Muskego, Bay fall short of titles
TOWN OF MERTON – After hours of waiting, there was no state title in the cards for Whitefish Bay or Muskego.
Bay took second place to Kaukauna in the WIAA Division 1 state cross country meet Saturday and Muskego, the state champion each of the past two seasons, was just behind in fourth place to cap an unusual state meet at Arrowhead High School.
Each division was held at a different location and, from there, was split into three boys and girls races each. Races had 38 runners compared to the usual 180-plus and attendees had to clear out between sessions. Teams waited at home, refreshing the web until final results were posted nearly seven hours after the first race completed just before 10 a.m.
“It was way different,” said Homestead senior Leane Willemse, who finished third. “Just being in a different area of the state with your team and then spending the night there being all excited, I missed it. Driving here in the morning, just being at Arrowhead, it didn’t feel like a state meet.”
The Blue Dukes finished just seven points away from their second state title and won the runner-up trophy for the fourth time, all since 2007 under head coach Mike Miller.
Maya Stevic led the team with a 20th place finish and was followed a half-second later by sectional champion Lily Kriegel. Without a high-end finisher, the Blue Dukes relied on team depth, with only 18 point spots separating Stevic from their fifth and final scorer, Caroline Davis.
Two years ago, Muskego won in dominating fashion, scoring just 48 points. Last season the Warriors topped second-place Onalaska, which took third Saturday, by 39 points and had only one senior on the varsity seven. But this time around, top runner Kate
Sperka battled injuries all year and missed time while having to quarantine, and McKayla Felton, usually a top-five runner, was unable to compete at state.
In Division 3, Ozaukee took second place, finishing just 10 points behind champion Lancaster. Grace Tinder was the team’s top finisher, taking 37th overall, followed by Kelley Large in 42nd.
Willemse was the area’s top finisher, taking third place in 18:12.5 as her Highlanders were seventh out of 12 teams.
After two years of just missing out on medaling – finishing 11th in 2019 and 17th the year before – Willemse finished behind only defending champion Kora Malecek of Onalaska, whose time of 17:52.8 nearly broke her own previous state record of 17:46.6, and Kimberly’s Brooke Edwardson.
“For the most part, I thought I ran my race how I wanted,” Willemse said. “You always wish you would have run faster but I’m happy with how it turned out.”
Willemse had to run by herself for much of the back half of the race, whereas during a normal state meet she would have likely been battling in a pack for nearly the whole time. Like the other runners Saturday, she had no idea what time she needed going into the race.
Isabela Ross of Oak Creek, a junior, finished in fifth place and was the only non-senior in the top six. Muskego’s Rachel Helm delivered a strong final mile and rounded out the area medalists in ninth place.
Kewaskum finished in third place in Division 2 while University School’s Mya Hartjes (8th place) and Martin Luther’s Sophie Moravec (9th) were individual medalists.
Looking ahead, the Blue Dukes are in prime position heading into next year. Only one of their top five runners, McNally, is a senior, whereas Stevic and Miller are sophomores and Kriegel is a freshman.
The future looks brighter for the outlook of the entire state, as well. Not every team competed this fall and hopes are for a much more regular state race a year from now.
As for this year, however, the teams and the WIAA pulled it off. They completed a season that three months ago was one large question mark.
“As each week progressed, you didn’t know for sure if you would be racing that week,” Willemse said. “So just having the state meet is awesome.”