Menomonie Boys and Girls claim BRC Cross Country Titles

Back row L-R: Bella Drake, Bennett Schmidt, Addie Schuler, Lauren McCalla, Sara Palmer, Kyah Barnhart, Bree Barfknecht, and Lexi Thalacker. Front row L-R: Logan Topper, Ben Seguin, Oliver Kerze, Chase Pember, Owen Pelzel, Noah Winder, Evan Olson, and Luke Ray. Photo by Joel Anderson

Both the Menomonie High School girls and boys cross country teams captured Big Rivers Conference titles at the conference meet held Saturday, October 18, in Rice Lake.

The girls team has been a powerhouse in the BRC since 2018, claiming six conference titles and finishing second twice. Leading the way all season has been senior standout Lauren McCalla, who not only won the race but also set a new BRC meet record with a time of 17:08.4.

"It's the sixth BRC title for the girls in the last 8 seasons," said girls coach Craig Olson. "The girls had 27 points while Memorial was 2nd with 71 pts. That's the 2nd largest margin of victory in BRC history for any team. Lauren broke the BRC record by 9 seconds with a 17:08, and we had six girls earn all-BRC awards.  And the boys won, too. It was a very, very good day for MHS cross country."

Menomonie’s depth showed throughout the top ten. Bennett Schmitt placed fourth (18:59.8), Bree Barfknecht finished fifth (19:13.1), Bella Drake took seventh (19:22.0), and Addison Schuler rounded out the scoring with a tenth-place finish (19:44.7). Also finishing the varsity race for the Mustangs were Kyah Barnhart (20:43.2) and Sara Palmer (20:54.7).

Top 20 finishers in the JV race were Rylee King (21:27.8, 6th) and Aubrie Schlueter (23:11.3, 17th).

"The varsity girls ran a great race," said Olson. "I put a pretty tough workout in their legs on Tuesday as we are planning our taper for sectionals and state, so I was surprised at how well they ran on tired legs."

On the boys side, Menomonie earned just its second official BRC championship. The team did win during the 2020 COVID-shortened season, though that title is unofficial since the Eau Claire schools did not compete that fall.

The Mustangs were led by Luke Ray, who placed fifth with a time of 16:15.9, followed closely by Noah Winder (16:18.7, 6th), Owen Pelzel (16:20.0, 7th), Logan Topper (16:33.2, 10th), and Evan Olson (16:54.5, 17th). Rounding out the varsity lineup were Ben Seguin (18:06.5), Oliver Kerze (18:38.4), and Chase Pember (19:07.1).

Making the top 20 in the boys JV race were Cole Christenson (18:03.9, 6th), Karter Livingston (18:14.1, 8th), Brody Salzman (18:33.2, 11th), Matthew Snavely (18:33.8, 12th), and Logan Gates (18:44.4, 13th).

"I thought we got another really good team effort from the boys. They have been running very well together all season, and continued that in the conference meet," said boys coach Adam Topper. "Hudson has shown some great improvement over the past few weeks, but our guys ran better and were able to hold them off. This is a pretty special group of guys, and they deserve the success that their hard work has brought them."

Next up for both teams is the sectional meet, held in Menomonie on Saturday, October 25. The boys race begins at 12:00 p.m., followed by the girls at 12:45 p.m. A trip to the WIAA State Meet in Wisconsin Rapids on November 1 will be on the line.

Tickets for the sectional meet can be purchased HERE. Cash will also be accepted; the cost is $7.