'We've had faith all year': Xavier repeats as state girls cross-country champion; Neenah, Kaukauna finish in top three

WISCONSIN RAPIDS − Lilie Fouts crossed the finish line Saturday afternoon at The Ridges Golf Course, put her hands on her knees and looked at the scoreboard.

The Xavier senior sensed a solid finish for herself as an individual but was also hoping for something more − a repeat championship for the Hawks in Division 2. The standout runner got just that as the defending state champs had five runners place in the top 25 to secure a second straight title.

Xavier finished with 75 points, outscoring second-place Bloomer by 41 points (116). Fouts led the way with a fourth-place finish individually with a time of 18 minutes, 27.8 seconds.

Fouts, one of the team's captains, said her additional responsibilities this season made her well aware of helping to keep the team focused for the ultimate prize − that repeat title.

"(I had to) make sure that everyone stayed humble and patient in the process because a lot of times − sometimes − it didn’t seem like we were going to get that state title," she said. "But every workout and every race led up to this moment preparing us."

The Hawks' second consecutive championship highlighted a solid day for area teams and competitors at the WIAA state cross-country meet. Neenah finished second in the Division 1 girls meet with Kaukauna placing third, and the Winneconne boys team placed second in Division 2.

Xavier title twice as nice

Hawks coach Sam Pawlak knew the goal was a repeat title, especially with Xavier returning the bulk of its championship team from last year.

"We've had faith all year and it was not a surprise, but you still have to race," he said. "There's a lot of great competition."

Pawlak referenced Bloomer specifically, which featured four freshmen among its top five runners, including triplets Ciara, Aliya and Briella Hartman.

"They ran amazing today," he said of Bloomer. "And you can see that developing in the race, but we just have a lot of depth. That's the big thing."

Xavier's Annalise Minorik finished 12th in 19:16.4, with Hannah Linsmeyer (28th, 19:57.4), Joy Krull (33rd, 20:00.8) and Lauren Erickson (41st, 20:08.9) also figuring in the scoring.

"It’s a long season so we had to stick with each other and stay committed," Minorik said. "The workouts throughout the season − it's hard to see the end goal, but we just had to keep reminding ourselves it was for this moment even though it seemed far away."

Fouts, who will be competing in cross-country and track collegiately at Belmont University, said she has no regrets on her four-year career as a varsity performer in cross-country.

"It feels great and I have no regrets about this season or my high school career in general," she said. "It's been a really fulfilling experience."

Winneconne's Yetter places ninth

Winneconne senior Sophie Yetter was the only area runner not in the team competition to finish in the top 10 with a ninth-place finish in the D2 girls meet. Yetter finished with a time of 18:53.2.

It was the fourth consecutive trip to the state meet for Yetter, who placed sixth as an individual her freshman season in helping the Wolves to the D2 title. The University of St. Thomas recruit was 11th her sophomore season and fifth last season.

"(Today's finish) was the best time that I've run here," she said. "When I was a freshman I knew I was good and knew our team was good, but obviously a lot of girls start out doing well and burn out as they go on. So just keeping up with things like nutrition, sleep and keeping myself mentally focused, that's been a big factor. I owe it all to my team and coaches. They're always there for me."

Neenah, Kaukauna second and third in Division 1 girls

Neenah took second in the D1 girls meet for the eighth time in its history, finishing with 114 points, with Slinger winning the state title (78).

Elsa Gruber (20th, 19:16.7) was the Rockets' top finisher with Natalie Willes (32nd, 19:33.2), Natalie Schultz (34th, 19:34.6), Mazie Olkowski (44th, 19:41.6) and Maddie Schoonover (49th, 19:45.1) also figuring in the scoring.

"We never were ranked above fourth the entire season and I thought we could perform in the top three," Neenah head coach Mike Heidke said. "The state meet is such a different experience compared to all the other races, so we kind of kept things loose and I thought they performed really well. Our goal was to have the girls under 20 minutes and we had five girls do that. Wherever that placed us as the team, so be it. There’s a lot of great teams here and to be in the mix with them was an awesome accomplishment."

Rachel Dietrich, the team's lone senior, said ending her career with a second-place finish "felt good."

"And it’s also nice to know that leaving the program, there’s so much potential for our program with all the team being young and there’s lots to come next year," she added. "Last summer we just knew we had to put in a lot of miles and a lot of work and we worked real hard in the season to get here."

Kaukauna totaled 143 points and was paced by senior Sydney Fauske (13th, 19:01.1) with Reese Fauske (18th, 19:15.5), Kyla Laabs (20:01.2), McKenna Lowe (20:02.6) and Jenna Kinas (20:09.6) also figuring in the scoring.

Sydney Fauske, who is heading next fall to compete collegiately at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with her older sister Anna, said she wanted to place in the top 10 but was happy with how she performed.

"I was just hoping to do better than last year which was 18th place, so I mean the goal obviously was top 10," she said. "It didn’t work out, but I still had a great time compared to my times this year so I was happy with it. I was just looking forward to be with my team in our last race."

Winneconne finishes runner-up in D2 boys

A strong sectional showing last weekend carried over nicely to the state meet for the Winneconne boys cross-country team.

"We had a great sectional race and we pretty much blew it out of the water, which was a little bit unexpected," Winneconne senior Sam Sarbo said. "So that gave us the motivation to come to state and then we almost did the same thing here."

On Saturday, the Wolves totaled 116 points, just four points behind champion Lakeside Lutheran, and were paced by sophomore Grant Wenzelow, who finished 16th overall with a time of 16:37.6.

"Grant since he’s come in as a seventh grader has been a stud for us, a leader for us," Winneconne coach Kraig Western said. "Since he was a freshman, we knew he would be a good blue chipper for us. He came through and he kept getting better and better and the confidence grew last year. This year he came in knowing that, 'Hey, I’m the guy, I’m one of those guys now.' All year long he proved it and again came out on this course and ran a great time on a difficult course and proved it again for us."

Junior Oliver Aberle (29th, 16:54.4), seniors Sam Sarbo (30th, 16:56.4) and Reid Cross (48th, 17:11.5) and sophomore Silas Sarbo (68th, 17:29.1) also figured in the scoring for Winneconne.

Cross said the team approached the course's infamous hilly terrain with a different approach than in past years. Winneconne was making its sixth consecutive appearance at the state meet.

"Our coach actually had us try a new method of going a little slower up the hills and sprinting right after," Cross said. "That helped us save our energy for that little kick so our legs were not shot and I think it really helped us, keeping us strong at the end."

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Western said this was a landmark moment for the program.

"This would be our highest finish for our boys program and our sixth straight visit here to state," he said. "So to finally get up in the upper echelon rather than be a seventh-place finisher, to get a trophy, I think it’s for those seniors. They deserve that kind of recognition for the year that they’ve had."

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Xavier Hawks win second straight WIAA state cross-country title