The Altoona cross country teams concluded their 2007 season on Saturday at the WIAA Division 2 sectional competition in Black River Falls.
Rebecca Weinmeister was the top finisher for the Railroaders, placing 69th in the girls’ race with a time of 20:30. Katie Hanson followed with an 84th-place time of 21:36, while Kate Gessert finished in 22:48, good for 91st.

Keely Rubash of Mauston won the girls’ race, leading the Golden Eagles to a team victory and a berth at state. West Salem also advanced to state by finishing second as a team.

On the boys’ side, Jonathan Vollmer finished 99th in 21:37, while Ryan Hanson recorded a time of 22:23, Jake Wayne 22:47, and Tyler Hinnendael 26:10. Marcus Aumann of Loyal/Greenwood won the race, but it was Nekoosa/Port Edwards and Medford earning the state bids.

A recap of the team’s season will appear in next week’s edition of the Star.

The Altoona cross country team competed Saturday at the Cloverbelt Conference meet in Loyal.

Rebecca Weinmeister led the Altoona girls with a 42nd place finish, recording a time of 19:17. Katie Hanson placed 60th in 20:18 while Kate Gessert’s time of 20:56 was good for 63rd in the 4,000-meter race.

Kayla Dahl of Chippewa Falls McDonell won the race, with Eau Claire Regis claiming the team title .

On the boys’ side, Jonathan Vollmer placed 58th in 21:34, while Ryan Hanson crossed the finish line nine seconds later to take 62nd. Jake Wayne’s time of 22:38 placed him 71st, and Tyler Hinnendael finished 81st on the 5,000-meter course.

Marcus Aumann won the race, helping propel Loyal-Greenwood to the team championship.

“Times were pretty good considering how wet and sloppy the course was,” said coach Nate Jackson.

The Railroaders were again unable to field a full varsity roster in either race and took an incomplete in the 13-team event.

Altoona will compete in the WIAA sectionals at Black River Falls on Saturday.

The Altoona cross country team hosted its annual Altoona Invitational on Tuesday, turning in solid performances there in their final tune-up before the Cloverbelt Conference meet in Loyal on Saturday.

Rebecca Weinmeister finished 21st with a time of 18:33 in the four-kilometer race, while Katie Hanson placed 26th in 19:22 and Kate Gessert 31st.

“The girls were flying,” said Altoona coach Nate Jackson. “Each one of them had a great race.”

Meanwhile, the boys got a 30th-place finish from Jon Vollmer in 20:25, while Ryan Hanson took 39th in 21:26 and Jake Wayne 42nd in 21:54 on a five-kilometer course.

“The boys turned in some really good times,” said Jackson. “It’s nice to see some solid results heading into conference.”

Previously, at the Intracity Meet at South Middle School in Eau Claire on Saturday, Weinmeister placed 27th, Katie Hanson 29th, and Gessert 31st for the girls, while on the boys’ side, Wayne, Vollmer, and Hanson took 32nd, 33rd, and 34th, respectively. It was Wayne’s first race after returning from an injury.

The Railroaders travel to Loyal on Saturday for the Cloverbelt meet before beginning postseason play with sectionals at River Falls on Saturday, October 20.

They may be small in numbers – so small, in fact, that they’re not eligible for any type of team competition – but the Altoona cross country runners that have stuck with the program have quietly had a successful season.

Down to three runners each on both the boys’ and girls’ sides, the Railroaders have been unable to fill out a full five-runner lineup for a race this season.

“This year, (the team) is small, but it’s still fun to be a part of it,” said senior Katie Hanson.

“There was a bit of excitement about the possibility of filling out a full team score” earlier in the season, said coach Nate Jackson. But a combination of injuries and decreasing numbers has prevented that from happening. Only one of the six remaining runners – freshman Ryan Hanson – has been healthy enough to participate in every race this year. When they have been able to race, however, the results have steadily improved throughout the season.

“Everybody’s been cutting minutes off their times from the beginning of the year to now,” said Jackson. “They’re progressing very well.”

Rebecca Weinmeister finished 31st in the team’s most recent race, the Chippewa Falls Invitational at Lake Wissota State Park on September 27, with Katie Hanson coming in 37th and Kate Gessert 44th. Only two runners were able to participate on the boys’ side, with Ryan Hanson taking 68th and Tyler Hinnendael 71st.

Jackson, who took over as varsity coach after the season had already begun, said he hoped to provide stability to a program that is on its third coach in as many seasons.

“Beyond this year, I’d like to get more runners out and fill out a team for both the boys and girls,” said Jackson. “We’ll have talented runners back next year. If we can get more kids to come out and get used to the coaching style and stick with it from year to year, we’ll get results. When kids see a successful program, they’re going to want to be a part of it.”

Although the Railroaders will be unable to qualify for Cloverbelt and WIAA team competitions, they are still able to qualify individual runners and have made strong performances at those events a goal for the remainder of the season.

“We’ve been working toward conference and sectional (meets) all year,” said Jackson. “We’re hoping everyone will keep cutting minutes off their times. They’ve got it in them, too. I think they’re going to be pleasantly surprised by how well they perform.”

The Railroaders will run in a meet at Eau Claire South Middle School on Saturday before hosting the Altoona Invitational at the Eau Claire City Wells on Tuesday. The Cloverbelt Conference meet is scheduled for October 13 in Loyal, while the sectional competition will be held on October 20 in Black River Falls.

The Altoona cross country teams competed at Durand on Thursday, getting three top-25 performances on the girls’ side.

Shelby Davis led the Lady Rails, placing 16th with a time of 19:54, while Katie Hanson finished 20th in 20:39, and Rebecca Weinmeister crossed the finish line 10 seconds later to place 23rd. Kate Gessert rounded out the girls’ lineup with a 33rd-place finish. Kayla Wagner of Baldwin-Woodville won the race easily with a time of 15:47, nearly two minutes ahead of her nearest competition. However, the team victory belonged to St. Croix Central.

In the boys’ race, Ryan Hanson led the Altoona runners with a time of 22:24, good for 39th place. Adam Bontje finished one second later for 41st, while Tyler Hinnendael took 47th. Mondovi’s Sam Bruning won the race with a time of 17:29, but Durand won the team competition.

The Railroaders raced again on Thursday at Chi-Hi, but that meet occurred after press time and will be featured in the upcoming newspaper. Their next meet is at Eau Claire South on October 6.

The Altoona cross country team showed continued improvement in its two races last week.

In a lightning-delayed race at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau on Thursday, Jon Vollmer gave the Railroaders their first top-25 finish of the year, placing 25th in a time of 20:08 on the 5,000-meter course. Altoona runners Adam Bontje and Ryan Hanson recorded times of 22:11 and 23:12, respectively, while Zach Brawford of Chippewa Falls took first.

Altoona also saw continued improvement from its girls’ side, with Rebecca Weinmeister placing 34th and Shelby Davis 37th. Katie Hanson and Kate Gessert added 43rd and 68th place finishes, respectively. Times were not available from the girls’ race, but Bangor dominated the 4,000-meter race. The Cardinals claimed the top two spots – including winner Kriston Siemianowski – and four of the top six places.

“Being ready to race and then having to back off for an hour can be hard on the kids, but everyone ran really solid times,” Altoona coach Nathan Jackson said. “It was nice to see some good results in the middle of a hard week of training.”

On Tuesday afternoon in Mondovi, Davis took the lead for the girls, finishing in 31st place with a time of 19:08, while Katie Hanson placed 38th in 19:41 and Weinmeister 43rd in 19:58. Sara MacMahon of Colfax won the race as the Vikings finished second in the team standings behind top-ranked Eau Claire Regis, who placed all five runners in the top 10.

Bontje had the best time for the Altoona boys, finishing in 23:09, while Ryan Hanson completed the course in 24:24 and Tyler Hinnendael 26:13, with Vollmer exiting midway through the race with an injury. Brian Farley of Regis won the race, but Durand won the team competition with 68 points.

“For better and worse, this race went about how I thought it would,” said Jackson. “We had some fast times on the flat course, and some tired runners from a challenging practice schedule. The tired legs will come around, and the hard work will pay dividends when we hit the big races.”

The Railroaders traveled to Durand on Thursday, but that meet occurred after press time and will be featured in next week’s edition of the Star. Altoona’s next meet will be this upcoming Thursday, a 4:15 start at Lake Wissota State Park for the Chi-Hi Invite.

The Altoona cross country teams raced in two meets this past week, traveling to Stanley on Thursday, September 6, and to Fall Creek on Saturday, September 8.
Jonathan Vollmer led the boys’ runners at Stanley with a time of 20:44 on the 3.1-mile course, placing 55th, while Adam Bontje and Ryan Hanson recorded times of 24:27 and 24:55, respectively. Nekoosa’s Ben Peterson won the race in 17:13 as the Papermakers won the team competition with 27 points.
On the girls’ side, Rebecca Weinmeister’s time of 20:29 was good for 63rd place on the 2.5-mile course. Shelby Davis finished 67th with a time of 20:49, while Katie Hanson placed 72nd and Kate Gessert 82nd. Kayla Dahl of Chippewa Falls McDonell finished first in 16:18, but Eau Claire Regis took the team race with 36 points.
In Fall Creek, Weinmeister placed 44th with a time of 21:13 and Katie Hanson 46th in 21:52 to lead the Railroaders. Davis placed 55th and Gessert 59th for Altoona. The winning time was 16:28, by Michelle Kuber of Tomahawk, but again Eau Claire Regis won the team competition.
Meanwhile, Vollmer finished the Fall Creek race in 21:40, good for 50th place on the boys’ side, while Ryan Hanson placed 63rd with a time of 24:20. Like the girls’ race, the boys’ competition was won by a Tomahawk runner, with Cody Lemke’s time of 17:29 leading the Hatchets to a team victory with 21 points.
“The kids got in two solid races over the course of a difficult week,” said Altoona coach Nathan Jackson. “Fall Creek is a tough, hilly course, and from these early races, everyone will see substantial gains late in the season. It will be nice to get healthy and to finally see our names listed in the team standings.”
Altoona raced at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau on Thursday, but that event was not completed at press time and will be featured in next week’s issue of the Star. The Railroaders’ next competition will be on Tuesday, September 18, in Mondovi.

Altoona cross country players ran in their first meet of the year on Tuesday, participating in the combined Cloverbelt-Marawood meet in Granton.
Rebecca Weinmeister was the top-finishing girl for the Railroaders, placing 48th with a time of 20:30, while Katie Hanson ran a time of 22:09 and Kate Gessert 26:06.
On the boys’ side, Jonathon Vollmer finished in 23:40 and Adam Bontje in 26:38. Both the boys and girls were unable to field a full team and were therefore did not record a team score.
The Altoona runners were coached at the meet by Nate Jackson, who replaced Tim Dusick last week.The Railroaders have over a week off before their next meet, on Thursday, September 6 at Stanley-Boyd.

The Altoona cross country team begins its season on Tuesday, August 28 at the Cloverbelt/Marawood Invite in Granton.
However, the Railroaders will be in for a challenge as they presently do not have enough runners to field a full team on either the boys’ or girls’ sides, with only three boys and four girls on the roster.
“There’s two ways of looking at it,” said second-year coach Tim Dusick, whose program graduated eight runners from last year. “It makes it easier for me to coach individuals, concentrate on what I do, and get the best quality from what I’ve got. But it is a little discouraging.”
“But we’ve dealt with adversity before,” he added. “You’ve just got to go with what you’ve got.”
Not fielding a full team does not preclude individual runners from placing in events or advancing to postseason meets.
And despite the low numbers, Dusick said he sees the makings of a strong team program, especially on the girls’ side.
The team’s first scrimmage was Tuesday, August 21, but Dusick said there is still time for others to join the program.
“Kids can still come out,” he said. “Especially on the boys’ side, there’s a chance of lettering your first year if you come out.”
Dusick pointed out the benefits of cross country as a sport.
“It’s a sport that you can use to get yourself in better shape for other sports coming up, and it’s a lifelong pursuit. Lots of people use it to relieve stress and other things as they get out of high school. And I try to make it fun. It doesn’t have to be all work. We have our Dairy Queen runs and our Kwik Trip runs,” he said.