MHS Cross Country Teams finish record-breaking year at State Meet

The Menomonie High School girls and boys cross country teams capped off a record-breaking season with their best finishes in school history at the WIAA State Cross Country Meet, held Saturday, November 1, at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.

Senior Lauren McCalla set the pace for the Mustangs, turning in a historic, record-setting performance at the meet. McCalla won the Division 1 state title with a time of 17:26.4, setting not only a new course record but also breaking the D1 state record by 18 seconds and the all-division state record by 12 seconds. Her run makes her the fastest female runner in the history of the state meet.

“Lauren winning and setting the state record was huge for her,” said girls coach Craig Olson. “She's worked incredibly hard. There were 190 girls in that race, and just one can be the state champ. Winning an individual state title in XC is extremely hard to do. It's only happened 51 times in D1 since cross country became a WIAA sport.  Lauren is in some pretty rare company. And she's the fastest of them all, too.”

McCalla’s performance helped the MHS girls team earn a fourth-place finish, the highest ever for the program. Team members included McCalla, Bennett Schmitt (18:57.9, 23rd), Bella Drake (19:43.3, 71st), Addison Schuler (20:00.5, 90th), Bree Barfknecht (20:27.1, 119th), Kyah Barnhart (20:50.5, 139th), and Sara Palmer (21:00.0, 146th).

McCalla was named Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Runner of the Year and earned First Team All-State honors. Schmitt also received recognition as a Second-Team All-State runner. The all-state teams are selected from the top finishers across all divisions.

“Fourth place is the highest team finish in the history of MHS cross country, so it was a very successful day,” said Olson.  

The MHS boys team also made history, finishing eighth overall—their best placement to date. The team was led by senior Luke Ray (16:31.0, 37th), followed by Owen Pelzel (16:49.4, 60th), Logan Topper (16:52.2, 67th), Evan Olson (17:02.2, 90th), Noah Winder (17:16.8, 108th), Cole Christenson (18:22.1, 177th), and Ben Seguin (18:36.6, 182nd).

“Getting into the top 10 at the State meet is a phenomenal accomplishment,” said boys coach Adam Topper. “There are a lot of great runners in the state of Wisconsin, and our guys can definitely leave the meet knowing they belonged among them. Luke Ray once again led the team and had another fantastic race.”

Topper added that with four of the top five runners returning next season, the team is already talking about how to make a third straight state appearance and finish even higher.

Beyond their athletic success, both teams also excel academically. The boys team earned Academic All-State honors with a combined GPA of 3.98, while the girls team earned the same distinction with a GPA of 3.91.

All photos courtesy of Joel Anderson and Karl Palmer.