By David Paulsen
Sports Correspondent
Two Whitewater High School cross country runners punched their ticket to state last Saturday at the Whitewater WIAA Division 2 sectional held at UW-Whitewater.
Senior Brett Harms and sophomore Sarah Ziolkowski will represent the Whippet runners at the WIAA State Cross Country Championships held at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids Saturday, Nov. 2.
The girls’ race kicks off at 12:05 p.m., with the boys’ race to follow at 1:40 p.m.
The Whippet girls fell just short of a trip to state, finishing third just eight points behind second-place Deerfield. Pewaukee won the sectional with 70 points, with Deerfield second with 108. Whitewater had 116.
“The girls’ team was met by two programs that ran spectacular races,” head coach Chad Carstens said. “The girls ran very well, but just didn’t have enough to make up the eight-point difference. They gave it everything they had and on this day, two other teams were just a bit better.”
Ziolkowski, who narrowly missed a trip to state last year as a freshman, finished fourth overall. She was clocked in 15 minutes 43.6 seconds over the 4,000-meter girls’ course.
Harms, for the third year in a row, won sectional with a time of 16:54.7 over the 5,000-meter boys’ course. It is Harms’ fourth trip to state.
“He was in control the entire race and is eager to lace them up one more time,” Carstens said.
For the Whippet girls, senior Liz Mielke trailed Ziolkowski by 44 seconds, finishing 16th overall in 16:27.3. Sophomore Andrea Sandoval was 18th in 16:29.2, sophomore Abby King 34th in 16:55.3 and senior Stephanie Brown 44th in 17:25.9.
The other two Whippet girls who competed at sectional were sophomore Holly Hough (17:38.6) and freshman Rebekah Schumacher (18:00.5).
Junior James Ehlen suffered the same hard-luck fate that Ziolkowski faced last year. He was the sixth fastest runner in the boys’ race, which meant he failed to qualify for state by one position. The top five runners at each sectional from non-qualifying teams also qualify for state.
Ehlen finished 11th overall in 18:05.9.
“Ehlen ran so tough,” Carstens noted. “However, our hearts are heavy for James, like the girls’ (team), as he was the first one to not make the state meet.”
Junior Jon Zimdars was 15th overall in 18:21.6.
“Jon and James will be the face of the program next year as seniors and this was a great day for them to cap off their junior campaign and stay hungry for next year,” Carstens said.
The Whippet boys also finished third overall, but were 47 points behind second-place Pewaukee. Catholic Memorial , with 71 points, and Pewaukee, with 74, advanced to state. Whitewater had 121 points.
Coming in behind Harms, Ehlen and Zimdars were senior Ryan Anderson (42nd, 19:30.9), and junior Jason Shelbourn (55th, 20:00.3).
The other two Whippet boys who competed were senior Scott Zahn (20:24.8) and junior Wentao Guo (20:43.1).
“Overall, it was a great meet effort-wise for the team, but when they fall short of a goal it sometimes clouds how well they actually performed,” Carstens added. “A runner-up finish for the boys at the conference meet, and the girls winning the 12th conference title in program history, is nothing to be ashamed of combined with other trophies and medals earned throughout the season.”
