MOUNT HOREB — On Saturdaym Sept. 16, the Tri-State Homeschool Falcons ran at 203 Mount Horeb Invitational, competing against mostly Madison-area schools, at the 10-team race. 

Despite the tough competition, the Tri-State girls team placed fifth as a team with 130 points and two freshman running to podium finishes.

Ruah Franzmann Simmert finished second out of 115 runners with a time of 19:03, behind only Mount Horeb senior phenom Abigail Sadler (18:07.5).  

Fellow TSHS freshman Kate Pronschinske placed ninth (20:25) and Audrey North ran third for the Falcons in 32nd place (23:00). Katie McGuire (24:52, 58th) and Katie Snyder (25:02, 62th) rounded out the top five. 

The Tri-State Homeschool boys had very intense competition in this very fast race. 

De Forest (53) edged the host Vikings (60) to win the girls’ team title. Monona Grove (80) finished third.

Senior Titus Wunderlin (18:46) paced the Falcons with a 44th place finish out of 184 competitors, followed by four other seniors, Zeme Franzmann Simmert (19:37, 67th), Michael-Rhett Gilbertson (19:54, 71st), Ben Pratt (21:06, 95th) and Vince Langston (21:36, 105th). 

Madison East won the boys title (50) by three points over Madison La Follette (53) and six over De Forest (56). The TSHS Falcons (264) finished 10th in the boys’ race.

“Our team ran really well, with almost every single runner getting a personal-best for the season,” said TSHS head coach Reka Wunderlin. “Our hard work in practice is starting to pay off and we are excited for the meets coming up.”

This past Saturday, the Falcons traveled to Fennimore’s Hickory Grove Golf Course for the annual Fennimore Golden Eagle Relays.

The Fennimore meet has a unique set up with seven different races for boys and girls varsity. This format gives kids an opportunity to race against others with similar abilities. 

“It is actually hard to know how you are doing as a team until the end when the times from each team are added up for the first five runners to determine the team winners,” said coach Wunderlin.

“Our girls were placing well, with each one in the top three of their own races, but our times were not what we had hoped for. The girls were working hard, but after a very tough week of practice, they were tired and had many aches and pains. One of our top five runners also had to drop out of the race because of an injury.” 

North, the Falcons’ only senior on the girls’ varsity team, had a phenomenal race, continuously moving herself up and moving into first place in the fourth runner race in the last 600 meters, finishing in a time of 23:01, for a 10th-place overall finish. 

Snyder (31st) and McGuire (33rd) became the TSHS team’s fourth and fifth position runners after their teammate’s injury, and stepped up to the task well. 

Franzmann-Simmert again led the way, placing second in the first runner race and second overall at 20:07, while Pronschinske placed third in the second runner race and 7th overall at 21:52. 

The girls were a bit surprised, though, to finish second as a team, edging Fennimore out by only 0.1 seconds. New Glarus/Monticello won the girls’ team title with a five-runner combined time of 111:59.4. 

The TSHS boys had some good races as well, with their all-senior varsity team. 

Wunderlin lead the Falcons with a third place finish in the third runner race, which was good for 16th overall, with a time of 19:33. He was followed by Michael-Rhett Gilbertson (21st, 19:57.8), Zeme Franzmann-Simmert (24th, 20:24.6), Vince Langston (38th, 22:15.4) and Ben Pratt (40th, 22:30.3).

Mount Horeb Invitational
(from Saturday, Sept. 16 @ Mount Horeb)
(Girls, 5,000 meters)
Team standings: 1.De Forest 53, 2.Mount Horeb 60, 3.Monona Grove 80, 4.McFarland 94, 5.Tri-State Homeschool 130, 6.Madison West 176, 7.Reedsburg 177, 8.Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld 209, 9.Milton 228, 10.Madison La Follette 274, 
Top individuals: 1.Abigail Sadler (Mount Horeb) 18:07.5, 2.Ruah Franzmann-Simmert (Tri-State Homeschool) 19:03.4, 3.Willa Vigliotta (MH) 19.31.9, 4.Hannah Kirsch (McFarland) 19:37.7, 5.Allie Hrodey (Monona Grove) 19:43.9.
Tri-State Homeschool (130): 2.Franzmann-Simmert 19:03.4, 9.Kate Pronschinske 20:25.0, 32.Audrey North 23:00.5, 58.Katie McGuire 24:52.2, 62.Katie Snyder 25:02.9, 99.Josie Statz Lauper 28:36.2, 102.Echo Wruck 29:19.9, 103.Lilly Stader 29:51.7, 108.Deborah Pulver 31:46.1, 111.Miriam Runde 33:23.7.
(Boys, 5,000 meters)
Team standings: 1.Madison East 50, 2.Madison La Follette 53, 3.De Forest 56, 4.McFarland 90, 5.Monona Grove 166, 6.Reedsburg 187, 7.Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld 217, 8.Mount Horeb 226, 9.Milton 241, 10.Tri-State Homeschool 264. 
Top individuals: 1.Ike Helms (La Follette 17:50.2, 2.Joe Houseman (La Follette) 17:50.3, 3.Mason Dobbs (De Forest) 18:09.6, 4.Martin Barroso (Madison East) 18:28.2, 5.Martin Meitner (Madison East) 18:29.3.
Tri-State Homeschool (261): 44.Titus Wunderlin 18.46, 67.Zeme Franzmann-Simmert 19:37.1, 71.Michael Rhett-Gilbertson 19:54.2, 95.Ben Pratt 21:06.8, 105.Vince Langston 21:36.1, 106.Dominik Langston 21:37.9, 116.Nehemiah Cartwright 22:20.5, 118.Silas Klar 22:23.1. 

2023 Fennimore Golden Eagle Relays
(from Saturday, Sept. 23 @ Hickory Grove Golf Course, Fennimore)
(Girls, 5,000 meters)
Team standings: 1.New Glarus/Monticello 111:59.4, 2.Tri-State Homeschool 119:02.9, 3.Fennimore 119:03.0, 4.Lodi 123:57.6, 5.Lake Mills 125:19.6, 6.Southwestern/Cuba City/Benton 125:27.5, 7.Albany 131:44.9, Shullsburg/Belmont inc.
Top individuals: 1.Hanna Martensen (SW/CC/B) 19:48.2, 2.Ruah Franzmann-Simmert (TSHS) 20:07.7, 3.Kylee Mumm (Fennimore) 20:58.1, 4.Molly Olson (NG/M) 21:06.5, 5.Natalie Horsfall (Fennimore) 21:43.9.
Shullsburg/Belmont (inc.): 34.Maggie Wedig 27:47.0, 45.Allie Walker 35:21.2. 
Tri-State Homeschool (119:02.9): 2.Franzmann-Simmert 20:07.7, 7.Kate Pronschinske 21:52.6, 10.Audrey North 23:01.2, 31.Katie Snyder 26:53.1, 33.Katie McGuire 27:08.3.
(Boys, 5,000 meters)
Team standings: 1.Fennimore 93:10.2, 2.Lodi 94:41.2, 3.Lake Mills 95:35.4, 4.Albany 98:56.0, 5.Soutwestern/Cuba City/Benton 102:16.3, 6.Tri-State Homeschool 104:41.5, 7.New Glarus/Monticello 108:16.1, 8.Pecatonica/Argyle 117:41.7, Shullsburg/Belmont inc.
Top individuals: 1.Roger Melland (Lodi) 17:28.9, 2.Brayden Bakken (Albany) 17:57.6, 3.Carter Bunn (Fennimore) 18:01.0, 4.Max Kressner (Lake Mills) 18:07.9, 5.Noah Wood (SW/CC/B) 18:20.5.
Shullsburg/Belmont (inc.): 26.Tucker Kettler 20:32.3, 31.Carter Kettler 20:55.0, 43.Gabe Wedig 23:26.7.
Tri-State Homeschool (104:41.5): 16.Titus Wunderlin 19:33.4, 21.Michael-Rhett Gilbertson 19:57.8, 24.Zeme Franzmann-Simmert 20:24.6, 38.Vince Langston 22:15.4, 40.Ben Pratt 22:30.3.