BOSCOBEL - After the first three runners had already crossed the finish line, Lancaster sophomore Sydney Wagner knew the group of girls running with her at last Saturday’s Boscobel Cross Country Sectional were going to make a mad dash once the end was in sight.

Also knowing that in order to ensure a spot in this Saturday’s WIAA State Meet, she would have to beat out one of the three others who were running stride for stride right next to her.

As the group of three approached the finish line, a dead-out sprint ensued with Wagner just getting edged out by one runner, while edging out another.

Wagner ended up finishing fifth overall, and eventually learned that she was the third individual qualifier for the state meet.

Wagner’s time of 16:41 was narrowly beaten by fourth place Aidan Campbell of Madison Country Day School and her time of 16:40, while it narrowly beat out sixth place Bailey Hlavachek of Albany and her time of 16:42.

As it turned out, Wagner will be the lone representative from Lancaster competing in Saturday’s State Meet held in Wisconsin Rapids.

Fellow sophomore, Brooke Elliott, who advanced to state last season, missed making a repeat performance by two spots, finishing 13th overall with a time of 17:08.

When you take away the times from the Darlington and Poynette runners, both of whom were team qualifiers, Elliott missed going to state by eight seconds.

Rounding out the Lancaster girls’ results were Kindra Yoose, who finished 23rd with a time of 17:58, Autumn Vaassen who finished 29th at 18:07 and Brianna Gardner who placed 42nd (18:48).

As a team, the Lancaster ladies finished fourth of 16 teams, scoring 111 points, while Darlington (35) took top honors and Poynette (94) was second.

Cassville had two ladies running in Saturday’s Boscobel Sectional, as Jenna Friesen placed 29th with a time of 18:04, and Payton Brinkman 69th at 19:52.

On the boys’ side of Saturday’s sectional, the Flying Arrows finished sixth of 19 teams with 156 points, while Darlington (35) and Boscobel (44) secured a trip to state.

Seniors Brandon Doll and Nicholas Volkman were Lancaster’s top prospects for a possible trip to state, but both came up just short in a very tough field of runners.

Doll, who was a state qualifier last season, finished 22nd overall with a time of 18:22, missing a repeat trip to Wisconsin Rapids by 32 seconds.

Volkman placed 25th overall with a time of 18:30, while Jamin Beesecker was 29th (18:45), Eric Fritz 34th (18:56) and Jacob Iverson 46th (19:23).

For the first time in a long time, Cassville had enough boys to compete as a team, and the Comets placed 16th of 19 teams with 445 points.

Leading the Cassville boys was Andrew Ihm, whose time of 20:04 earned him 64th place.

Finishing 77th with a time of 20:35 was Jared Kartman, while Ryan Kirschbaum was 98th (22:08), David Seng 100th (22:14) and Gage Kaufman 117th (25:11).

The Division 3 girls state final will begin at 1 p.m. this Saturday at the Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.

D3 Boscobel Sectional
(from Saturday, Oct. 20)
Boys
Team scores - 1. Darlington 35; 2. Boscobel 44; 3. Albany 108; 4. Hillsboro 129; 5. Belleville 136; 6. Lancaster 156; 7. Poynette 179; 8. Iowa-Grant/Highland 202; 9. Fennimore 227; 10. Waterloo 306; 11. Pardeeville 307; 12. Parkview 388; 13. North Crawford 411; 14. Madison Country 412; 15. Kickapoo/La Farge 428; 16. Cassville 445; 17. Rio/Fall River 475; 18. Pecatonica/Argyle 505; 19. Riverdale 508.
Top finishers from Lancaster
22. Brandon Doll 18:22; 25. Nicholas Volkman 18:30; 29. Jamin Beesecker 18:45; 34. Eric Fritz 18:56; 46. Jacob Iverson 19:23.
Top finishers from Cassville
64. Andrew Ihm 20:04; 77. Jared Kartman 20:35; 98. Ryan Kirschbaum 22:08; 100. David Seng 22:14; 117. Gage Kaufman 25:11.

Girls
Team scores - 1. Darlington 35; 2. Poynette 94; 3. Boscobel 98; 4. Lancaster 111; 5. Hillsboro 133; 6. Belleville 240; 7. St. Ambrose Academy 248; 8. Riverdale 253; 9. Pardeeville 257; 10. Rio/Fall River 296; 11. Parkview 300; 12. Pecatonica/Argyle 313; 13. North Crawford 316; 14. Madison Country 321; 15. Iowa-Grant/Highland 329; 16. Fennimore 379.
Top finishers from Lancaster
5. Sydney Wagner 16:41; 12. Brooke Elliott 17:08; 23. Kindra Yoose 17:58; 29. Autumn Vaassen 18:07; 42. Brianna Gardner 18:48.
Top finishers from Cassville
29. Jenna Friesen 18:04; 69. Payton Brinkman 19:52.