WIAA girls state cross country: Slinger, Muskego and USM earn historic firsts

WISCONSIN RAPIDS - The Slinger girls cross country program won its first team title on Saturday to highlight area finishes at the WIAA girls state cross country meet Saturday at The Ridges Golf Course.

A robust sophomore class and a bounce-back performance for a senior led the Owls to the top of Division 1 a season after it earned its fourth second-place finish. Slinger's 2023 team was without graduated senior Summer Schuster, who led the 2022 team as the lone senior on a team with five freshmen. On Saturday, the now-sophomores were a year wiser and ready to contend for state gold. Among that group was Summer's younger sister Piper Schuster, who led the title-winning effort with a seventh-place individual finish (18:45.1).

"If you would have told me like two years ago that we’d be state champions, I’d have told you that you were completely crazy," Piper said. "This year, it was a really different experience. We didn’t have Summer, but our team was actually a lot stronger than last year."

Slinger coach Terry Krall said the entire season had been about preparing for the state meet, particularly competing in more crowded races to establish positioning early-on.

"What’s so impressive about this group is they love each other, they love to train, they just enjoy each other and enjoy the experience of running," Krall said. "It’s not a chore at all, they want to go and run, that’s what they do for enjoyment."

The most dramatic year-to-year improvement came from senior Violet Schulteis, who was hampered by a tibia stress fracture in her right leg in a 165th overall finish at state in 2022. After "barely finishing" last year as she described it, Schulteis was back to form with a 15th-place individual finish (19:07.9) Saturday that shaved more than three minutes off her time from a year ago. She said being healthier headed into state made all the difference in her performance.

"That just gave me so much more confidence going into this, and I think I was able to put all the hard work to show today." Schulteis said. "I think we all left it out on the course, and I’m so proud of each and every one of us."

The team championship effort also included sophomore Ava Dziedzic in 17th (19:13.9), sophomore Oliva Helmle in 25th (19:19.8), sophomore Stella Gruendemann in 70th (20:03.5), sophomore Shayla Hill in 146th (21:11.3) and junior Bailey Schmoldt in 153rd (21:27). The Owls should return all but Schulteis in 2024, and the senior was anxious to see where the program will go as the class of 2026 continues to mature.

"They have so much more, they are going to do so many great things," Schulteis said. "I'm looking forward to watching them when I'm off at college."

Ella Anschutz follows 2022 team title with 2023 individual win

One year after standing atop the podium for leading a 2022 team title-winning performance, Muskego's Ella Anschutz stood alone on Saturday. The sophomore improved upon a 2022 sixth-place time by nearly a full minute, finishing in 18:00.3 to become Muskego's first-ever individual state champion.

Anschutz was markedly more confident than the freshman that had a breakout state debut on the same course a year prior, and it showed with a performance she called, "A dream come true."

"I felt so much better being able to know this course and run it a second time," Anschutz said. "How my coaches coached me, it’s just been amazing. I had to trust them and I did that and I’m really happy."

The C.J. Michaud and Katrina Beeck-coached Warriors finished 15th as a team, having lost some of the depth of the title-winning squad from 2022. The future is bright, however, with Anschutz at the helm for another two years.

"If you just have as much support from your family, coaches and friends like I do, you can accomplish what you put your mind to," Anschutz said. "I just had to believe in them, and they believed in me, so it just allows you to accomplish your dreams. This is a dream."

Reigning D2 champion Faith Wehrman falls to sixth

Junior Faith Wehrman of New Berlin Eisenhower came into the 2023 WIAA girls state cross country meet with high expectations after a second-place finish in 2021 and a state title in 2022. She kept pace in her quest for a repeat title for the first two miles, but faded a bit out of the top three over the home stretch to a sixth-place finish.

"I know that my training increased a little bit this season, so I knew that was maybe going to take a toll, but I just tried to run my race," Wehrman said.

The junior led a 14th-place finish for New Berlin Eisenhower as a team, which also included freshman sister Jadelyn Wehrman in 81st place (21:02.7). Faith was upbeat about the opportunity for a final race with seniors DenaMarie Gonzales and Macy McCormick, as well as one more season competing with her younger sister in 2024.

"It’s really valuable," Faith said of the state experience. "Any time you get a chance to come here, you should really take it as a special thing."

USM starts strong, led by Bella Grenier

University School of Milwaukee was looking like a team title or runner-up contender entering the late stages of the D2 race. Junior Bella Grenier was holding a top 10 spot and freshman Cate Kohli was hovering around the top 15 as well. However a fall for Kohli in the final third of the race led to her being unable to finish a competitive start for her and the rest of the Wildcats.

"It’s a challenging course, and she looked strong, but going into that last K, I think that double-tier hill just hit her," USM head coach Eric Pilling said. "Those girls were putting it all out there today, and the course got her."

The state debut for the USM girls cross country program nevertheless resulted in a historic seventh-place finish, led by Grenier's 11th individual placement (19:02.9). She said having fun was something she tried to emphasize to herself and teammates leading up to the race.

"I just tried to stay feeling good throughout the whole thing," Grenier said. "Your best race is going to be when you’re having fun and enjoying it."

Following Grenier were junior Annie Norman in 30th (19:58.8), sophomore Anastasia Marich in 52nd (20:23.5), freshman Lucy Konkol in 55th (20:30.4) and junior Izze Keller Hendrick in 148th (25:19.4).

Pilling credited the remaining runners for stepping up to register needed scoring times that contributed to the team finish. Early indications on Kohli were positive, and Pilling said there will be no one hungrier than her for a top finish next year.

"We are ecstatic to have a seventh-place finish, knowing that one of our normal scorers unfortunately didn’t get to finish," Pilling said. "That’s what it’s all about, a team, right?"

Grenier was also optimistic that this was just the beginning for a team that is all projected to return in 2024.

"We’re all really young, we all have one more year left. So next year hopefully," Grenier said. "We have a really good team, we're all super tight and it's really fun to race together."

WIAA girls state cross country results

Division 1

Team scores: 1, Slinger, 78; 2, Neenah, 114; 3, Kaukauna, 143; 4, Brookfield East, 170; 5, Madison West, 175; 6, Hamilton, 217; 7, Monona Grove, 255; 8, De Pere, 255; 9, Franklin, 258; 10, Menomonie, 280; 11, Green Bay Preble, 283; 12, Wisconsin Lutheran, 286; 13, Brookfield Central, 294; 14, Holmen, 296; 15, Muskego, 350; 16, DeForest, 353; 17, Wausau West, 398; 18, Pewaukee, 409; 19, Mukwonago, 421; 20, Kenosha Indian Trail, 459.

Top individuals: 1, Ella Anschutz, Muskego, 18:00.3; 2, Olivia Chellevold, Middleton, 18:15.2; 3, Mackenzie Babcock, Monona Grove, 18:27.3; 4, Lily Kriegel, Whitefish Bay, 18:37.8; 5, Marah Benedict, New Richmond, 18:38.7; 6, Isabella Switalski, Milwaukee Reagan, 18:44.1; 7, Piper Schuster, Slinger, 18:45.1; 8, Eva Kuehn, Wisconsin Lutheran, 18:45.3; 9, Tessa Bruckhart, SPASH, 18:50.6; 10, Lauren McCalla, Menomonie, 18:56.1.

Division 2

Team scores: 1, Xavier, 75; 2, Bloomer, 116; 3, Notre Dame, 126; 4, Dodgeville/Mineral Point, 129; 5, Mount Horeb, 166; 6, Shawano Community, 186; 7, University School of Milwaukee, 195; 8, Northwestern, 207; 9, Kiel, 255; 10, New Glarus/Monticello, 256; 11, West Salem, 258; 12, Plymouth, 259; 13, Medford, 286; 14, New Berlin Eisenhower, 303; 15, Whitewater, 393; 16, Clinton, 396.

Top individuals: 1, Nora Gremban, Northland Pines, 17:46.7; 2, Abigail Sadler, Mount Horeb, 18:09.3; 3, Ciara Hartman, Bloomer, 18:22.9; 4, Lilie Fouts, Xavier, 18:27.8; 5, Emmerson Drobac, Deerfield/Cambridge, 18:30.1; 6, Faith Wehrman, New Berlin Eisenhower, 18:33.2; 7, Meredith Richter, Medford, 18:39.2; 8, Ellie Robinson, Dodgeville/Mineral Point, 18:44.5; 9, Sophie Yetter, Winneconne, 18:53.2; 10, Annie Robinson, Dodgeville/Mineral Point, 19:00.2.

Division 3

Team scores: 1, Lancaster, 92; 2, Phillips, 138; 3, Darlington, 138; 4, Assumption, 147; 5, Dodgeland, 182; 6, Bonduel, 183; 7, Lourdes Academy, 208; 8, Aquinas, 210; 9, Cedar Grove-Belgium, 222; 10, Ozaukee, 224; 11, Colby, 238; 12, Chequamegon, 247; 13, Regis, 247; 14, Cameron, 279; 15, Brookwood, 292; 16, Lomira, 328.

Top individuals: 1, Autumn Michalski, Chequamegon, 18:02; 2, Maggie Behler, Kohler, 18:55.4; 3, Lucy Dolan, Assumption, 18:59.7; 4, Courtney Stadter, Mondovi, 19:02.2; 5, Sophia Bablitch, Rosholt, 19:09.2; 6, Mallory Kohn, Dodgeland, 19:11.9; 7, Addison May, Crandon, 19:15.8; 8, Inez Schmidt, Cameron, 19:25.1; 9, Adalee Berget, Darlington, 19:28.6; 10, Ava Raasch, Dodgeland, 19:28.8.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Slinger, Muskego and USM earn historic firsts at state cross country