We can celebrate the fact that we ran a good solid race and only 6 teams in our state finished ahead of us. All of our guys ran times close to their season average and our 16:50 team average was close to our season average of 16:47. In the 22 times we have run the state meet on this course we have only finished with a faster average 8 times. The state meet has been run here for the past 24 years and during that time 7 teams have won the meet with a slower average than the one we ran today.
I've been following progress of the Stevens Point Area Cross Country team all season at SPASH CC- coach Donn Behnke, a teammate of mine at UW-Stevens Point, has established somewhat of a dynasty with 9 Wisconsin state titles and 6 runner-up finishes. Check out the JV results, and you'll see how Donn is able to reload and stay competive year in and year out. The depth is amazing! The JV team has won every Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC) meet since 1977! The varsity lost once- in 1987, and I think that is the year Donn did not coach.
This year SPASH finished 7th at the state meet- almost a disppointment by SPASH standards, but the future looks bright.
Only Madison West and LaCrosse Logan had better 6th runners than Hatton.
Only Madison West, Logan, and Marquette had better 7th runners than Hansen.
Arrowhead’s average time of 16:09 is the best average ever on this course. The previous record was set in 2008 when we averaged 16:23 for 1st, and Madison West 16:21 for 2nd.
Despite running an average time of 21 seconds faster Arrowhead scored only 11 fewer points than last year, an indication of the quality of the field and the fact that 8 of the top 10 runners were members of qualifying teams.
We are one of only 5 teams to return 6 runners for next season.
Of the 9 teams that return at least 5 runners we have the lowest point total (after removing seniors) with 103, Logan is next with 110, and then Waukesha South with 154.
Of the teams with 4 returners Logan has the best total with 64, we have 66.
Of the teams with 3 returners Arrowhead has the best total with 33, we have 36, Craig 39, and Logan 40.
Any high school coaches out there looking to see how it's done can start by surfing through SPASH CC
Showing posts with label Stevens Point Area High School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stevens Point Area High School. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Friday, October 23, 2009
A High School Cross Country Team with a Rich Tradition
Recently I've been following the progess of the Stevens Point Area High School (SPASH) boys cross country team (spashcc.com). Coached by one of my former college teammates Donn Behnke, SPASH has been one of the most consistently ranked teams of any sport in Wisconsin state history.
Since he began coaching in 1977, Behnke's teams have won 9 Wisconsin state titles and finished runner up 6 times. Only twice have they not gone to state. They've also won the conference meet 32 times in 33 years.
I like the way Donn maintains his team website, providing a nice weekly summary of how his kids ran (his program includes 100 boys including varsity and jv, give or take), and how he keeps track of average team and individual times.
Donn has produced some outstanding runners over the years including 21 individual conference champions, at least 3 state champions that I can remember including Pete Skorseth, Keith Hanson, and Chris Solinsky (Solinsky and Hanson both went on to become NCAA champions). I still remember the controversy surrounding Hanson snubbing the University of Wisconsin's partial scholarship offer despite running a 8:54 two mile reportedly because Dan McClimon, the Badger coach at the time, thought Hansen had been running too many miles under Donn. Hansen chose Marquette instead, a school not exactly known for distance running, and went on to become an NCAA champion in the 10,000 meters and a 3-time All American in cross country. Ironic, because one thing I learned from Donn was the value of running slow. His kids may run some miles, but I guarantee not too many of them are run hard.
One of the reasons behind Donn's success is his ability to start them young. His junior varsity hasn't lost a conference championship meet in 33 years, and routinely his JV kids can run varsity for any other school. The depth of his program is amazing.
Finally, I like the fact that I'm seeing familiar names popping up from the old days-kids of Donn's former runners. I see Wayne Solinsky, Chris's dad, took 3rd in the 1978 conference meet, finishing right behind Ray Przybelski (I assume with a name like Przybelski, Ray is related to this year's Valley Conference champ Paul Przybelski). I also spotted the name of an up and coming freshman in northern Wisconsin by the name of Page Skorseth (any relation to Pete?).
Finally, there is also Megan Duwell, an All-American and 10,000 Big Ten Champ who runs for Minnesota and happens to be Donn's neice (John Duwell, Megan's father, is married to Lynn, Donn's sister- and John was also a teammate of mine at UW-Stevens Point).
Stay tuned for the remainder of the year. Donn's teams have a history of running well when it counts, and even though they've been beaten this year, currently they are again ranked number 1 and poised for a run at another state title(Wisconsin cross country rankings)
Since he began coaching in 1977, Behnke's teams have won 9 Wisconsin state titles and finished runner up 6 times. Only twice have they not gone to state. They've also won the conference meet 32 times in 33 years.
I like the way Donn maintains his team website, providing a nice weekly summary of how his kids ran (his program includes 100 boys including varsity and jv, give or take), and how he keeps track of average team and individual times.
Donn has produced some outstanding runners over the years including 21 individual conference champions, at least 3 state champions that I can remember including Pete Skorseth, Keith Hanson, and Chris Solinsky (Solinsky and Hanson both went on to become NCAA champions). I still remember the controversy surrounding Hanson snubbing the University of Wisconsin's partial scholarship offer despite running a 8:54 two mile reportedly because Dan McClimon, the Badger coach at the time, thought Hansen had been running too many miles under Donn. Hansen chose Marquette instead, a school not exactly known for distance running, and went on to become an NCAA champion in the 10,000 meters and a 3-time All American in cross country. Ironic, because one thing I learned from Donn was the value of running slow. His kids may run some miles, but I guarantee not too many of them are run hard.
One of the reasons behind Donn's success is his ability to start them young. His junior varsity hasn't lost a conference championship meet in 33 years, and routinely his JV kids can run varsity for any other school. The depth of his program is amazing.
Finally, I like the fact that I'm seeing familiar names popping up from the old days-kids of Donn's former runners. I see Wayne Solinsky, Chris's dad, took 3rd in the 1978 conference meet, finishing right behind Ray Przybelski (I assume with a name like Przybelski, Ray is related to this year's Valley Conference champ Paul Przybelski). I also spotted the name of an up and coming freshman in northern Wisconsin by the name of Page Skorseth (any relation to Pete?).
Finally, there is also Megan Duwell, an All-American and 10,000 Big Ten Champ who runs for Minnesota and happens to be Donn's neice (John Duwell, Megan's father, is married to Lynn, Donn's sister- and John was also a teammate of mine at UW-Stevens Point).
Stay tuned for the remainder of the year. Donn's teams have a history of running well when it counts, and even though they've been beaten this year, currently they are again ranked number 1 and poised for a run at another state title(Wisconsin cross country rankings)
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