Post Messenger Recorder -

Aaron Rodgers: Quarterback: Green Bay Packers, Kyle Hendricks: Pitcher: Chicago Cubs, LeBron James: Guard: Cleveland Cavaliers. Big name athletes enjoy the spotlight. What about the other team members who support them, the ones who allow them to be stars? When do they get their moment in the spotlight? Answer: Saturday morning in Fennimore, Wisconsin. Yes, at the Golden Eagle Cross Country Relays all of the seventh position runners, athletes who normally fight each other at the back of the pack, take off for their chance to win a race. And who might that be? New Glarus-Monticello's Rudy Wicker (20:20) wins by twenty seconds! Sixth runner, Dane Duerst (20:23), places third in his race. Kellan Zweifel (20:42), our fifth fastest, ends up in fifth place. Joe Quaglia (21:11) crosses the line mid-pack among the team fourth position guys, Garrett Grossen (20:39) also ends up mid-pack, among third spot boys. Our second fastest, Adam Nelson (19:51), holds his own with an equal number of competitors ahead of him and behind. The temperature climbs into the 80s for the last race of the day. Our fastest guy, Conor McCoy (18:44), handles the heat, humidity and hills to again lead our team and place 7th among the fastest athletes chosen among the 16 teams.

When the five fastest times are added together (not the usual way to score a meet) our NGM Varsity Boys end up 8th of the 16 teams.

Injuries whittle our varsity girls down to five runners today. Sophomore Molly Molencamp posts a 26:12 on the 5K course as our fastest runner. The girls defeat the Wazeka-Steubin team by five minutes.

By the time the awards ceremony occurs, the sun is directly overhead. We sit in the shade waiting to see how we've done and snack on Rice Krispie bars. We've almost forgotten about the first race of the day with our Junior Varsity boys. As they call up Robert Burt (21:38) for third place, then Ty Ready (20:24) for first, we realize that Ryan Austin (22:57) Griffin Ness (23:10), Desi Delforge (23:14), Eric Zielinski (24:59), Lucas Fink (25:03), Tristin Flanagan (25:28) and Keegan Kemp (31:23) need to prepare for an appearance down front. Scores for fifteen teams are read aloud and then the New Glarus-Monticello Junior Varsity Boys! The youngsters scramble up to receive their first place trophy.

Next Saturday the NGM'ers head to the UW-Platteville Campus for a cooler race on fast pathways. The dedicated cross country course attracts many southwestern Wisconsin teams making this one of the premier races of the season.