Bluejay runners hit accelerator at Pines invitational

Several members of the Three Lakes-Phelps varsity cross country team had standout races last Tuesday at the Northland Pines Invitational, including another second-place medal finish for Nolan Waltz, and additional top-ten medal runs for Rylee Glembin and Ethan Potrykus.

Other Bluejays hitting the accelerator were Abby Raddatz, Madelynn Hanneman, Mikayla Corbett, and Raqual Gebele who clocked in with their best race times of the season.

“It was an exciting event for our team,” Bluejays head coach Laurie Levandoski said after the final race. “There were so many good stories out there today as the kids have been improving week after week, which is great as we head into conference and sectional competitions.” According to the coach, many of the runners have been improving because they have been writing down goals before each meet.

“We found that putting goals in writing helps our kids to focus, not only on times, but mental toughness as well,” said Levandoski. “A frequent goal has been for the runner to have a strong finish and to not lose their focus during a race. I am excited to see our athletes discover this aspect of racing, especially the younger runners.”

Waltz led the team with his 5,000-meter race time of 16:26 just behind the overall boys winner, Taylor Karcz of Crandon High School, who punched in a time of 16:01. Karcz is one of the top runners in the state and Levandoski says it is good experience for Waltz to face high-level challengers.

“Nolan thrives on tough competition so any time he can toe the line with Taylor is a good opportunity for him,” said Levandoski.

Potrykus earned a sixth-place medal with a career best time of 17:25 beating his previous best by 15 seconds. Potrykus was a state qualifier last season and is expected to compete in the conference championship race scheduled later this week but will be unable to qualify for the state championship race due to a prior commitment to compete in Romania for a World Pankration competition.

Rounding out the boys race was Cohen Welsh who made a top-20 finish of 18:37 followed by Wyatt Gebele, who finished in the second half of the pack with a completion time of 25:43.

In the girls 5K race, Glembin joined many of her teammates by running a personal best time which earned her a third top-10 medal of the season at 21:25, followed by Erica Stauffer and Sophie Nafziger who finished in the top-15 of the girls field with race times of 22:20 and 22:48.

“Rylee shined today in the girls race,” Levandoski said. “And coach (Nathan) Koch and I strongly feel that she has more to give in the next two weeks. Erica and Sophie were also bright spots for the team running gutsy races and coming within a minute each of getting their own medals.”

Raddatz, Hanneman, Corbet and Raqual Gebele finished with their fastest times of the year at 24:41, 25:20, 27:27 and 37:41. The balance of Bluejays in the girls race was Melanie Stauffer crossing the line at 27:05 and Annabella Steinbach at 27:56, while Hailey Koepp withdrew early in the race due to illness.

In middle school competitions, Charlie Welsh, Matthew Potrykus and Bekah Koch earned medals while the boys team collectively finished in second place.

Levandoski says she enjoys the friendly competition with the younger racers, particularly with Welsh and Potrykus who typically finish within seconds of each other, while earning multiple medals.

“Their races are always up for grabs and it’s a fun way for them to push each other on the course,” she said.

The next meet for the Bluejays will take place this Thursday, October 17, at 4:00 p.m. with a conference championship event hosted by Pembine High School taking place at Lake Lundgren Bible camp.

This will be the final meet of the year for the middle school runners and will be followed up on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 10:30 a.m. for varsity sectional championship races at Colby High School.