Two Vanguards win XC titles

Christian Patzka and Samantha Herrling are conference champions. The rest of their teams performed like champs, as well. At the Southern Capitol Conference cross country meet held last Saturday, Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld had a bevy of memorable performances. Patzka, a senior, won the boys race and led Heights to a third place overall finish. Herrling, a freshman, won the girls race and led the Vanguards to a second place showing as a team. “We knew going into the meet Christian and Samantha just had to run their normal races and they’d come home with their individual titles,” Heights/Barneveld coach Sara Boutelle said. “They stayed calm, walked the course to familiarize themselves with a new environment, and ran relaxed races that allowed them to enjoy the moment with their teams.” New Glarus/Monticello won the girls’ race with 44 points, while Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld was second at 53. Deerfield/Cambridge was third with 73, followed by Marshall (101), Belleville (111) and Waterloo (121). Herrling finished the race in 19 minutes, 42.03 seconds, easily outdistancing runner-up Gianna Dugan of Marshall (20:38.01). Vanguards’ senior Kassidy Frame was fifth (22:24.90), sophomore Greine Simmert was sixth (22:29.50), junior Brianna Herrling was 16th (23:53.62) and senior Morgan Schult was 25th (25:44.84). “The girls team knew they had an outside shot at th-eir first title if we showed up and did our best, but we really needed some help from NGM having a bad day to make the championship happen,” Boutelle said. “NGM ran a great race, and we finished the day proud of our performance and couldn’t see any way we could have ran better. Having three girls on first-team all conference is a huge victory and has impressed a lot of other teams.” On the boys’ side, New Glarus/Monticello was first with 37 points, edging second place Deerfield/Cambridge (38). Wisconsin Heights was third at 84, followed by Marshall (97), Belleville (126) and Waterloo (158). Patzka won the boys race in 16:30.33, well ahead of runner-up Zach Huffman of Deerfield/Cambridge (17:04.68). The Vanguards also received an 11th place finish from senior Zach Bauman (18:19.17), while sophomore Weston Parman was 14th(18:38.60), senior Cody Amble was 28th (20:04.90) and freshman Andrew Pietrzykowski was 29th (20:16.76). “The guys team knew we were running for a third place finish, so our focus was on individual efforts,” Boutelle said. “Zach Bauman has shown incredible strength this year and with his second-team all conference award he is showing how great of a runner we all always knew he could be.” The Vanguards now head to the WIAA Division 3 Boscobel Sectional Saturday. The girls race begins at 11 a.m. and the boys race starts at 11:45 a.m. The top two teams qualify for the state meet on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. The five runners not on a state qualifying team also earn individual state berths. CAPITOL SOUTH CONFERENCE MEET Team scores — New Glarus/Monticello 37; Deerfield/Cambridge 38; Wisconsin Heights 84; Marshall 97; Belleville 126; Waterloo 158. Top five individuals — 1, Patzka, WH, 16:31; 2, Huffman, DC, 17:05; 3, Nikolay, DC, 17:38; 4, Trewyn-Colvin, 17:42; 4, Nelson, NGM, 17:46. New Glarus/Monticello: 5, Nelson 17:46; 6, Quaglia 17:57; 7, Guenther 17:58; 9, Ready 18:13; 10, McCoy 18:19. Deerfield/Cambridge: 2, Huffman 17:05; 3, Nikolay 17:38; 4, Trewyn-Colvin 17:42; 12, Navarro 18:23; 17, Brown 19:00. Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld: 1, Patzka 16:31; 11, Bauman 19:20; 14, Parman 18:39; 28, Amble 20:05; 29, Pietrzykowski 20:17. Marshall: 8, Grossman 18:10; 19, Kosbau 19:26; 22, Jennings 19:32; 23, Grady 19:36; 25, Haberkorn 19:37. Belleville: 16, Wilder 18:57; 20, Loshaw 19:27; 21, Campbell 19:28; 34, Fullbright 21:41; 35, Kean 21:49. Waterloo: Aguero 19:17; 31, Tschanz 20:35; 33, Battenberg 21:15; 37, Fugate 22:06; 39, Sampo 23:00. At Shepherds Meadow Golf Course, Poynette, 5,000 meters. CAPITOL SOUTH CONFERENCE MEET Team scores — New Glarus/Monticello 44; Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld 53; Deerfield/Cambridge 73; Marshall 101; Belleville 111; Waterloo 121. Top five individuals — 1, S. Herrling, WH, 19:42; 2, G. Dugan, Mar, 20:38; 3, Forman, Wat, 21:10; 4, Ziperski, NGM, 21:15; 5, Frame, WH, 22:25. New Glarus/Monticello: 4, Ziperski 21:15; 7, Faber 22:30; 9, Karls 22:52; 10, Molencamp 23:14; 14, Disch 23:41. Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld: 1, S. Herrling 19:42; 5, Frame 22:25; 6, Simmert 22:30; 16, B. Herrling 23:54; 25, Schult 25:45. Deerfield/Cambridge: 11, Thompson 23:17; 12, Williams 23:32; 13, Bolger 23:33; 17, Schmude 24:00; 20, Kornelsen 24:58. Marshall: 2, G. Dugan 20:38; 18, E. Dugan 24:42; 24, Antonio Reyes 25:36; 28, Horne 26:34; 29, Petersen 26:41. Belleville: 8, Yapp 22:47; 15, Winkers 23:52; 21, Herritz 25:12; 33, Salmela 27:10; 34, Diaz 27:37. Waterloo: 3, Forman 21:10; 19, Asik 24:55; 26, Stonestreet 25:48; 35, Webster 27:55; 38, Smith 30:01. At Shepherds Meadow Golf Course, Poynette, 5,000 meters.