Taylor Mair of the Elkhorn Area High School girls cross country team made the best of a mess Saturday at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 State Cross Country Championships at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.
“Taylor capped off her impressive high school cross country career with a great effort in difficult conditions,” Elks coach Randi Wulf said. “I have been very fortunate to have had Taylor on our team for the last four years.”
Mair, a senior, finished the five-kilometer course 130th out of 190 runners in 20 minutes, 54 seconds. Eau Claire Memorial’s Aubrey Roberts won the Division 1 girls race in 17:49.
Mair ran in the third of the day’s six races on the course. Wulf said conditions were poor due to rain.
“It rained most of the night before and all day of the meet,” Wulf said. “We knew conditions were going to be a challenge and Taylor was ready and felt good going into the race.”
Wulf said times were 30 to 60 seconds slower than usual because of the rain, which led to muddy course conditions.
“Taylor said she felt great for the first half of the race,” Wulf said. “As she got down into the lower, muddier sections of the course it was much more difficult.”
Mair qualified for state Oct. 24 at the WIAA Division 1 Watertown Sectional Meet at Watertown High School. Mair finished the five-kilometer course in 20:40 and finished eighth overall.
The top two teams and top five runners not members of one of the top two teams advanced from the sectional to the state meet.
Mair advanced to state as the fifth qualifier, and edged Kettle Moraine’s Jessie Braun by 12 seconds for the final individual qualifier spot. Braun finished 10th (20:52).
“Taylor managed to run just 14 seconds slower (at state) than her strong sectional time, so I was very happy with her performance,” Wulf said. “Taylor ran well at state.”
The course at Ridges is difficult and hilly, and fills with traffic. In addition to individual qualifiers, numerous runners race in a pack for higher team scores, and attempt to keep other runners from getting through.
Mair also qualified for state as a junior. She completed the five kilometer course in 20:17 and placed 106th in a field of 185 runners last season.
“She is a hard worker, very dependable, and is a great teammate,” Wulf said. “Taylor will be a welcome addition to whichever college cross country program she decides to run with.”
At Rapids, Eau Claire Memorial won the Division 1 girls team state title and Oshkosh Lourdes Academy won the Division 3 girls title.
Kimberly won the Division 1 boys state title and Darlington won the Division 3 boys state title.
Pewaukee won the Division 2 state titles in both boys and girls competition.
