Drier (16:24.8), and Dodge–Point (46).

Senior Evan DeBuhr (16:57.9) finished third to lead the Hillmen and earn first-team All-SWC honors.

Junior Louie Peterson (9th, 17:53.6) and senior Kaleb Osborne (11th, 18:08.3) earned second-team All-SWC honors for coach Clark’s Hillmen.

Platteville will now compete in Saturday’s 16-team WIAA Division 2 Monroe Sectional. The top two teams and top five individuals not on a qualifying team advance to next week’s WIAA State Championships in Wisconsin Rapids.

SWC Championship Meet

(from Thursday Oct. 15 @ Prairie du Chien)

(Girls, 5,000 meters)

Team standings: 1.Platteville 51, 2.Dodgeville/Mineral Point 64, 3.Lancaster 64, 4.Richland Center/Ithaca 86, 5.River Valley 99, 6.Prairie du Chien 149.

Top individuals: 1.Margaret Lawless (RC/I) 19:04.1, 2.Maddie Driscoll (Lan) 19:30.3, 3.Avalee Langreck (D/MP) 19:42.2, 4.Kinley Richard (Pla) 20:04.4, 5.Mollie Maes (RV) 20:34.3.

Platteville (51): 4.Kinley Richard 20:04.4, 8.Natalie Thiele 21:08.0, 10.Ellie Brunton 21:17.5, 12.Elia Doyle-Morin 21:28.8, 17.Lexy Popp 22:02.4, 20.Payton Murray 22:22.7, 22.Charlotte Nachscheim 22:40.3.

Boys, 5,000 meters)

Team standings: 1.Richland Center/Ithaca 41, 2.Dodgeville/Mineral Point 46, 3.Platteville 73, 4.Lancaster 94, 5.Prairie du Chien 140, 6.River Valley 141.

Top individuals: 1.Owen Drier (RC/I) 16:24.8, 2.Johnny Robinson (D/MP) 16:42.7, 3.Evan DeBuhr (Pla) 16:57.9, 4.Marshall Harris (Lan) 17:09.1, 5.Leif Nelson (D/MP) 17:21.6.

Platteville (73): 3.Evan DeBuhr 16:57.9, 9.Louie Peterson 17:53.6, 11.Kaleb Osborne 18:08.3, 24.Max Peterson 19:22.4, 26.Colton Tyson 19:34.3, 30.Cole Wolf 20:38.8, 33.Joseph Erickson 21:02.8.