Inaugural run a smashing success
Years from now, nobody will remember what runners finished where.
No one will recall who finished in what spot.
Instead, everyone will remember that the inaugural ‘Evan Kratochwill Memorial Cross Country Invite’ was an enormous success.
The first time event was done to honor Kratochwill, a former MHS runner who died in Oct., 2021 following a car accident that took the lives of three teenagers.
The invite featured varsity, JV, middle school and a community race. Middleton boys coach Brian Finnel — the architect of the event — was quite pleased how things went.
“Our inaugural Evan Kratochwill Memorial Invite went overall quite smoothly,” Finnel said. “Putting on a large event took a lot of time and energy. It was a good learning experience. I made some notes for next year and we will tweak a few things to enhance the meet.”
While the meet itself was a hit, Middleton’s runners also gave solid showings.
The Cardinals’ boys finished second at the five-team event, while the girls placed third.
Oconomowoc won the boys race with 41 points, while Middleton was a close second with 42. Kaukauna (84), Sun Prairie West (91) and Verona (115) rounded out the teams.
“I was really pleased with how we ran,” Finnel said. “Some things went our way and yet, there's room for improvement as we hit the championship part of the season.”
Middleton senior Joe Schwartz was fourth overall, finishing the 5,000-meter race in 16 minutes, 19.5 seconds. Senior Den Montour was fifth (16:21.5), junior Will Whiteis was sixth (16:29.0), senior Harper Fahey was 11th (16:51.4) and sophomore Ben Schulz was 16th (17:28.6).
“We executed super well up front and had four in front of Oconomowoc's No. 4 runner,” Finnel said. “However, they got their (No.) 5, 6, and 7 before Ben came in as our No. 5. That's a tall order to overcome in any race size.
“Even though we lost by one (point) in this meet, if this was a large meet that gap would have been much more amplified. Oconomowoc is very good. I really believe they are the first- or second-best team in the state right now. So, I am happy with how we performed. Of course, we are hungry for more and will look to improve these next few weeks.”
Wauwatosa East won the girls race with 36 points, while Kaukauna was second (40). Middleton (72), Sun Prairie West (104) and Oconomowoc (108) rounded out the top five.
“We were reaching for second, but other teams just raced better than us on that particular day,” MHS coach Alexa Richardson said.
Middleton senior Zaira Malloy-Salgado won the girls race with a time of 18:12.2 and freshman Olivia Chellevold was second (18:24.6). Sophomore Olivia Strasia was 18th (20:44.9), junior Morley Schroeder was 25th (21:31.6) and junior Meredith Pansegrau was 26th (21:40.5).
“We had some great surprises,” Richardson said. “Olivia Strasia went from being our number 8-9 girl to running a PR and placed third for the team.
“Zaira and Liv placed first and second respectively and both ran amazing races. Caroline Blust ran in the JV race, had a massive PR, and ended up running a faster time than five of our varsity girls that day.
“Overall we were content with the results, but the girls are itching to get back into a race and progress even further because they know they have more to give. Soon they will start to taper, and all of the puzzle pieces will come together. This team is built on resiliency and sisterhood. They run for each other.”
On Saturday, everyone also ran for Kratochwill. And this will be the first of many races to come.
In fact, Finnel has already told people to “mark your calendars” for next year’s event, which will be held Sept. 30, 2023.
“I am very grateful for all the help from the cross country families and community to put on this wonderful memorial race,” Finnel said. “We will give it a go next year.”
Added Richardson: “Saturday was a special race because not only did they run for each other, they also ran for Evan. I'm incredibly proud of what these ladies do day in and day out and also proud that they were able to celebrate their fitness on Saturday in a way to honor Evan.”
