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Redbirds battle heat and hot competition at Midwest Invite
Dar CC
The Darlington cross country teams made the small schools proud once again, placing 15th out of 40 teams in the loaded boys race and 21st out of 36 teams in the equally loaded girls race at the annual mid-season showcase held at Janesvilles Blackhawk Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 23.

JANESVILLE — If the competition wasn’t enough to take it out of the runners at the 80th annual running of the Midwest Invitational, then the unseasonably sultry weather may have been enough to finish the job.

The Darlington Redbirds cross country teams made the small schools proud once again, placing 15th out of 40 teams in the loaded boys’ race and 21st out of 36 teams in the equally loaded girls’ race at the annual mid-season showcase held at Janesville’s Blackhawk Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 23.

“The weather added an extra factor to the race, but it is something that we have to learn to deal with,” said Darlington head coach Arnie Miehe.

Madison La Follette, ranked #9 in Division 1, raced to the boys’ title with 108, finishing ahead of Arrowhead (171), ranked #3 in D1, Sun Prairie (172), ranked #13 in D1, and Green Bay Preble (177), ranked #6 in D1. The Redbirds, who are ranked #1 in D3, finished 15th with 404 points.

Host Janesville Craig, #3 in D1, easily outdistanced the field to capture the girls’ title with 62 points. Wisconsin Dells (162), #2 in D2, and Arrowhead (165), #16 in D1, took second and third, respectively, while defending champion and #1-ranked Sun Prairie finished 10th at 305. The Lady Redbirds, ranked #7 in D3, were 21st overall with 512 points.

Homestead junior Drew Bosley won the boys’ 5,000-meter race in 15:12, and Craig senior Peyton Sippy won the girls’ 5,000-meter race in 18:22.

Junior Payton Heinberg was the first Redbird across the finish line, placing 25th in a time of 16:53. Senior Tanner Evenstad placed 65th in 17:38, followed by senior Paul King in 86th in 17:57, junior Tucker Lange in 99th in 18:09 and sophomore Bailey Schwartz in 129th in 18:35 to complete the team scoring on the day.

Junior Ilse Mendez led the Lady ‘Birds placing 38th in 20:31. Senior Reghan Komprood finished 77th in 21:43, followed by senior Erin Wolf in 80th in 21:45, senior Emma Crist in 136 in 22:58 and sophomore Maddie Crist in 181st in 23:59.

“We had some runners step up and get the job done and we had some that didn’t. How we go on from here will determine where and how our season ends. We need to be on one focused agenda to be competitive down the stretch,” Miehe commented.

In the junior varsity races, the Lady Redbirds finished 17th with 449 points, while the boys’ race was postponed due to the heat.

Next up, Darlington will participate in Platteville’s Dick McKichan Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 30, beginning at 9 a.m. 

80TH ANNUAL MIDWEST INVITATIONAL

Varsity Girls Team Scores: Janesville Craig 61, Wisconsin Dells 162, Arrowhead 165, Stoughton 215, Oconomowoc 232, Madison West 263, East Troy 284, Waunakee 290, Kimberly 303, Sun Prairie 305, Madison Memorial 351, Gurnee Warren Township 352, Beaver Dam 366, Neenah 379, Westby 404, Madison La Follette 449, Middleton 463, Monona Grove 468, Badger 481, Homestead 502, Darlington 512, La Crosse Logan 547, Janesville Parker 552, Oregon 587, South Milwaukee 624, Kenosha Bradford 659, DeForest 691, Whitnall 708, Monroe 806, Mount Horeb 808, Platteville 852, Milton 871, Luther 877, Rockford Guilford 925, Beloit Turner 987, Belleville 1095.

JV Girls Team Scores: Madison West 61, Badger 103, Madison Memorial 131, Arrowhead 185, Kimberly 192, Middleton 193, Homestead 205, Neenah 260, Madison La Follette 270, Oconomowoc 277, Sun Prairie 326, South Milwaukee 347, Monona Grove 375, Janesville Craig 383, La Crosse Logan 388, Waunakee 438, Darlington 449, Oregon 453, Gurnee Warren Township 466, Beaver Dam 598, Whitnall 598, Stoughton 612, DeForest 614, Platteville 702, Janesville Parker 713, East Troy 732, Monroe 848, Belleville 878.

Darlington Results: Vars– 188- Bethany McDonald, 24:14; 199- Meghan Douglas, 24:49. JV– 57- Aliyah Gould, 24:44; 62- Brooke Douglas, 24:52; 100- Gracie Douglas, 25:50; 113-Morgan Black, 26:42; 117- Miriam Lindqvist, 26:47; 119- Layla McDermott, 26:57; 158- Reagan Crist, 29:21; 294- Kelly Wick, 29:39; 317- Gracey McDermott, 30:14; 358- Natty Soper, 31:28; 404- Kaitlyn Johnson, 33:14.     

Varsity Boys Team Scores: Madison LaFollette 108, Arrowhead 171, Sun Prairie 172, Green Bay Preble 177, Kimberly 203, Neenah 27, South Milwaukee 238, Badger 266, Homestead 275, Monona Grove 275, Janesville Craig 320, Oconomowoc 361, Madison Memorial 368, Houston MacArthur 391, Darlington 404, La Crosse Logan 437, Madison West 465, Luther 486, Monroe 487, Beaver Dam 590, Waunakee 631, Platteville 641, DeForest 641, Elkhorn 668, Gurnee Warren Township 675, East Troy 690, Stoughton 748, Middleton 756, Westby 764, Mount Horeb 769, Wisconsin Dells 795, Whitewater 846, Beloit Memorial 856, Oregon 958, Janesville Parker 974, Whitnall 980, Rockford Guilford 1000, Beloit Turner 1095, Milton 1102, Belleville 1171. 

JV Boys Team Scores: No race. 

Darlington Results: Vars–136- Curtis Blosch, 18:39.

At Blackhawk Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 24