The JWP/WEM Grizzlies hosted an invitational meet on their home turf at Prairie Ridge Golf Course in Janesville on Thursday October 1. Fall weather was on the side of the cross country runners as the difficulty of the course came from its natural ups and downs and not from any exaggerated mud slides. Among the schools in attendance were Loyola-Cleveland-St.Clair, Maple River, and USC; eight competed in the Men’s 5k and 5 in the Women’s 5k.
In the Men’s race, all the runners present that could fight for the number one spot did and it was the Grizzlies’ own Wyatt Jans that secured the victory. Jans broke free from his opponents on the greens of Prairie Ridge by a nineteen second margin; his final time was seventeen minutes and twenty-five seconds. That time surpassed strong contenders from the Crusaders and the Panthers who filled the top three spots. Teagan Mulder added another Grizzly to the top ten by placing eight in the competition; eighteen minutes and forty-three seconds. Together the Grizzly Boys scored the team into third place.
Running on the prairie proved a packed contest for the Women’s 5k. Many runners found themselves fighting to maintain their pace throughout, and Norah Welvaert was among those able to hold a top ten pace. Twenty-one minutes and twenty-eight seconds was Welvaert’s final time and she placed ninth for her effort. MaKenzie Westphal fought through the crowd for a solid sixteenth place finish in twenty-three minutes and twenty-six seconds.
The sweetest slice of the Grizzly Pie was served up to Jans through hard world and Grizzly grit. That win will be long behind him when Jans and all the Grizzly runners from JWP/WEM visit Waseca Lakeside Club on Thursday October 8th. They approach the finale of the season so these final stretches of miles will help them determine what they must do to win.
