Good vibes carry over to WHS’s first meet of the season
By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
Nobody is complaining about current head coach Chad Carstens, but Whitewater High School cross country impacted runner’s lives more than some people could ever imagine over 15 years ago when Dirk Siebold was running the program.
On Aug. 27, the depth of that impact was evident, as the Whippets held its 15th running of the Dirk Siebold Cross Country Alumni Meet, renamed to honor Siebold.
“The turnout was tremendous and there wasn’t a person that didn’t share a smile, a hand shake or hug with coach Seibold,” Carstens said. “Beyond all the championships and success that his era of coaching produced, it was the deep relationships, lasting memories, and positive mentoring that was so highly regarded by his athletes. Coach Seibold was for the athletes each and every day of his career.
“He led by example and coached every athlete to the finish line no matter what number or level of race they competed in. Coach Seibold is the reason why Whitewater Cross Country is a household name to those that know running,” Carstens said.
Seibold had his presence felt, and that clearly carried over to the alumni for the running portion of the meet, as the alumni faced off against the Whippets’ current runners. The co-ed alumni team beat the current athletes, 32-23.
The alumni women held three of the top five spots in the race, as Liz Mielke took first place, Teresa Stanley took third and Jen Taylor took fourth. The second and fifth-place spots went to current Whippets, Allisan Barrett and Nicole Tomomitsu, respectively.
For the men, Carstens said the current runners had a solid pack, running together, but the alumni were too strong at the top. Brett Harms took first, while Joel Tortomasi and Dennis Bauer earned second and fourth-place finishes, respectively.
Carstens said Siebold’s impact on the program is immeasurable.
Whippet alumni from the states of California and Georgia showed up for the meet because of Siebold. Carstens said support from parents and families, and Ken from Rocky’s with his help with lunch made the entire day run smoothly.
Whippets season starts
Following the alumni meet, one Saturday later, on Sept. 3, the Whippets began its official season with an invitational at Verona High School. The Whippets’ girls team got off to a great start according to Carstens this season, finishing in 14th out of 25 schools.
The girls were highlighted by a junior, in Barrett. Barrett ran a 19:58, which was good for eighth-place out of 167 total runners. Tomomitsu, a sophomore, finished second for the Whippets and 19th overall with her time of 20:33.
Rounding out the girls were Hailey Prager, a freshman who finished third, and Rebekah Schumacher and Maribel Alvarez, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Prager recorded a 23:20.
For the boys, Carstens called it a good start as well, considering the extremely large field of teams and runners. The Whippets took 22nd out of 25 teams and were led by junior Jacob Korf.
Korf ran a 18:21, good for 73rd-place. Just behind Korf was senior Connor Laue, who ran just three seconds slower for 76th overall.
Justin Brantmeier – another senior – and Jon Zheng ended up with the same exact time of 19:44, which was good for 135th and 136th. Nick Kuzoff rounded out the top five for the Whippets with his lifetime-best time of 20:16. Kuzoff is a sophomore.
The next meet for the Whippets is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 at Marshall High School.
