The Three Lakes-Phelps cross country team celebrated last Saturday at the WIAA D3 sectional race at Rosholt High School, as senior Nolan Waltz and sophomore Bekah Koch qualified as individuals for the state meet this coming weekend at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.
This was a big day for many racers, but it also gave the full Bluejay girls’ team a chance to advance as a group to the state meet for a second consecutive season. That almost happened, with the team totaling 86 points for third place. That was just six points off second-place finisher Rosholt, who took the final team qualifying spot.
Koch led the Bluejay pack in an effort to claim that second-place team spot with a fifth-place finish at 20:28. Her time was third in terms of athletes not on a state qualifying team.
“Bekah ran a stellar race today, and toggled positions with a pack of other top runners just behind the front three girls,” said Three Lakes Head Coach Laurie Levandoski about her sophomore runner. “The amount of determination that went into her race today was exactly what we needed for her to make a trip back to Wisconsin Rapids. She definitely had nothing left when she crossed the final mat, and we couldn’t have asked for a better race.”
Other runners who finished for Three Lakes-Phelps included junior Erica Stauffer, who grabbed 20th at 21:51. Classmate Rylee Glembin finished a few positions behind that in 22nd out of 81 with a time of 22:15.
“Our girls ran some of their best races but, in the end, Rosholt snuck their top five runners in before we could do the same, narrowly edging us,” she stated.
On the other side, Waltz qualified for his fourth state appearance for the fall cross country season in as many years. The senior did what he did much of the year during the sectional meet and grabbed an early lead. He crossed the finish line well ahead of the rest of the field at 16:06.
“Nolan’s times have been inching their way down the last few weeks just in time for his biggest race of the season,” Coach Levandoski mentioned.
Waltz is coming off a great season and a runner-up finish from the 2025 state meet. He has two top-10 finishes to his credit at the biggest cross country meet of the season.
Like much of the season, freshman Jaymz Comella and senior Wyatt Gebele joined Waltz at the starting line and finished their seasons with times of 24:32 and 25:56, respectively.
Waltz and Koch now look ahead to the 114th running of the WIAA State Cross Country Championships at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids this Saturday, Oct. 31. The D3 girls’ race is set for 12 p.m. and the boys’ race is at 2 p.m. Ticket information and full schedules can be found on the WIAA website.
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