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Bulldogs harriers running well
Against top-tier competition
Andrew Steines Brennen Carlin Braiden Pickett
Andrew Steines, Brennen Carlin, and Braiden Pickett - photo by Julie Zart

BOSCOBEL - It was a respectable showing for the Bulldogs cross country teams at Saturday’s Midwest XC Invitational held in Janesville at the Blackhawk Golf Course.

When the Bulldogs cross country team toed the line in Janesville on Saturday morning, they were not only lining up against 42 teams (with over 2,500 athletes in all), but 17 were ranked boys teams and 14 ranked teams for girls. Fourteen of the top 17 ranked Division 1 boys’ teams were in attendance, also teams from Illinois and Texas. They do not break up races or results into separate divisions, which shows you how many incredible runners there are out there. 

“It is a big time atmosphere for our runners. I love it!,” Coach Skyler Reynolds said. “Our kids get in there and give it all they have against huge schools. The environment/course, the fans, and the competition are something you cannot duplicate. After a meet like this, you feel like you can compete in situation against any team and be comfortable."

The boys’ varsity finished in 29th place, 10 places behind Darlington (19th place), the top-ranked team in Division 3. The girls finished in 16th place (two spots behind Darlington, ranked 3rd in Division 3), and one spot behind Dodgeville (ranked in Division 2).

Mackenzie Kauffman led the girls with a time of 20:05.7. She is currently the second ranked female runner in the SWAL conference with a personal best of 19:10.5, run mid-season last year at Riverdale.

Jordan Molzof led the boys with a time of 17:29.4. He is the fifth ranked male runner in SWAL with a personal best of 17:11.1, run in his final race of the season at the WIAA State Cross Country Championships.

Girls’ results: 15th place          

Mackenzie Kauffman, 20:05.7 *PR

Grace Glasbrenner, 20:44.6 *PR

Sydney Haines, 21:40.0 *PR

Faith Glasbrenner, 21:58.3 *PR

Abbey Manning, 22:30.1 *PR

Olivia Dremsa, 23:12.8

Leah Wacker, 23:13.6 *PR

Boys’ results: 29th place

Jordan Molzof, 17:29.4 *PR

Noah Toye, 17:46.9, *PR

Jack Latham, 18:20.7 *PR

David Martinez, 19:12.8 *PR

Andrew Steines, 20:30.0 *PR

Braiden Pickett, 20:35.8

Brennen Carlin, 20:53.2

Among the junior varsity runners, the top three times for the boys were Daryen Heiz, 21:22.4; Michael Nguyen, 22:15.0 *PR; and Jake Laxton. For the girls, they were Shawna Newton, 23:10.9 *PR; Alyssa Davis, 25:07.5 *PR; and Allie Picket, 25.35.4 *PR Jayce Zimpel 26:35 *PR.

“For the most part our guys got out a little slow, but made some nice moves throughout the race. The girls went out pretty well, but got disconnected early in the race. The j.v. boys and girls really went out well and finished the last mile strong,” commented Coach Reynolds. “We learned some good lessons, talked about them, and will be better prepared next time. It was such a positive experience for our team and exciting to see them battle back in a tough race. We saw so many PR's between the j.v. and varsity. I'm not sure I have ever seen a team progress so much from week to week. I couldn't be more proud of the burn and desire these kids have to be good!”