Athlete of the Week 2020
Week 7: GNC 10/15/2020
Tiana Gerstenberger “…to see her race to her fastest 5K of her career in her final event was special. As a senior one couldn’t ask for anything more. She has really stepped up into a leadership role this fall and has done a nice job working with our younger aspiring athletes!”
Arden Ziert “…it was exciting to see Arden finish in the top ten and earn All-Conference honors after just missing out last year. He has done a nice job working with Owen (our freshman ‘stand out’) and helping him learn how to race. Arden’s leadership has been invaluable this year. To see Arden run a seasonal best time in the process was icing on the cake!”
Week 6: Tomahawk Invite 10/8/2020
Ava Dragosh...”Ava topped the field in the JV race and put herself in a position to race theconference meet next week on the varsity level. She looked smooth and ran relaxed the entire race today! She had her best time of the season in her championship effort.”
Presley Gutbrod... “...for a guy that just showed up one night for a Fun Run at Memorial Parkthis summer, to making our top seven runners more than once this season, he’s come a long ways! Presley is a natural runner and his ‘easy going’ attitude helps keep him relaxed allowing him to race confidently at a high level. I really don’t think he knows what his limits are. It was nice to see him win the JV race tonight at Edgewater.”
Week 5: Rhinelander 10/1/2020
Kate Reilly... “Kate worked hard the whole race and showed solid leadership with her other two teammates in wave #2 keeping them together early and encouraging them throughout the race. She made up the 1+ min gap on four wave #1 runners and was nearly the top finisher in wave #2. Her competitiveness really showed today throughout the race as evidenced by her final finish position.”
Drew Bolder... “Drew handled the challenges that this course presented and looked strong throughout the race. I was at the 2 mile mark and to watch him gracefully attack the hill with no one else in sight was awesome. It’s nice to see his hard work and dedication to the sport pay off with a race like this.”
Week 4: Park Falls 9/24/2020
Rachael Reilly... “...It was nice to see Rachael get that first high school victory under her belt. She has the ‘leg speed’ and can challenge any area athlete in the early part of a race, but it was gratifying to see her run negative splits and not go into anaerobic debt so early in her 5K tonight. I believe that she gained a lot of confidence in her race abilities with this win and a different race approach.”
Ethan Liebnitz... “...after coming out mid-season last year and really making some solid improvements at the tail end of the season, it’s nice to see him start with us this year. Tonight, Ethan ran his first sub-19 minute 5K with a finishing kick (passing the #3 runner from Chequamegon in the last 150 meters) that was nothing short of amazing!”
Week 3: Medford 9/17/2020
Geena Wanta-“...as the weather gets cooler she gets stronger every year. She really responds well to the conditions like today presented and it showed. She nearly cracked the 23-min barrier with a new PR effort in a varsity finishing team position. Geena worked hard the entire race and finished strong down the stretch.”
Alex Norman-“...was our glue that held this team together in the early off-season training this past summer. It’s really carried over into his racing as he continues to show leadership, working with his younger teammates and making us a better more effective team in the process. Tonight’s race is just another indicator of this as he cruised to a seasonal best 5K effort and his top finish to date.”
Week 2: Bradley Park Triangular 9/10/2020
Morgan Hansmann-“...after nursing some soreness about a week ago, she looked really strong tonight! She responded to filling in for her sidelined teammate and went after it. To see her near the front in the early stages was a testament to her competitiveness and drive.”
Owen Dickrell-“...Owen finished as a varsity scorer for us and ran a PR in the process. He is gaining confidence every time he laces up his running shoes. For a freshman to be having this kind of success on a veteran team is a credit to his determination.”
Week 1: Ashland Invitational 8/27/2020
Greta Tjugum... “knocking two-minutes off of her time from last year on this course, given the challenging conditions was a credit to her off-season work ethic and determination. Greta has put herself into a top varsity scoring spot with her upper class teammates, this makes us stronger as a team this year, especially with the loss of last year’s two varsity scoring seniors. She is off to an awesome start this year.”
Noah Buckwalter... “Noah ran very patiently, never losing sight of his teammate and when the opportunity came with less than 800 meters left he reached down deep and brought it home on the final stretch to take his second title. He gained a lot of confidence in his running ability late last fall, which has carried over to this year. We have a solid 1-2 punch with Drew and him, which bodes well for us this season.”