Swatek and Mattei lead varsity runners
Tesa Barney (left) of Wisconsin Dells High School paces herself with a competitor from River Valley at the Reedsburg Invite Saturday.
By Jim den Hollader
All things considered, the Wisconsin Dells High School varsity cross country team enjoyed a fine day at the annual Reedsburg Invitational event on Saturday. Held at the Hartje Conservation Area on the outskirts of town, the annual Reedsburg Invite is annually one of the tougher events on the schedule. Add to that, a pair of key absences from the varsity teams and the fourth place finish by the girls and sixth by the boys teams look pretty darn good. Stacey Swatek picked up the best local result, finishing atop the list of 'Small School' competitors in the varsity girls event when she took the team in 16-minutes flat. Competitors ran together, but at the finish line were split into 'Large' and 'Small' School divisions. Overall, Swatek, a Dells sophomore, was edged in a thrilling sprint to the finish line by Dakota Goodman, a competitor her and junior Taylor Hickey last tangled with at the Westfield Invitational. Hickey unfortunately had to run in the junior varsity event at Reedsburg and showed no ill effects from a minor injury that kept her on the sidelines at Ripon a week earlier. Sophomore Tesa Barney was the next finisher for the Chiefs, placing 19th in the division with a time of 19:09, just 17 seconds and two positions in front of freshman teammate Theresa Madland. Senior Nicole Yazzie crossed the line 27th in 20:17 with senior Katie Gnadt 36th in 21:54. Beth Bergstrom, another senior finished 41st in 22:35 and senior Alisha Miller was 44th with a time of 24:30. For the boys, Max Mattei ran near the front of the pack for his division, the Dells' sophomore crossing the line eighth in the Small Division in 19:13, good enough for eighth spot. Mattei missed a top five position in the division by just seven seconds. Jered Funmaker, a Dells' junior who normally finishes close to Mattei in both events was unfortunately absent from this meet as well and junior Dakota Grimsled continued his steady progress, crossing the line in 20:07, in 18th spot. The rest of the Chiefs runners finished close together, beginning with sophomore David Biffert who crossed the line in 22 minutes even, in 38th spot. Freshman Billy Dani was 15 seconds and one position behind with juniors Chad Marthaler and Jason Leege crossing together in 22:30 and Joe Trojan rounding out the team in 22:51. As a team, the girls finished fourth with 98 points and a total combined time of 1:36.46, actually a minute quicker than the Brookwood team which finished third with 92 points. The boys finished sixth overall with a combined time of 1:46.05, just three points and one minute overall, behind fifth place River Valley. Reedsburg Invitational Meet September, 27, 2008 Team Results Girls Large School Teams: Reedsburg 39 (1:21:51); Baraboo 49 (1:22:57); Sun Prairie 71 (1:26:10); Port Washington 79 (1:26:46); Tomah 131 (1:39:04); Portage 137 (1:43:15). Girls Small School Teams: Evansville 40 (1:30:09); River Valley 64 (1:32:01); Brookwood 92 (1:37:53); Wisconsin Dells 98 (1:36:46); Wisconsin Heights 104 (1:39:26); Iowa Grant 119 (1:41:13); Hillsboro 173 (1:59:04). WDHS Runners: 1. Stacey Swatek (16:00); 19. Tesa Barney (19:09); 21. Theresa Madland (19:26); 27. Btittany Yazzie (20:17); 36. Katie Gnadt (21:54); 41. Beth Bergstrom (22:35); 44. Alisha Miller (24:30). Boys Large School Teams: Sun Prairie 38 (1:28:27); Portage 77 (1:32.:45); Baraboo 81 (1:33:18); Sparta 86 (1:33:40); Reedsburg 105 (1:36:19); Tomah 131 (1:38:36). Boys Small School Teams: Brookwood 31 (1:34:37); Hillsboro 55 (1:37:07); Wisconsin Heights 75 (1:39:11); Evansville 83 (1:39:56); River Valley 134 (1:45:06); Wisconsin Dells 137 (1:46:05); Riverdale 195 (1:56:56). WDHS Runners: 8. Max Mattei (19:13); 18. Dakota Grimsled (20:07); 38. David Biffert (22:00); 39. Billy Dani (22:15); 40. Chad Marthaler (22:30); 41. Jason Leege (22:30); Joe Trojan (22:51).