Update:

Both girls and boys cross country teams are advancing to state with the teams placing 3rd.

The boys were again led by sophomore Dax Ritchie with a 4th place and a time of 17:51.  The next finishers for the Wolverines were junior Aiden Maricle and freshman Dylan Grzywinski at 25th place and 26th place with times of 18:33 and 18:34.  Closing out the top 30 was Lukas Vetkoetter at 30th place with a time of 18:41.  Outside the top 50 were sophomores, Grayson Sursa at 51st place, Britain Chancellor at 68th place, and John Lensmeyer at 91st place with  time of 19:19, 19:38, and 20:16.

The girls were again led by freshman Sophia Altieri with a 13th place finish and a time of 22:07.  The next finishers for the wolverines were freshman Isabella Wertz and sophomore Rebekah Gould at 20th place and 21st place with times of 22:17 and 22:20.  Seniors, Emma Thomas and Shea Derheim, closed out the top 40 for the Wolverines at 29th place and 38th place with times of 22:56 and 23:12.  The last finishers for the Wolverines were juniors, Bree Grzywinski and Madelyn Schroeder at 55th place and 84th place with times of 23:53 and 24:39.

On Thursday, October 13, 2022, the Wakeland cross country team continued their district dominance at the District 9 5A Championship at Warren Park with the varsity girls, jv girls, and jv boys teams placing 1st and the varsity boys placing 2nd.  

In the varsity girls race, Sophia Altieri, Rebekah Gould, and Isabella Wertz were the first finishers, placing 3rd with a time of 19:21, 4th with a time of 19:27, and 7th with a time of 19:38.  The next finishers for the wolverines were seniors, Emma Thomas and Shea Derheim, placing 11th and 12th with times of 20:03 and 20:15.  The remaining wolverines, Madelyn Schroeder and Claire Enright, crossed the finish line at 21:36 and 22:33. 

In the jv girls race, the Wolverines had a district champion in Bree Grzywinski with a time of 21:11.  The next finisher for the Wolverines was Alexa Goldsmith with a 5th place and a time of 21:43.  The remaining top 10 finishers for the Wolverines were Avery Alonso at 7th place with a time of 21:44, Grace Coghlan at 8th place with a time of 21:46, and Kaydin Jo Hughes at 10th place with a time of 21:47.  The last scoring runners were Taylor Phan and Mekinna Schmidt at 11th place and 17th place with times of 21:48 and 22:52.  Margaret Meares and Hope Snedaker were the last top 20 finishers for the Wolverines at 18th place and 19th place with times of 23:01 and 23:03.  

In the jv boys race, sophomore duo, Grayson Sursa and Kaison Krembs, placed 1st and 2nd with times of 17:19 and 17:27.  Next, freshman Michael Boyle and sophomore Trenton Hunter crossed the finish line at 6th place and 7th place with times of 18:15 and 18:26.  Freshman Thomas Hill and senior Rajas Ketkar then closed out the top ten by placing 9th and 10th with times of 18:37 and 18:44.  The last scoring runner was senior Jackson Nodes, placing 12th with a time of 19:07.  Davis Word and Bradley Vacek then closed out the top 15, placing 14th and 15th with times of 19:14 and 19:21.

“I think [we had] a lot of squad depth this year.  That was the most instrumental thing.  We [were able to] rely on a lot of different people,” Davis Word said.

In the varsity boys race, the Wolverines were looking to reclaim the district after losing to Reedy the previous two years.  Despite coming up short, the Wolverines had two runners finish in the top three with sophomores, Dax Ritchie and Britain Chancellor, placing 2nd and 3rd with times of 15:51 and 15:52.  Next for the Wolverines, juniors, Lukas Vetkoetter and Aiden Maricle, finished 7th place and 9th place with times of 16:14 and 16:41.  Freshman Dylan Grzywinski and sophomore John Lensmeyer then crossed the finish line, placing 11th and 12th with times of 16:51 and 16:54.  The last finisher for the Wolverines was Thomas Hayes, placing 16th with a time of 17:27.  

“I think everyone did really well.  I’m pretty sure everyone ran [personal records], so it was really good,” Dax Ritchie said.

As the varsity boys look to continue improving, they will have the opportunity to avenge their  district loss in the region meet.

“Losing to them again gave us good motivation to beat them in regionals,” Ritchie said.

The Wolverines will run in the Region Two meet tomorrow morning, October 25, at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie.  Good luck runners!