Oriole varsity cross country is headed to state!

Competing at the Colby Sectional on Saturday, Oct. 24, the Stanley-Boyd girls team along with John Smit and Hunter Ogle from the boys team qualified for state competition. This marks the third time for the girls team to advance to the WIAA Division 3 State Cross Country Championships in school history, joining previous qualifying teams from 1984 and 2011. Eight Division 3 sectional meets were held Saturday, featuring a combined 107 complete teams competing for 16 spots at the state championships. Stanley-Boyd earned one of those coveted berths, placing the team among the top 16 Division 3 girls teams in Wisconsin.

Finishes for the girls on Saturday included Vaida Chwala coming in with 13th and a time of 21:27.2, followed by Mariah Wehling with 14th and a time of 21:27.8. Aaliyah Prissel finished 29th with a time of 22:50.6, while Haylee Shakal finished 31st with a time of 22:52.3. Lucy Wundrow finished 45th with a time of 23:40.7, Lillian Fitzl finished 64th with a time of 25:04.7, and Edlyn Wundrow finished 72nd with a time of 25:43.8.

As for Ogle and Smit, they had to finish among the top five eligible individuals at their sectional meet, with Ogle running a time of 17:48 to place fifth for the boys while Smit finished eighth with a time of 17:55. Across Wisconsin, 944 boys competed in Division 3 sectional races Saturday, with only 40 advancing individually to state, five from each of the eight sectionals.

Other finishes from the boys team at Colby on Saturday include Cameron Natzke with 33rd and a time of 19:24, Seth Lilla in 68th with a time of 21.:04.5, Zander Kelly with 69th and a time of 21:07.9, Finnegan Cody with 74th and a time of 21:39.5, and Logan Stuttgen with 87th and a time of 22:38.

Coach Nick Mahr shared more after results.

“The Orioles girls cross country team qualified for the WIAA State Championships,” he said. “They will be joined by Hunter Ogle and John Smit who both qualified as individuals in the boys race.

:At the Sectional competition on October 24 the girls needed to finish in the top two out of twenty-three teams to earn their state birth. They finished with a team score of 111. This put them second behind Auburndale, 99 points, and in front of Stratford, 124 points, and Cochrane-Fountain City, 128 points.

“Stanley-Boyd’s five scoring runners were Vaida Chwala 13th, Mariah Wehling 14th, Aaliyah Prissel 29th, Haylee Shakal 31st, and Lucy Wundrow 45th. Other varsity runners competing Saturday were Lillian Fitzl 64th and Edlyn Wundrow 72nd. There were 115 total finishing runners. Junior Varsity runners not competing at Sectionals were Koraline Pennala, Mayah Mahr, and Annalyse Kramschuster.

“This is the first time the girls team has qualified for the state meet since 2011.

“On the boys side the team finished fifth overall behind Marathon, Stratford, Luther, and Auburndale. Despite this good finish they  did not qualify to compete as a team at state but Hunter Ogle and John Smit qualified as individuals. To qualify as individuals they needed to be one of the top five finishers not on a qualifying team. Hunter Ogle was fifth overall. John Smit was eighth overall but three of the runners in front of him were from the champion team from Marathon, so John was the fifth qualifying individual.

“The last Stanley-Boyd boy to qualify for the state meet was Lucas Walker in 2023.

“The girls will race at noon and the boys at 2pm on Saturday October 31 in Wisconsin Rapids Ridges Golf Course.”