Division 1 Boys
Qualifying Teams:
Hartford | Marquette | Kenosha Indian Trail | Green Bay Preble | Pewaukee | Stevens Point | Waukesha South | Madison West | Brookfield East | Mukwonago | De Pere | Homestead | Madison East | Madison La Follette | Middleton | Neenah | Hudson | Oconomowoc | Eau Claire Memorial | Muskego
Defending D1 Team, Individual Champions Return; Look to Repeat
With a strong team returning all five scoring runners, Stevens Point looks to grab a second consecutive state title. The group will take another run at the Ridges, and with a season resume including a Griak championship race victory and a near-perfect score of 17 points at Sectionals, Point goes in familiar with the course, and with a proven track record of success.
Senior Aloysius Franzen will lead for Stevens Point, supported by Ethan Olds, Cooper Erickson, Division 1 1600m champ Bode Erickson, and Graham Ballard. Franzen, who hovered just above the 15:00 mark for most of the season, broke through at sectionals with a time of 14:53 on his home course. The University of Minnesota commit placed fourth individually at Griak, and is undefeated in in-state competitions. Franzen will make a run for the individual title after placing third in last year's championships.
Hudson is projected to take the runner-up slot behind Point, led by seniors Addisu Haverly and Brock Bjerke.
Oconomowoc lost top finishers Zach Vance and Hayden Triebold, but returns to the state meet strong, led by seniors Jayden Sayles and James Lennington.
Madison West and Marquette both mark strong podium contenders in the team competition.
Returning on the individual side is defending D1 state champ Manny Putz, who ran the seventh-fastest course time in state history to narrowly beat out Oconomowoc's Zach Vance in 2022. After overcoming an injury that put him out of running for the early half of 2023, Putz is back on the course and proving he never lost it - undefeated in in-state competition and placing sixth at Griak.
Back from a breakout freshman season is Grady Lenn. Lenn's season best stands at 15:11. The sophomore looks to improve upon his 7th place 2022 state finish, and will be a top contender in this year's individual competition.
Madison La Follette's Nico Castellanos and Muskego's Diego Serraino are also in the mix for top places in their senior runs at the state meet. Each led their respective teams to state births with sectional victories and hold season bests in the mid-15:00s.
Qualifying Teams:
Hartford | Marquette | Kenosha Indian Trail | Green Bay Preble | Pewaukee | Stevens Point | Waukesha South | Madison West | Brookfield East | Mukwonago | De Pere | Homestead | Madison East | Madison La Follette | Middleton | Neenah | Hudson | Oconomowoc | Eau Claire Memorial | Muskego