In a late-week adjustment due to Saturday’s storms, the St. Cat’s Invite was moved up a day and raced on Friday. With just two days of recovery following Tuesday’s strong race day, the Whippets wrapped up a very good week of racing on the prestigious course at UW–Parkside.
With good temperatures and a mild breeze, the girls took to the course first on Friday evening and continued to show strong improvement and consistency.
Virginia Nelson once again led the way, finishing 37th out of 250 runners. Her time was 22:19. Her consistency from race to race will continue to pay dividends as the season progresses. Melody Smith had a particularly strong day in her return to the lineup, running 23:00 and finishing 62nd. She was just seconds off her lifetime best on a challenging Parkside course.
Ema Aranda followed with a 23:43, good for 81st. Peyton Comfort continued her impressive consistency, running her second race of the week within 10 seconds of her Tuesday performance. She finished 153rd in 26:28. Madelyn Taylor recorded a season-best time of 27:00 to place 165th, while Liz Ramirez continued her improvement by cutting 25 seconds off her lifetime best, finishing in 31:34 and placing 220th.
As a team, the girls finished 15th out of 32 teams.
The boys turned in a similarly strong effort, with much of the team finishing just off their times from Tuesday despite racing on a more difficult course. Several runners also managed to set personal bests.
Tyler Carollo continues to lead the Whippets with one consistent and reliable performance after another. He finished 66th out of 328 runners with a time of 18:48.
Marcus Roe and Marcus Roselle continued to push each other throughout the race as Whitewater’s second and third runners. Roe finished 157th in 20:18, while Roselle was right behind him in 168th at 20:28.
Wyatt Esch turned in another solid race, running 21:27 for 215th. Angel Kilar was one of the day’s standout performers and came through as Whitewater’s fifth and final varsity scorer. Angel ran a lifetime best of 21:41, continuing to close the gap on Wyatt and giving the team another runner capable of contributing to the varsity lineup as the season progresses.
Preston Miller finished 259th in 22:36. Jameson Rothwell and Carson Miller battled stride for stride all the way to the finish, with Jameson edging Carson by just one-tenth of a second. Rothwell ran 22:56.1, while Miller finished in 22:56.2. That razor-thin finish earned Jameson the final varsity spot for next week’s race in Janesville.
Hunter Runnoe continues to put together strong races in his first season with the team, setting another lifetime best by six seconds and finishing 289th in 23:38. Horatio Nelson placed 309th in 24:26, while Ian Agen finished 340th in 28:06.
The varsity boys finished 25th out of 36 teams competing.
After two races in one week, the Whippets now get some time to recover, train, and prepare for their next opportunity: the Janesville Midwest Invitational on Saturday, September 26.
Full results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/276803/info
Article and Photos Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
