Slinger, WI – The Slinger girls cross country team won the WIAA Division 1 state title over the weekend. The team received a police escort as they arrived at the high school late Saturday surrounded by an entourage of elated friends, fans, and family.
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The girls participated in a challenging 5K (3.5mi) race in Wisconsin Rapid and finished atop the podium at the WIAA D1 State meet.
Sophomore Piper Schuster it’s just so crazy to think we’re state champions. “If you would have told me two years ago, we would be state champions, I would have never believed it,” she said. “I’m just so proud of the entire team.”
The Owls were led by 1st team All-Conference sophomore Schuster, who crossed the finish line in 18 minutes 45.1 seconds.
Violet Schulteis said this really makes for a great senior year. “It shows that all our hard work and dedication this season really did pay off,” she said.
Co-head coach Terry Krall who has been in track and field for 50+ years was elated at finally taking home a state title. “This is a real special team,” he said. “I never thought I’d experience a state championship and now I know what it feels like.”
There was a huge contingent of fans from Slinger on hand to cheer the Owls.
“When I finished, we were all bawling our eyes out – it was just an unreal moment,” said Bailey Schmoldt. “We had so many fans, it was so loud. We just all wanted to win and support each other.”
The boys, Malachi Kurth and Reed Grotenhuis, finished 18th and 32nd. The senior Kurth crossed the finish in 16:07.4 and Grotenhuis, a sophomore, finished not far behind at 16:23.5.
The winner of the D1 boys race was junior Manny Putz of Onalaska who ran at a 4:52-mile pace and finished in 15:05.8.
The school is planning an all-school celebration on Friday.
Boys cross country final 2023Below is the article prior to the team’s departure on Friday.
October 28, 2023 – Slinger, WI – A big sendoff in the Slinger School District as two boys and the entire girls’ cross-country team participate in the WIAA State cross country meet in Wisconsin Rapids.
Slinger girls are all racing because they qualified as a team taking 1st place.
The girls are SECTIONAL CHAMPS and Piper Schuster is the INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL CHAMP.
You’ll be able to get LIVE updates on Saturday via PTTiming: https://pttiming.com/results-current.php
Click HERE to read more about how this year’s field measures up.
