Oconomowoc boys return to state after 36 years

When the Oconomowoc boys cross country team laces up its spikes on Saturday at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids, it will be making its first state appearance in 36 years.

“That’s been a very big check mark that we’ve been waiting to check off for a while,” junior Cody Witthun said.

While all seven members of the Raccoons varsity team have one thing in common — they run fast — their personalities are all over the spectrum.

“They each play their own little role,” head coach Joel Heroux said.

“They have learned to feed off each other. You get to the point where you can’t imagine practice without one of them if anyone is gone. They’ve become a close family.”

Alex Vance is the Raccoons top runner, but he would never let you know it.

“The thing that I absolutely love about Alex Vance is that he’s a man of few words,” junior Noah Meissner said. “We have some big talkers on our team — I being one of them, Phil (Houston) being another — but Alex chimes in when needs to and when he feels it’s appropriate.”

Vance qualified for state as an individual last season, taking 32nd place out of the 189 Division 1 runners to compete.

Quietly, Vance is eyeing a top 10 finish and a medal on Saturday.

Ask anyone around the Raccoons, and they will tell you that their success this season started in the summer, with workouts at Nashotah Park or long runs throughout town.

Senior Michael Kluz was the organizer behind those summer workouts, pushing the Raccoons to reach their potential.

In addition to serving as the team’s captain, Kluz is also Oconomowoc’s No. 2 runner and steady hand.

“Michael is the dad of the team,” junior Cade Kenyon said. “He makes sure we’re all focused before a race.”

Vance is the lone Raccoons runner to have run at the state meet, but Noah Meissner notes that there aren’t any nerves around the team.

“We know what it’s like,” he said. “We’ve had some tough races, strange conditions, so I know that we can work well and run well under anything. I’m excited to see what we can do.”

A four-year varsity competitor, Miles Mulder was the second-fastest runner on the Raccoons at sectionals last season when they finished in third place, just one spot away from a state berth.

“We’ve had a really solid team the past four years and every year has been a close shot at making state,” Mulder said. “For Michael and me as seniors, this was our last shot. We wanted to go out with a bang.”

During a rare quiet moment during a team interview, as the runners pondered a question, Heroux spoke up.

“I’m just going to remember this moment in time where Phil had nothing to say,” he cracked.

Perhaps no Oconomowoc runner has benefited more from summer training than Kenyon.

As a sophomore, he ran exclusively on junior varsity, and his best time was 19:54.

In Kenyon’s first race this season on a difficult, hilly course at UW-Parkside, he shaved off nearly two minutes and ran a 17:59.

An alternate on last season’s postseason varsity teams, Cody Witthun has worked hard to earn his designation at state and as one of the team’s funnymen, as well.

“Getting brought on as an alternate really got me to buy in,” Witthun said. “I realized what we could do as a team the following season, saw how strong we looked and I just wanted to be a part of it.”