FENNIMORE — Fennimore sophomore Ian Barry fulfilled a season-long goal Saturday by qualifying for his first WIAA state cross country meet.

A year ago, Barry finished one place from earning a trip to state, but this time around there was no doubt.

The speedy sophomore placed second out 122 runners at Saturday’s WIAA Division 3 Fennimore Sectional to secure his place in this Saturday’s D3 boys state championship race that will be held at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.
Barry finished sixth at the Southwestern Wisconsin Activities League conference championships on Thursday, Oct. 18, but was a healthier, strong runner on Saturday, just  nine days later. He passed up four Darlington runners and Albany’s Josh Dahl, who all beat him at conference, to finish second behind Darlington junior Payton Heinberg (17:34.4)  with a sensational time of 17:45.6.

“Ian ran an exceptional race, finishing runner-up, and punching his ticket to the state cc meet,” said Fennimore head coach Ryanne Bell. “He was only 10 seconds off of Darlington’s Payton Heinberg, who placed third last year at the state meet. Ian really has set himself up to be in a perfect spot this weekend at Wisconsin Rapids.”

The top two teams and the top five individuals not on a qualifying team advance to state, that will be held at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. The D3 boys championship race will begin at 2:35 p.m.

Darlington easily claimed the boys sectional title with 41 points. New Glarus/Monticello finished second with 129.

Fennimore finished 12th with 292.

Senior Carter Freymiller (54th), junior Josh Gao (70th), sophomore Trenten Klais (79th) and senior Garrett Cornell (88th) rounded out Fennimore’s scoring team. Freshman Adam Larson finished 98th and freshman Kyle Mudler, who won the Riverdale Invitational less than three weeks ago, was less than 100 percent due to asthma and allergies and finished 102nd.
“On the boy’s side, we really put ourselves on the line,” said Bell. “We knew that the number one team spot was locked up, but knew that on a perfect day we could maybe slide into the second spot. The boys got out harder than they have the entire season and raced really well. In the end, we didn’t have enough to propel us through, but I am so proud of the efforts. I would rather watch my team race the way they did this past weekend, with no reservations, then to hold back and race comfortably.

Fennimore will lose three seniors, Cornell, Freymiller and Ben Mooney.

“While we will miss the seniors, the experience that we have gained over the course of this season will set this young crew up for success in the future.”

On the girls’ side, Fennimore finished sixth out of 17 teams with 214 points.

Lancaster (52) won the sectional title, while Marshall (56) finished second just ahead of Darlington (65).

North Crawford freshman Helen Carstens won the individual sectional title with a time of 20:25.7. Lancaster junior Lydia Murphy placed second at 20:51.5.

Fennimore freshman Lauryn Bunn led the Fennimore girls, placing 16th out of 108 runners with a time of 22:58.0.

Junior Renee Schlaugat (34th), junior Brooklan Schoepp (37th), sophomore Victoria Bonilla (61st), junior Hayley Bender (73rd) and sophomore Mariah Kopp (90th) rounded out the Fennimore lineup.

“The girls improved one spot from last year placing sixth overall,” said Bell. “My first year at Fennimore the team placed 11th, so you can really see the growth. The girls team is starting to emerge as a team that is really going to compete over the next few years. Being sixth place in this sectional is huge as its highly competitive.

“Lauryn ran her heart out and came up a few spots short of a state berth. Brooklan and Renee also had big races. When I start to think about each person individually, I can’t speak highly enough of the entire team’s performances this past weekend. Overall, the girls team really came together and set the tone for the years to come.”

WIAA Division 3

Fennimore Sectionals (from Saturday, Oct. 21 @ Fennimore)

(Girls, 5,000 meters)

Team scores: 1.Lancaster 52, 2.Marshall 56, 3.Darlington 65, 4.Albany 93, 5.Boscobel 134, 6.Fennimore 214, 7.Waterloo 233, 8.New Glarus/Monticello 264, 9.Belleville 265, 10.River Ridge 293, 11.St. Ambrose Academy 306, 12.North Crawford 308, 13.Madison Country Day 321, 14.Orfordville Parkview 345, 15.Wauzeka–Steuben 378, 16.Riverdale 393, 17.Iowa–Grant 474.

Top individuals: 1.Helen Carstens (North Crawford) 20:25.7, 2.Lydia Murphy (Lancaster) 20:51.5, 3.Reghan Komprood (Darlington) 20:54.9.

Individual state qualifiers: 1.Carstens (NC) 20:25.7, 3.Reghan Komprood (Dar) 20:54.9, 4.Christi Forman (Waterloo) 20:58.7, 7.Ilse Mendez (Darlington) 21:16.0, 8.Emma Guenther (Albany) 21:33.0.

Fennimore: 16.Lauryn Bunn 22:58.0, 34(33).Renee Schlaugat 24:15.6, 37(36).Brooklan Schoepp 24:20.7, 61(59).Victoria Bonilla 26:54.1, 73(70).Hayley Bender 28:35.6, 90(87).Mariah Kopp 30:19.7.

(Boys, 5,000 meters)

Team scores: 1.Darlington 41, 2.New Glarus/Monticello 129, 3.Marshall 155, 4.Boscobel 161, 5.Madison Country Day 184, 6.Wauzeka–Steuben 194, 7.Lancaster 196, 8.Albany 231, 9.Waterloo 251, 10.Pecatonica/Argyle 29, 11.Belleville 186, 12.Fennimore 292, 13.Orfordville Parkview 309, 14.River Ridge 311, 15.Kickapoo/La Farge 320, 16.Iowa–Grant 327, 17.Riverdale 445, 18.North Crawford 465, St. Ambrose inc.

Top individuals: 1.Payton Heinberg (Dar) 17:34.3, 2.Ian Barry (Fennimore) 17:45.6, 3.Tanner Evenstad (Dar) 18:00.6.

Individual state qualifiers: 2.Barry (Fen) 17:45.6, 4.Colin Green (Madison Country Day) 18:02.1, 5.Josh Dahl (Albany) 18:06.9, 7.Nick Connolly (Iowa–Grant) 18:17.9, 9.Jacob Reichmann (Wauzeka–Steuben) 18:37.6.

Fennimore: 2(2).Ian Barry 17:45.6, 54(54).Carter Freymiller 20:46.2, 70(69).Josh Gao 21:17.7, 79(78).Trenton Klais 21:27.6, 90(89).Garrett Cornell 22:24.3, 98(97).Adam Larson 22:39.3, 102(101).Kyle Mudler 22:46.0.