By TRICIA HILL
After a competitive cross country season, the Division 3 Sectional Championship Meet was held on Oct. 25 in Albany. Many teams came out and showed their strength in numbers and in the individuals they had, but only the top two teams and some individuals were able to earn a spot at state. Boscobel was one of those teams as the girl’s team will be making a return to state since the last appearance in 2011 and Dakota Kauffman will be competing as an individual.
“The sectional meet was such a difficult day,” coach Skyler Reynolds said. “I am so happy for the girls and heart broken for the boys. You watch every member of the team be so dedicated and put everything into each practice and race, and then it abruptly comes to an end. It’s not how we pictured it, but its part of sports and part of being in such a difficult sectional.”
Boscobel’s girls earned second place with a total of 82 points, following behind Poynette with 44 points. The highlight for Boscobel’s girls placing second was that they were able to overcome rival Darlington to earn their spot at state.
“The girls got out to a great start, followed the race plan, and kept each other in sight,” Reynolds said. “You could see it from the start they had it in their eye that they were going to state.”
Helping the girls earn their way to state were Keely Foley in first place, (20:08), followed by Mackenzie Kauffman (21:25), Rachel Davis (22:43), Molly Pegram (22:54), Sydney Haines (23:09), Carli Haines (23:16), and Autumn Moret (23:29). Foley won the meet for the team and was followed by Kauffman in ninth to round out the top ten for the Bulldogs. Belleville’s Noelle Marie followed behind Foley in a time of 20:39.
“Mackenzie was as tough as ever and keeps getting stronger and stronger every day after recovering from an ankle injury. She made a huge jump from her conference race to give us a chance,” Reynolds said. “Rachel, Molly, Sydney, Carli, and Autumn did an unbelievable job of sticking together and not letting four, five, six runners in between our pack. They stepped up with the season on the line. It was really exciting to see them run so well.”
Boscobel’s boys placed third overall, scoring 83 points and falling to Darling with 46 points and Albany with 69 points. However, Kauffman earned a spot at state for his third consecutive year after winning the race in a time of 16:32. Darlington’s Jaden Komprood followed behind Kauffman, finishing in second with a time of 16:39.
“Dakota stayed within himself and stayed comfortable through two miles. He turned it up in the final 400 meters to notch a seven second victory. He is starting to look his best at the right time,” Reynolds said. “Jordan Molzof just missed an individual state berth, and capped off a really tough sophomore season.”
Boscobel runners placing outside of the top ten were Molzof (17:56), Matthew Fritz (18:26), Zach Mindham (18:49), Seth Laxton (18:52), Noah Toye (19:03), and Jack Latham (20:19).
“I would think a lot of teams from around the state are happy to see that they don’t have to compete against all of the talented teams in our sectional at state because only two teams make it out of the sectional, and I fully believe our boys are a top three team in the state,” Reynolds said. “As tough as it is to see, I am so proud of the way they finished their season and ran “Bulldog tough.” I thought our seniors were fantastic for us and you could tell they were scrapping for every point they could get.”
Boscobel hopes to continue proving their strengths as they head into the state meet on Saturday in Wisconsin Rapids.
