The Iola-Scandinavia cross-country teams turned in determined performances at the Smiley Invitational on Sept. 20 at Wausau East High School, highlighted by a top-three finish from Ben Beck in the varsity boys race.
Beck placed third overall with a time of 16 minutes, 30.6 seconds, leading the Thunderbirds to a 10th-place team finish. Prentice/Rib Lake captured the team title with 74 points, while Pacelli’s Luke Eiden won the individual crown in 16:11.0.
Rounding out Iola-Scandinavia’s varsity boys’ scorers were Henry Vater, who finished 29th in 18:05.3, and Jack Beck, who placed 43rd in 18:29.5.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Revyn Schrank paced the Thunderbirds with a 17th-place finish, clocking 20:49.3 in the varsity race. Altoona’s Abbie Hoage won the event in 19:02.9, and Kiel secured the team title with 104 points.
In junior varsity competition, Jacoby Vanderloop of Shorewood brought home an individual victory, winning the boys race in 17:24.7. Stevens Point claimed the JV boys team title with 20 points. Iola-Scandinavia also had three JV boys finishers: Brecken Stalter (310th, 24:49.8), Nikkoli Dominguez (313th, 24:56.9), and Brody Klemp (335th, 25:22.4).
The JV girls’ race was won by Gwenevere Hanson of Madison West in 20:53.2, with Madison West also taking the team title with 17 points. Iola-Scandinavia’s Lucy Bertsch placed 273rd with a time of 33:09.7.