Press Release
Last night Tomahawk traveled to Nine-Mile Recreation Area in Rib Mountain for the 8th Annual Marathon Invitational. The Hatchets picked up their first invitational win of the season as they placed all five scorers in the top 13, scoring 34 points and outdistancing their nearest competitors Marathon and Merrill by comfortable margins.
A Hatchet “pack” of Mason Webster (4th-18:05), Alex Johnson (6th-18:14), Evan Ploeckelman (7th-18:15), Cayton Scholz (9th-18:33), Lucas Tjugum (13th-18:57) kept their scoring split under a minute for the first time this season. Justin Jarvensivu (19th) and Erik Zedler (25th) served to inflate other teams’ scores as they finished ahead of the 4th runners from all other squads. Other finishing Hatchets were: Keegan Karlen (27th), Matt Johnson (31st), Josh Wick (32nd), Luke Olson (36th), Brett Gerber (44th), Orion Spaudling (47th), Parker Johnson (50th), Keaton Jed (57th), Sam Von Schrader (60th), Shawn Dirkx (63rd), Anthony Ierulli (69th), Grant Alvey (81st), Jacob Miller (83rd), Jared Leverance (86th), Reid Zedler (96th), Jerett Flynn (100th), Carl Theiler (105th), Kole Svacina (114th). 115 boys crossed the line in the event.
Final Boys Standings: Tomahawk (34), Marathon (83), Merrill (101), Stratford (111), Wittenberg (112), Prentice/RLk (115), Athens (140), Auburndale (235), Pittsville (Inc), Phelps (Inc), Nekoosa (Inc), and Three Lakes (Inc).
The lady Hatchets were led by medalist Haley Voermans-Dean. The freshman blistered the course in a personal best time of 21:28, the third fastest 5K ever ran for a lady Hatchet. She placed 2nd overall. Maggee Renn (17th), Lauren Bauman (20th), Rylie Swan (26th), Meagan Berg (31st), Olivia Weber (42nd), and Gillian Buckwalter (49th) rounded out the varsity placers for the Hatchets. Natalia Robinson (50th), Kate Krueger (51st), Morgan Waye (56th), Jackie Wick (62nd), Arianna Schreiner (63rd), Brittany Jashinksky (65th), Rylie Flohr (66th), Corinn Genelin (70th), Jenny Zheng (80th). There 96 finishers in the women’s race.
Final Team Rankings: Wittenberg (43), Auburndale (75), Merrill (87), Tomahawk (89), Stratford (101), Marathon (138), Three Lakes (183), Athens (211), Pittsville (Inc), Prentice/Rib Lk (Inc), Nekoosa (Inc), Phelps (Inc).
The Hatchet harriers travel to Fall Creek next Saturday for the annual Cricket Invite. Meet gets started at 10 a.m. on the high school grounds.
Quotes:
“How conditions changed overnight! Temperatures in the mid 60’s, a light breeze out of the north, and reduced humidity greeted the athletes. Many Hatchets responded with seasonal best efforts and in some cases career best 5K’s.”
“The boys gained a lot of confidence as they worked together through the middle mile improving their individual positions and gaining great front pack race experience in the process. What we saw tonight reminded us of where we were at mid-season last year. Our seniors (Alex, Cayton, Justin, and Lucas) are doing an awesome job keeping the ‘pack’ together early in the race and it’s paying off in the overall team results.”
“Haley had another ‘break out’ race, improving her personal best time by over a minute and racing at a significantly faster pace that brought her to another level of success. Once the effects of our long runs ‘kick in’ all of our young ladies will be able to race and maintain a faster pace. It was great to see our veterans (Maggee, Lauren, Rylie) drop their 5K times this season by over a minute and a few of our rookies (Meagan Berg, Olivia Weber, and Natalia Robinson) contribute on the varsity level”.
AOW
Meagan Berg… “Meagan had a super race, getting out in a competitive position and improving her position by a half-dozen runners in the last mile. The coaching staff liked how she responded as a competitor, once she realized she was a scorer for us with 2000 meters to go in the race. Additionally, she improved her 5000 meter time by nearly three-minutes from Ashland! For someone ‘new’ to the sport, she is making a difference with her efforts.”
Mason Webster… “Mason once again got out strong and worked with his teammates through the entire race, finishing with a ‘head of steam’ and leading a host of Hatchets to medalist honors. It’s nice to see him racing healthy, after a nearly catastrophic injury in track that reduced his summer mileage significantly in the recovery process. He loves to compete. That type of attitude is contagious and will be invaluable in helping the boys continue to develop this season.”
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