DASH Middle School Cross Country 2022 Griffin Invite Meet Report

October 12, 2022 in Cross Country

Hello DASH families,

The 2022 DASH middle school cross country team completed their regular season last Monday in the Griffin Invite at Concordia University. The weather was cool and perfect for the athletes to cruise the 3000 meter course with plenty of scenic views of Lake Michigan along the way. We would be one of 10 very accomplished teams on hand ready to race.

Our 6th and under girls looked small going up against some unusually tall competition. Juliette Bintley led the way for our girls and moved up as the race went along to win the 8th place ribbon with a 13:30. Our young star has won an individual award every time out this year. So impressive. Lila Warner Eckley ran with a bunch of 6th graders, but she would not be left behind and she hit the finish in 14:19 to claim 13th. Claire Poludniak proved her great race from last week was no fluke as she was our third girl in with a 16:07. Rhapsody Kostrzewa has been good all season for us and she did not let us down as she came in right after Claire with a 16:15. Kessia Watkins held up very well. She loves to battle out there and I liked her 16:36 time. Lucia Budnik got out too slow, but had a very good finish to break 17 minutes with a 16:57. She paced in just ahead of Caylin McGinty who did not show us her best this time. Melody Bourne stayed competitive and clocked in at 20:30. The girls races proved to be especially tough here and we came in a solid 4th among the 10 teams.

Our 6th and under boys were next. Phillip Bintley stayed with the lead pack through the first mile and then made a move to the front in the woods giving the DASH fans plenty of excitement. Phillip showed off his smooth stride into the finish area and went on for the win with a time of 11:52. So impressive! Othniel Radtke stayed up close to the lead pack and hit the finish with a big group of guys. His kick had him claiming the 7th place ribbon. He was the first 4th and under runner in. Emmett Collier went out fast and stayed fast. He gave us his best race of the season and just missed a top-10 ribbon, taking 11th in 13:00. Ephraim Radtke had a very lackluster start, but he did move up late to finish right behind Emmett for 12th in 13:02. But we needed him to take 8th if we were going to beat Grace Lutheran who was having a big day. Dorian Budnik led a big pack of our boys through the first mile and then had his usual big finish to take 14th in 13:10. If we had ended up in a tie it would have gone in our favor. Justin Bourne stayed with Dorian to the end and had a breakout race to take 15th. He ran inspired. Reid Collier ran well at times, but did not show us his best this time. He still took 19th in 13:37. John Vogel was content to stay behind Reid the whole way and took 20th. Jubal Davis was working hard out there and was pulled along by Reid and John. He gave us a 9th guy in the top-21 with his gutsy effort. Asher Martin got into jogging mode this time and took 30th with a 14:25. Logan Varcie paced with Asher the whole way to place 31st. Matthew Vogel looked good out there. I liked his 16:15 time. Philip Caspers never really got into racing mode. It took him 18:34 to do 3000 meters. Grace Christian put 4 in the top-10 while we were putting 4 in the top-12. We needed to be at our best this time, and not this time. But you know how good a season you have had when you take 2nd, 34 points ahead of 3rd, and go away a little disappointed.

Our big girls were led by an inspired Cecilia Budnik. She likes this course and we could tell from the start that she was going to have a big day. She left all but 4 athletes behind her as she posted a fabulous 12:48 time. She was the top 7th grader in the race. Charline Radtke pushed herself pretty well this time. She did not have much kick at the end, but she held up for 19th place with a 14:26. Kennedy McGinty kept Charline in her sights the whole way to give us a much needed 14:33 for 21st. Kiera Poludniak had a good start and then toughed it out from there. She hit the finish in 15:11. We needed her to hold up and she did. And then Tesa Warner Eckley hit the finish with a WCHSA girl right behind her. We did not know it until later, but by keeping ahead of the WCHSA girl and beating her by just .25 seconds, she broke a tie for 3rd in our favor. That was the closest tiebreaker I have ever seen. Amazing! Naiya Herring struggled through the woods loop, but had a big finish clocking in at 16:16. Mary Therese Vogel pushed herself well and got through the course in a nice 18:40 time. It was nice to see the girls finish well.

We would only be running five in the 7th and 8th grade boys race so we needed to have everyone running their best. They did not disappoint. Patrick Buck was relentless and had a very big day. He won the 7th place ribbon with a 11:41, our best time of the day. Eli Collier got out fast and held up very well to claim the last top-10 ribbon. Very nicely done. Jack Buck and Noah Caspers ran together the whole way until Jack got a little ahead on a hill in the woods. Jack finished super strong and kept two Lumen Christi boys behind him at the end. He clocked in with a fast 12:43. Noah Caspers had another big day and also broke 13 minutes with a 12:54 for 22nd. Ethan Chang looked good out there and pushed himself to a 14:36. When the team scores were announced we found out we had taken 2nd, 2 point ahead of 3rd. That is what we were hoping for. It was a great effort from the boys.

Thanks to Coach Beck for being on hand helping get the athletes ready to race. He along with Noah Warner, Nathan Bourne, and Julianna Caspers helped pass out and collect the timing chips. Thanks to all of them. Thanks to the WCHSA team for inviting us to another great race. Thanks to the photographers for capturing the racing in photos. Julianna had the camera at the start and end, with Natalie Radtke taking the bulk of the photos in the middle. And thanks to the DASH fans for lining up on the course cheering the athletes on, and getting into a lot of the photos. I love seeing that. The season is over now for some of our athletes and a memorable season it was. But we do have a contingent running in Eau Claire this weekend. Let’s hope they run like champions.

Take are,
Jim Caspers

DASH Middle School Cross Country 2022 Kettle Moraine Lutheran Meet Report

October 8, 2022 in Cross Country

Hello DASH families,

The DASH middle school team was in action last Wednesday up in Jackson for the big Kettle Moraine Lutheran meet. We would be breaking the girls and boys up into varsity 2 mile, and 1.5 mile open races. And of course we would be staying late to dominate the fun run. The weather was practically perfect again. The team tent was up. The shoe tags were on. It was time to see how our stars would fare in the tough 25-team race.

The 1.5 mile girls open race was first. Claire McGinty was inspired to show us her best again. She moved into the top-10 early and proved she belonged. I love her 12:29 time which won her the 8th place ribbon. Talia Kostrzewa gave the DASH fans what they were hoping for as she donned DASH yellow for the first time since the team run. Talia showed us her nice stride and her competitiveness, keeping several of her teammates behind her to be our second girl in at 13:28. She got the 26th place ribbon. Claire Poludniak had a breakout race as she moved up through the last loop to be our third girl in at 13:34. She was one of the highlights for me and definitely earned her 31st place ribbon. Rhapsody Kostrzewa continued her big season and was the next runner in after Claire to claim the 32nd place ribbon. And Lucia Budnik followed Rhapsody in giving us our 5 girls in the top 33. With 101 girls in the race, that effort held up for 3rd overall in the team race, and the two teams ahead of us ran their full team in the open race. It was a fabulous effort from our young girls. Kayla York also held up very well and placed 44th with a 14:32. Abby Taylor had a big finish to move into 66th place with a 15:40. Mary Therese Vogel struggled some and strided in with a 16:43. She is a little better than that. Lilly York kept a pack of girls behind her at the end and finished with a 19:01.

In the boys open race we were the team to beat, and it did not take long for the boys to turn the team race into a route. Othniel Radtke ran with three 5th graders in a battle for 2nd place. He hit the finish in 5th, but showed us some nice kick to move up and claim the 3rd place medal with a 10:49 time. He will get a rematch with a couple of those boys next week. Dorian Budnik had a solid race with his usual big finish to give us a second runner in the top-10. He was clocked at 11:31. John Vogel stayed strong and moved up late to claim the 13th place ribbon. Our star 2nd grader finished in 11:45. Wow! Emmett Collier and Reid Collier came in together, and in a photo finish Emmett inched in ahead by .04 seconds for 15th place. Reid gave us a fifth runner in the top-16 and broke 12 minutes with a 11:51. So good. Logan Varcie was coaxed into going out fast and he found he liked running up with his star teammates. Logan cracked the top-20 with a 19th place 12:03 effort. We have yet another young star now. Asher Martin had another big day and gave us a 7th runner in the top-20. Logan and Varcie came in ahead of every other teams 3rd runner. We won the team race by 33 points, 88(!) points ahead of 3rd. Legendary dominance. Isaiah York also ran very well and came away with the 32nd place ribbon. Matthew Vogel hit the finish in 14:31. Philip Caspers held up much better this time and took 63rd with a 15:02. And Owen Prust broke 17 minutes with a 16:59.

In the girls varsity race, Juliette Bintley had a big second mile and move up to 10th by the finish to cross in 14:39. Her brilliant effort had her holding the 10th place medal later. Cecilia Budnik fell well off her opening mile pace and faded to 32nd with a 15:43. Lila Warner Eckley was the second 4th grader in. She stayed in racing mode and broke 16 minutes with a 15:52. She really wanted a top-40 ribbon and she did it, coming in in 34th place. Charline Radtke ran so well last Saturday that it was surprising to see her struggling to get through the last mile. She ended up in 55th place with a 17:14. Naiya Herring came in a few spots behind Charline with a 17:46. Despite not running our best we ran just good enough to finish 4th in the team scoring, coming in 3 points ahead of 6th. But it was a little disappointing. If the girls ran as well as they did last Saturday we would have come away with the 3rd place medals easily. Miriam Husz gave us her usual steady effort like I was hoping she would. She was 66th with a 18:25. Kiera Poludniak lost confidence early and coasted in with a 19:41. She will get an easier, shorter course next week to make amends.

Our varsity boys took the field next. Running no 8th graders it was hard to predict before the race if we would contenders this year or not, but the boys were definitely going to try. Patrick Buck broke away from his teammates through the last mile to post a nice 13:25 time. That put him in 16th place. As good as Patrick ran, three teams had already had two runners in. Phillip Bintley hit the finish just two spots behind Patrick with a 13:41. Phillip had come through for us in a big way once again. Eli Collier was only 12 seconds behind Phillip, but also behind a pack of guys to leave him in 24th place with a 13:53. I liked seeing our top-3 all breaking 14 minutes. Ephraim Radtke had a big last mile to move up into 27th place with a 14:04. He was ahead of all but one of the other teams 4th runners. Then it was a very short wait before seeing Noah Caspers having another big day on this course to give us a 5th runner in the top-30 with his hearty 14:19 effort. Noah was way out in front of all the other teams 5th runners. When the team scores were posted we were 2nd, and just 3 points behind 1st. That was a team effort, packing all of our top-5 guys between 16th and 30th place. We had missed 1st by just 5 seconds, and without running any 8th graders. That sounds kind of legendary too. Patrick Buck got off to a rough start, but moved up at the end to just miss a top-40 ribbon with a 14:45. Ethan Chang continues to improve and held up very well on the long course to post a 16:37. He was very happy to help the boys win the 2nd place medals.

And then we ran the fun run. I counted at least 48 DASH runners, including two dads and four moms. Abiah was the first 2 miler in ahead of Rylan. Bedalia and Ephraim came in with him after running the shorter course. Mr. Vogel showed off his running skills and was the first dad in. He made me glad I was taking the photos. Julianna was our first high school 2 miler. Othniel Radtke was our first middle school runner in, running in ahead Noah and Emmett. Charline was the first girl in practicing up for next Monday. Juliette was next. Emily Caspers won the DASH alumnus category. Mrs. York showed off her speed to be the top mom in followed by Mrs. Varcie and Mrs. Poludniak. Mrs. Collier found their pace a little too quick, but she did look like she had a lot left at the end. Serafina and Avery looked very good and made me think they should have been racing with us this year. And Hawthorn was the most photogenic as she insisted on giving me a private audition of her racing skills, and then jumped into the race twice at the end so we could get more photos of her. The fun run definitely lived up to its billing.

Thanks to Emily Caspers who helped pass out and collect the timing chips. Thanks to all the DASH fans who cheered on the athletes and then became running stars themselves in the fun run. Thanks to KML for setting up such a nice course and giving us the invitation to race. Thanks to our photographers, Natalie Radtke and Julianna Caspers for getting us a very nice set of photos. Of course, I was pressed into service myself for most of the fun run. The fall colors are out, and we are down to our last week. Monday at Concordia is where the team will be on display again. I hope to see you there.

Take care,
Jim Caspers

DASH Cross Country 2022 Prairie School Invite Meet Report

October 2, 2022 in Cross Country

Hello DASH families,

We got to see the full 2022 DASH cross country team in action last Thursday at Johnson Park in Racine. Both middle school and high school teams would be up against 10 other teams on a very tough course. But the weather was sunny and cool with very little wind. The meet started at 3 PM so I was a little nervous that we would not all arrive in time. We did have to rush to get a few bibs and shoe tags on the athletes, but everyone did eventually get to our starting box 6 in time.

The middle school girls got the day of racing started. Cecilia Budnik led our girls through the 2 mile course. Cecilia really pushed herself and ended up top-5. I like her 14:47 time. Juliette Bintley stayed steady and hit the finishing stretch running right with the other top 6th and under girl. Juliette then took off and claimed 1st place among the younger girls with an impressive 15:06 time. Naiya Herring was a highlight for us. She was relentless and handled the tough terrain like a veteran. She was 18th with a 16:38. Charline Radtke was the next girl in after Naiya, toughing out a 16:46. She is close to giving us a big race. Kennedy McGinty donned DASH yellow for the first time this year. Soccer has kept her in pretty good shape. She gave us four 7th grade girls in the top-21. Tesa Warner Eckley never got into racing mode like she can and eased in with a 17:51. Rhapsody Kostrzewa gave us a very solid effort and cracked the top-10 among the little girls with a 9th place showing. Lucia Budnik hit the finish 10 seconds later with an 18:19 giving us 3 in the top-11. And then Kessia Watkins powered her way in with a great finish breaking 19 minutes and giving us 4 of the top-12. That was almost good enough to win the little girls race. It was clinched when both Caylin McGinty and Lyla Prust hit the finish ahead of The Prairie School’s 4th runner pushing up Prairie’s score by 2 points. That left us in a tie with them, and we won the tiebreaker with the better 5th runner. So good! We got to see Khloe Watkins for the first time. She ran very well when the DASH fans were watching, but struggled in the woods and raced in with a 20:17. Mary Therese Vogel gave us a good, steady effort and was the next runner in after Khloe. Melody Bourne held up very well in her first race and clocked in with a 20:51. Our 7th and 8th grade girls place 3rd in the team standings.

Patrick Buck has really become a star now. He confidently kept up a torrid 6:36 mile pace through the hilly course to place 7th overall with a 13:12. Phillip Bintley ran a sneaky fast 13:42. He unknowingly hit the finish running alongside the other top 6th and under athlete, but the other guy came in just ahead of him. Phillip was 2nd overall, 23 seconds ahead of 3rd. Impressive. Eli Collier raced in right after Phillip to claim 12th place among the big guys. Ephraim Radtke ran strong over the long course and gave us a second runner in the top-4 with his 14:16. Jack Buck pushed himself well. He was 20th among the big guys. I like his 14:28 time. Dorian Budnik had the biggest last loop of anybody that I saw. He ran all out and moved up to 5th before he was done. He clocked in at 14:33. Othniel Radtke did not have much at the end, but he gave us a 4th runner in the top-7 as we won the 6th and under race in a route. Reid Collier battled his way to be the next little guy in after Othniel. He looked good. Noah Caspers held up well and hit the finish with Reid. He was our fourth big guy in, and our 7th and 8th graders’ effort was good for 2nd in the team scores. It was a very big day for the boys. Emmett Collier came in just 10 seconds after Noah. And then we saw Asher Martin and John Vogel coming in together running with some very tall competition. Asher and John both clocked in at 15:28 for 13th and 14th. That gave us 8 of the top 14. Ridiculously good numbers. The little guys were so fun to watch. Illes Cox had a big finish to break 16 minutes with a 15:54. He came in just ahead of Justin Bourne who held up very well in his first race of the season. Jubal Davis showed us his natural toughness out there. He was 18th with a 16:09. That gave us 9 of the top-18 in the 6th and under race for those keeping track. Logan Varcie pushed himself pretty well this time and gave us a 17:08. Ethan Chang ran in his sweatshirt and clocked in at 18:09. Matthew Vogel fell off the pace in the woods and ended up with a 18:47. And Owen Prust showed us some improvement hitting the finish in 20:39.

Julianna Caspers found some good competition to push her along this week. She paced behind some Union Grove girls from start to finish and almost caught them before settling for 6th with a 22:58. Marbella Mendez had a big day and won the 9th place medal with a 23:58. Bedalia Radtke was back with us and she ran so well that she actually pr’d on the tough course. I loved seeing her kick at the end. She was 13th with a 24:27. Angela Walters had her best race of the season taking 19th with a 27:13. Grace Caspers held down her spot well and was the next runner in after Angela with a 28:15. Emily Janes toughed out a 31:02 in her last race of the year for us. She pushed up the score on the team behind us. The girls placed 3rd in the team scores. It was a good effort.

Sam Collier kept the two lead boys in sight and was able to move up to 2nd down the home stretch. His 18:03 time on this course is really, really good. Abiah Radtke ran inspired and moved up over the last mile to win the 8th place medal with a 19:47. Andy Forget went out fast and held up well to claim the last top-10 varsity medal with a 19:50. Liam Hudson was exceptional once again and was our fourth runner in, breaking 20 minutes with a 19:57 for 12th. Aizak Schoeder had another strong showing. He led Nathanael Chu and Josiah Chu through the last half of the course, clocking in with a 20:26 for 13th. Nathanael ended up 14th and was slowed by some hip pain. Josiah gave us our whole varsity in the top-15. The varsity boys pulled out another win, coming in 14 points ahead of 2nd. Nathan Bourne was our first JV boy to the finish. He went out fast and pushed his way to personal best 21:05. He came away with the 1st place JV medal. Outstanding effort! Seth Bourne went out a little faster this time and got a nice 21:22 time for 3rd. Luke Buck was not at his very best, but was the 4th JV guy in at 22:56. Rylan Varcie pushed his personal best time down by a few seconds with a good 23:53 effort. Noah Warner Eckley and Anthony Gotcher pushed each other to some nice 24:28 times. Our whole JV team won top-10 medals. The boys are running that good.

And then the team headed off to the Janes house for the post race pizza party. That was the perfect way to cap off the great day of racing. Extra special thanks to the Janes for opening their home to us. Thanks also to Coach Beck who helped with the coaching. Thanks to the moms who helped pass out the racing bibs and shoe tags and got them on the middle schoolers in time for them to race. Thanks to the DASH fans who were everywhere and got in a lot of the photos. Thanks to The Prairie School for letting us race our whole team on the same day. And thanks to our star photographer Natalie Radtke for running around getting a whole lot of photos. She had me parsing through over 1200 photos this time. So much work, but they turned out very well. This meet report is a little late to look forward to the next middle school meet, but we do have a meet this Wednesday and it has a fun run. I hope to see you there with some running shoes.

Take care,
Jim Caspers