Coach pleased with performance of Whippet pair in state meet
By Adam Knoll
Sports Correspondent
Both Sarah Ziolkowski and Andrea Sandoval ran with purpose under a sunny sky Saturday at the 122nd annual WIAA State Cross Country Meet.
The day was seasonally cool, so much so that the event was pushed back an hour due to frost. Just after 3 p.m., the runners got prepared and the field got set to take off.
After leading the Whippets all season, Ziolkowski and Sandoval again ran well, with Ziolkowski taking 29th place in a time of 19 minutes, 57 seconds.
“Sarah looked poised in her second appearance in the meet and salvaged her season very well after having a tough illness that consumed her mid season,” explained coach Chad Carstens. “She is driven to come back stronger next year.”
Sandoval, in her first state meet, finished 66th place out of 152 runners to qualify. She crossed the finish line just 37 seconds after Ziolkowski, at 20:34.
“This was Andrea’s her first experience at the Ridges,” Carstens said. “It can be a very loud and intimidating experience for some but she was able to put a strong race together despite all the distractions. I am extremely proud of both these girls as they represented Whitewater well.”
Both runners have just completed their junior seasons, so the best may be on the horizon. Sandoval finished the year with first-team all-conference honors. Ziolkowski earned a second-team spot. The Whippets as a team finished second in conference behind McFarland, which ended up taking second place overall at state.
