By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
A trip to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Country Meet seemed to be a pretty lofty goal for the East Troy boys cross country team when the 2016 campaign kicked off.
But the Trojans certainly were a determined bunch – and competing at state is just where their journey ended last week.
East Troy finished 12th in the Division 2 field Saturday at Wisconsin Rapids with 265 points to cap a successful fall campaign.
Lakeland won the state team title with 105 points, followed by Valders with 112, Wisconsin Lutheran with 114, Monroe with 117 and Dodgeville-Mineral Point with 118.
Appleton Xavier senior Luke Bailey won the individual state title in 15:44.8.
“The coaching staff was so proud of how the boys competed on Saturday,” East Troy co-head coach Michael Rajsich said. “They got overshadowed with the girls’ state title, but we were so proud of the boys.
“(They) not only had a fantastic season and exceeded expectations, but truly set new heights for the boys’ program. … They proved why they were worthy of representing themselves, the school and the community at the state meet.”
Senior Evan Harding led East Troy in 69th-place overall (17:43.4), followed by senior Nathan Mack, 81st (17:49.99); sophomore Jacob Smith, 82nd (17:50.3); sophomore Nathan Fox, 102nd (18:13.52); freshman Tommy Larson, 119th (18:31.96); freshman Calvin Collins, 127th (18:46.38); and senior Nolan Dallas, 140th (19:14.28).
The Trojans accomplished plenty in the fall, Rajsich said, as they won their first invitational in 18 years and had the highest finish ever, second, at the Rock Valley Conference Meet.
In addition, Harding and Smith earned first-team, All-RVC honors, Fox was second team and Larson was honorable mention.
Reward for four years
The state trip culminated four years with the East Troy program for Dallas.
“(He) was our only boy who ran at state that had invested four years with the program,” East Troy co-head coach Laurie Crandall said. “It was great to see him get to end his career at the state meet after four years of dedication.
“(Harding and Mack) were first-year runners who made a big impact on our team and were a large part of the team’s success this season. Evan stepped in as a first-year runner and immediately took on a leadership role. He was able to bring a high level of performance and guidance to the team, both of which helped this team succeed.”
Even though the program loses a trio of seniors in Harding, Mack and Dallas, the future appears to be a bright one, Rajsich said.
“We return four runners who competed at the state meet and have 16 of the 20 boys coming back, along with the addition of the freshmen,” he said.
“I would expect them to continue to work hard to try and compete for a conference title and hopefully a return to the state meet. It won’t be easy, but I know the coaching staff will challenge the group to be the best they can be. Losing four varsity letterwinners will be a challenge, but I know they will work hard to do it.”
Crandall agreed.
“My hopes for the boys are that they keep training hard, pushing each other to improve and they continue to be competitive,” she said. “They got a real taste for success this year, and I don’t see them being content with anything less next year.
“Two of them were in my classroom already (Monday) talking about next season and what they want to accomplish. With that type of focus, I see no reason why they can’t continue to reach their goals.”
