On to State!

Front row L-R: Bella Drake, Addie Schuler, Kyah Barnhart, Bennett Schmitt, Sara Palmer, Lauren McCalla, and Bree Barfknecht. Back row L-R: Logan Topper, Ben Seguin, Evan Olson, Owen Pelzel, Noah Winder, Cole Christenson, and Luke Ray.

Both the MHS boys and girls cross country teams qualified for the 2025 State Boys & Girls Cross Country Championships after strong performances at the sectional meet held in Menomonie last Saturday.

The boys won the sectional title, narrowly edging out Hudson, and earning their second consecutive trip to state. The boys were led by a 4th-place finish from senior Luke Ray (16:12.8), followed by Owen Pelzel (16:40.6, 12th), Evan Olson (16:44.9, 14th), Logan Topper (16:45.7, 15th), and Noah Winder (16:52.3, 17th). Also running for the Mustangs were seniors Ben Seguin (18:15.3, 54th) and Cole Christenson (18:16.2, 56th).

"At the sectional meet, I thought our boys ran quite well," said boys coach Adam Topper. "Luke Ray has really emerged as our lead runner over the past few weeks, and having him out there is a definite help to us. I was also very pleased with the effort from Evan Olson, who took control of our pack and really helped seal the win for us."

The girls team finished second at sectionals, behind a very strong Bloomer team ranked #2 in Division 1 coming into the race. The Menomonie girls head to state ranked #4 in D1.

Lauren McCalla claimed her second sectional title, setting a new course record with one of the fastest times in state history - 17:15.3. Bennett Schmitt finished 9th (18:53.4), Bree Barfknecht finished 12th (19:19.6), Bella Drake finished 18th (19:54.1), and Addison Schuler finished 19th (19:54.8) to round out the scoring. Also finishing the varsity race were seniors Kyah Barnhart (20:45.8, 36th) and Sara Palmer (21:33.0, 50th).

"It was a nice race on Saturday," said girls coach Craig Olson. "Bloomer is an exceptional team and one of the best in the state. We battled well, but they beat us out over the last mile."  

The WIAA State Cross Country Championships are this Saturday, November 1st, at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. The boys D1 race will begin at 1:10 pm, and the girls D1 race at 3:05 pm.

There will be a send-off for the teams at 8:45 am on Saturday morning at Dairy State Bank.

"State will be exciting," said Olson. "Our entire varsity raced at state last year, so they have some great experience returning. We were 7th last year, so hopefully we can finish in the top 5 this year. Lauren will be looking for an individual state title, and that will give us a huge edge for team scoring."

"Looking ahead to Saturday, I'm hoping for one of those magical days where all the guys run their best on the same day," said Topper. "It's a pretty rare thing, but they are all looking great right now. Our goal is to finish better than last year. We are hoping for a top-10 finish, with the ultimate goal of getting into the top 5. No matter what, it's been a great season for these guys."

Meet and ticketing information can be found HERE. Live results can be found HERE.

Good luck teams! Go Mustangs!

Boys team results

Girls team results