(WIAA) – The 114th running of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Cross Country Championships and the 52nd Annual Girls Cross Country Championships will take place Saturday, Oct. 31 at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
Schedule of Events:
The boys and girls will both run a 5,000-meter course. The following is a listing of the scheduled start times for each race:
Girls:
Noon – Division 3
12:40 p.m. – Division 2
1:20 p.m. – Division 1
Boys:
2 p.m. – Division 3
2:35 p.m. – Division 2
3:10 p.m. – Division 1
Awards will be presented for each division beginning at approximately 3:25 p.m. Awards presented in the order of the races at the podium to the west of the starting boxes.
How They Qualified:
There are 20 teams contending for the State championship in Division 1 for boys and girls, and 16 teams competing for the boys and girls Divisions 2 and 3 team titles. Teams competing for the titles qualified last weekend at their respective sectional meets. The top two teams in each of the 10 Division 1 sectionals and the top two teams from each of the eight Divisions 2 and 3 sectionals advanced. In addition to the qualifying teams, the first five individual finishers at their respective sectionals, who are not a member of a qualifying team, also qualified for the State Meet.
Girls Division 1:
Two-time defending state champion Neenah leads a Division 1 field that includes eight of the top 10 teams from last year’s state meet. The Rockets return four of their top five runners from last year’s state title team and make their state-leading 33rd appearance at the meet. They edged last year’s state runner-up Slinger to win the Manitowoc Lincoln Sectional title. Slinger is back despite returning one of its top five finishers from the 2025 meet. Bloomer returns to state after a third place finish from last year and Menomonie is back after placing fourth a year ago. Other top 10 returning teams are Wauwatosa East (sixth), Appleton North (seventh), Muskego (ninth) and University School of Milwaukee (10th). Defending Division 2 champion Mount Horeb will also compete in Division 1 this season.
Individually, sophomores Karstin McCabe of Whitefish Bay and Sam Zilm of Neenah are the top returnees after placing third and fourth, respectively, at last year’s meet. Junior Eva Busch of Appleton North was fifth last year, senior Aliyah Hartman of Bloomer was eighth and junior Abby Kurth of Slinger was 10th. Senior WIlla Vigliotta was fifth in Division 2 last year and junior Mia Caygill was ninth. Both will compete with their Mount Horeb team in Division 1. Senior Clara Hartman of Bloomer was the Division 2 runner-up in 2024 and returns this year after not competing at state last season.
Girls Division 2:
With defending champion Mount Horeb elevated to Division 1, the next highest four finishing teams from last year lead the way in competition for a new Division 2 champion. McFarland was last year’s runner-up and has three of its five runners returning, while Monroe was third and returns two runners. Kettle Moraine Lutheran has four runners back from a fourth place finish and Notre Dame returns three runners from its fifth-place effort. Lakeside Lutheran is back at state after placing eighth a year ago, and New Berlin Eisenhower returns after a 10th place finish. Aquinas will compete in Division 2 after a third-place finish in Division 3 last year.
Four runners who all qualified for state individually are back in the field after placing among the top seven finishers a year ago. Junior Maddie Driscoll of Lancaster was last year’s state runner-up and placed ninth in 2024, while junior Abbie Hoage of Altoona was third last year. Junior Macie Boe of Amery returns after placing fifth and senior Kyra Dix is back after placing seventh. Junior Sofie Beadle is the highest-returning runner who also qualified in the team competition, placing eighth last year with Kettle Moraine Lutheran. Senior Sophie Navarro of Northwestern is back after finishing 10th last season. Senior Maggie Behler of Kohler may contend in Division 2 this year as the defending Division 3 individual champion and runner-up in 2024 and 2023. Senior Lillian Pociask of Kohler was eighth in Division 3 last season.
Girls Division 3:
There will be a new look atop the Division 3 leaderboard this season as the top four teams from last season are not in the field. The top three teams were elevated to Division 2. Defending champion Darlington and runner-up Kohler failed to qualify, while Aquinas qualified in Division 2. The teams that placed fifth through ninth last season are all back to contend for the title. Fennimore is the top returning team with three of its five runners back from last year’s fifth-place finish. Lomira (sixth), Boyceville (seventh), Cameron (eighth) and Phillips (ninth) all earned return trips to the state meet.
Sophomores Mackenzie Knuckey of Southwestern and Delaney Rennhack of Dodgeland are the top two returning individuals after fourth and fifth place finishes last year, respectively. Sophomore Jaycie Oberle of Boyceville (seventh) and Paxtyn Duellman of Cochrane-Fountain City are the only other two returning top 10 finishers. Senior Inez Schmidt from Cameron has placed in the top 16 in each of the past three years with a sixth place finish in 2024.
Boys Division 1:
Four-time defending Division 1 state champion Stevens Point Area Senior High is in the state meet field for the record 52nd time. The Panthers return three runners who all placed among the top 23 finishers at last year’s state meet. Stevens Point is one of five top 10 teams returning from last year’s meet. Marquette has two runners back from its third place team and De Pere returns three runners from its fourth-place squad. Oconomowoc returns to the field after placing sixth last year, and Menomonie is back after finishing eighth a year ago. Kohler, with an enrollment of 222 students, won the Manitowoc Lincoln Sectional and will compete in Division 1 after claiming Division 3 titles in 2022 and 2023, winning Division 2 in 2024 and placing second in Division 2 in 2025.
The Division 1 individual race appears to be wide open with only two returning top 10 finishers from a year ago. Hudson senior Ryan Keller is back after a third place finish and Milwaukee King junior Logan Zeise was seventh.
Boys Division 2:
Only two of the top seven teams from last year’s Division 2 competition are back to contend for the 2026 title. Notre Dame returns three senior runners from last year’s fourth-place team, while Fort Atkinson also has three runners back from its fifth-place lineup. Other top 10 teams from last year that are competing in this year’s meet include Luxemburg-Casco (eighth), Campbellsport (ninth) and Lakeland Union (10th). Prentice/Rib Lake is in the field after finishing runner-up in Division 3 last season.
Individually, a quartet of seniors are back in this year’s field after posting top 10 finishes last season. Jack Schauer of St. Croix Central was sixth, Garrett Pickering of Campbellsport was seventh, Logan Boehnlein of Seymour was eighth and Austin Jarmuz of University School of Milwaukee was 10th. Defending Division 3 individual champion Jonathan Simon, a junior from St. Ambrose Academy, will compete in Division 2 after his school was elevated due to winning last year’s team title.
Boys Division 3:
Five teams from last year’s Division 3 top 10 will compete at this year’s state meet. Phillips lost its top three runners to graduation, but is back after placing third a year ago. Marathon has four of its top five runners returning to build on its fourth place finish, while Cadott also has four runners back from a fifth place team finish. Brookwood returns all five of its top runners from last year’s sixth place team. Sheboygan Lutheran is back in the field after placing 10th last season.
Senior Nolan Waltz of Three Lakes/Phelps is the top returning Division 3 competitor, placing runner-up last season and eighth in 2024. Other returning top 10 finishers include Assumption sophomore Michael Dolan, who placed fourth, Cadott senior Beau Steinke, who was sixth, and Roncalli senior Elliott Onesti, who was 10th.
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