October 12, 2023
We are the champions! Last night, the Dodge-Point Cross Country teams hosted the SWC Cross Country meet on the Dodgeville school grounds. This was the debut meet for this course, and it was one of the hardest the runners will compete on all season. All of the boys and girls teams achieved all conference titles and Dodge-Point runners Layne Aurit and Ellie Robinson were conference champs, giving them the course records.
The girls team pulled off the conference champs 3-peat, beating rival team Lancaster by 29 points. 3-time Conference champion Ellie Robinson ran an impressive 19:17 on a grueling course with her twin sister, Annie Robinson, finishing closely behind as the 3-time conference runner-up. Rounding out the individual first-team all conference titles, “Peyton Christofer” (as the race results spelled it) finished 5th overall and Lily Houtakker finished 7th. Seniors Grace Wersal (8th) and Regan Schuette (10th) were 2nd team all conference for their final year. Both girls finished 2nd team all four years of their high school careers. Abbey Ludwig finished 13th, also earning 2nd-team all conference honors. It is a feat many teams never accomplish to have all seven of their varsity runners earn all conference honors, but Dodge-Point seems to make it look like a breeze.
The JV girls were one point away from getting a perfect score of 15. Alternate Brienna Wasley finished first on the JV side. Addison Christopher finished close behind in 2nd place. Keeping Wasley and Christopher in their sights, Faye Schuette (3rd) and Chloe Eastman (4th) ran together. Ava Mcdonald came through the chute in 6th place not far behind the first 4 girls. Senior Sierra Davenport (8th), Ava Hying (9th), Emma Giddings (10th), and senior Madelyn Bakken (11th) pushed each other throughout the race and finished close together. Senior Elodie Regnier was 14th, Breken Blackford-Hesselberg was 17th, and Brooke Paynter was 20th. Hayden Bakken (22nd), Olivia Wilson (23rd), Madelyn McWilliams (24th), Jayden Swinehart (25th), Brynnlin Cartwright (26th), Mallory Spurley (27th), senior Katie Kramer (28th), Reese Meudt (29th), and senior Alyson Melssen (31st) all ran as a pack. This concluded the JV season.
It was reported that Denny McGraw was not sure if the boys had the victory in the bag after watching his runners go by at mile two. However, the boys were able to turn the race around and come out on top, edging out Richland Center/Ithaca by 5 points. The nearly all-junior boys varsity team was led by Layne Aurit, a back-to-back conference champion. Next came the one varsity sophomore, Gabe Engel, in 4th. Close behind Engel were Cody Yoder (5th) and Ethan Hook (6th). It has been reported that Engel and Hook have been putting in a few extra miles together on the weekends this season and it is paying off, as they have made substantial progress from last year’s season. Aurit, Engel, Yoder, and Hook were all named first team all conference. Making second team all conference were Parker Owens (11th) and Jesse Yoder (14th). Senior Alex LaMere was edged out by Yoder and just missed making second team, but he will be running on varsity at the sectional meet.
The JV boys came in second place with 35 points. Johnny Robinson finished first of all JV runners, earning him the alternate spot for the remainder of the season. Rhet Spurley finished just two seconds behind in 2nd. Next came senior Mac Busser in 9th. The rest of the JV team includes Carson Shroeder (11th), Elliot Hesseling (12th), William Brainbridge (13th), and Felix Wieczorek (14th).
Seniors who ran their final race yesterday include Katie Kramer, Alyson Melssen, Madi Bakken, Sierra Davenport, Mac Busser, and exchange student Elodie Regnier. Thank you seniors for a great season! Next Saturday the Dodge-Point varsity teams will travel back to West Salem for the WIAA D2 Sectional Meet.
