By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
The Big Foot boys and girls cross country teams almost pulled off the perfect effort at Tuesday afternoon’s Rock Valley Conference South Division Meet.
But in the end, it still wasn’t too bad at all.
The boys upset heavily favored Brodhead-Juda to bring home the team title, while the girls overcame a bout of illnesses on the team to finish a strong second.
Big Foot’s boys made headlines for the night, as they tied Brodhead for the title with 46 points, but won it outright because Evan Handel had the best sixth-place finish.
Handel passed three Brodhead runners down the stretch to claim the title for the Chiefs.
“We were predicted to come in third,” Big Foot coach Tim Collins said via e-mail Wednesday morning. “Every one of our varsity boys went above and beyond all expectations.”
Fletcher Strahan led Big Foot, as he placed second in 17:03. He was followed to the finish line by Ben Lueck, ninth (18:50); Nick Migala, 10th (18:52); Travis Berryman, 12th (18:59); Raul Reyes, 13th (19:05); Handel, 16th (19:27); and Sam Van Dan, 27th (20:22).
Finishing third behind Big Foot and Brodhead in the team standings were Beloit Turner with 48 points, Clinton with 111, Parkview with 128 and Palmyra-Eagle with 151.
On the girls’ side, Beloit Turner won the title with 47 points, followed by Big Foot with 52, Brodhead-Juda with 66, Clinton with 88, Parkview with 115 and Palmyra-Eagle with 142.
Even though his team fell short of winning the title, there were plenty of positives from the girls’ effort, Collins said.
“Our girls had the unfortunate fate of illness going through the lineup,” he said. “We felt we had a good chance to win, but in cross country, you cannot take a ‘timeout’ or sub for someone.
“They gave a very gutsy performance, and I am very proud of them.”
Libby Brooks led the girls with a third-place effort in 16:59, followed by Kathryn Colby, ninth (17:51); Nicolina Falcone, 11th (18:07); Olivia Briggs, 14th (18:21); Kalen Gillingham, 15th (18:29); Carlie O’Donnell, 17th (18:47); and Kaity Woelky, 18th (19:08).
Both squads will return to action next Thursday, Oct. 10, when they compete in the Westosha Central Invitational, beginning at 4:15 p.m. Other teams scheduled to compete include East Troy, Elkhorn and Oak Creek.
