By Adam Knoll
Sports Correspondent
While the Lady Whippets cross country team as a whole did not qualify for state after earning a fourth place finish overall at the sectional meet last week, two local runners did.
Sarah Ziolkowski took third place overall at sectionals with a time of 19:53, earning her a slot at state for the second time. Whitewater’s Andrea Sandoval also qualified for state with a sixth place finish at 20:32, her first trip to the big gig.
“Sarah looked like the runner of old pressing her way to third place,” head coach Chad Carstens said. “Andrea makes her first by finishing in the final individual spot. They both were very driven to accomplish their goal to run at state. Intense and continued summer training shined through in their strong performances.”
Allisan Barrett missed out on qualifying by a mere three spots, finishing in ninth with a time of 21:11. With three top 10 finishers, things were looking up for the team however, the next Whitewater runner didn’t cross the finish line until 35th place by Abby king followed by a 71st place finish by Rebekah Schumacher, both respectable finishes in a strong field.
The Whippet boys struggled as a team at sectionals, coming in eighth, and unfortunately, no individual runners earned the chance to move on.
Jon Zidmars and James Ehlen came in 13th and 15th respectively with the next Whippet to cross the finish line being Jimmy King in 37th, only 49 seconds behind Ehlen, proving what a strong field showed up at the sectional meet.
Whitewater followed up with finishes at 60th and 65th places, putting the boys out of contention early but Carstens was not disappointed in them at all.
“Jon (Zidmars) put himself in a great position throughout the race but just didn’t quite have enough to stay with a Beloit Turner runner. James Ehlen looked the best he has in weeks as he recovered from his hip injury,” Carstens said.
“The season was a success on many levels and the team will celebrate Sarah and Andrea’s efforts next weekend as they run Whippet Strong,” he added.
