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2015 Girls Cross Country Schedule & Results Below
| 2015 Girls CC Schedule | |||
| 19-Aug | West Bend West w/Multiple Opponents | West Bend West HS | 10:00 AM |
| 4-Sep | Neenah Inv. w/Kimberly/Menasha/Osh.N/Osh.W/Ashw/DC Ever/Osh.Lourdes/Stev.Pt/Assumption/Osh.Christian | Neenah Memorial Park | 4:30 PM |
| 12-Sep | App.E/Grafton/Hart.Union/Watertown/Wauk.W/Wau.W/W.B. East/Milw. Luth/Men.Falls/Sux. Ham/Brookfield E. | Rotary Park-Menomonee Falls | 9:00 AM |
| 26-Sep | Oshkosh Lourdes Inv. w/Multiple Opponents | Lake Breeze Golf Club | 9:15 AM |
| 2nd Place | Fond du Lac Inv. w/App.E/App.N/App.W/Neenah/Osh.No/Germantown/Man. Linc/Sheb.No/Stevens Pt/Wauk. No/W.B. West/Men. Falls | Rolling Meadows GC | 3:55 PM |
| Fourth Place | Port Washington Inv. w/Multiple Opponents | Tendick Park (Saukville) | 4:00 PM |
| 3rd Place | Conference Meet w/App.E/App.North/App. West/Kaukauna/Kimberly/Neenah/Osh.No/Osh.West/Hortonville | Countryside GC | 3:30 PM |
| 2015 FVA Girls Cross Country All-Conference | |
| Annie Moore 12 | 1st Team |
| Ally Gietzel 10 | 1st Team |
| Liz Ziegler 9 | Honorable Mention |
2015 Action Reporter Media All-Area Girls Cross Country
Like she did last year, Fond du Lac’s Annie Moore proved she was one of the best girls cross country runners in the state. For the second straight season, she’s the Action Reporter Media All-Area Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Moore finished 21st at the WIAA Division 1 state meet in Wisconsin Rapids with a time of 19 minutes, 23 seconds — a mark that was slightly slower than what she ran at state in 2014 but in rainy conditions. Moore was first at a sectional meet hosted by Oshkosh North and took fourth at the Fox Valley Association meet.
- Runner of the Year: Annie Moore, Fond du Lac
- Best of the Rest: Ally Gietzel, Fond du Lac
Fondy’s Annie Moore repeats strong finish at state
WISCONSIN RAPIDS — Coming into the WIAA state cross country meet, Fond du Lac’s Annie Moore and Ally Gietzel didn’t have too high of expectations. They wanted to finish about the same as they did a year ago at state.
Moore, who finished 21st last year as a junior and Gietzel, who ended up 27th as a freshman a season ago at state, came pretty close.
Moore finished in the same spot as she did a year ago — 21st — while Gietzel finished 53rd in the WIAA Division 1 state cross country meet held at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids Saturday. Saturday’s weather wasn’t ideal — as it was raining throughout the entire day, which made things slippery — but Moore only finished nine seconds back from last years’ time with a time of 19 minutes, 23.45 seconds. “It was pretty hard, there were a lot of girls around me, which was interesting,” Moore said. “It’s hard every year, it’s expected.”
Gietzel dropped off a bit from last years’ time and ended up 53rd with a time of 19:52.48. “It went alright, there were a lot of people in big groups all the time,” Gietzel said. “Just a big atmosphere is cool too.” The slippery ground made things harder for the runners, who had to be careful when running on the hills.
“You just had to be careful where you put your feet and have to watch for everything,” Moore said.
“Some parts were really muddy and really wet,” Gietzel added. “Other than that, it’s a nice course.”
Cross Country: Area state qualifiers an experienced group Division 1
The Fond du Lac duo of Annie Moore and Ally Gietzel is making the return trip to Wisconsin Rapids this season after taking 21st and 27th, respectively, at state last year.
Moore, a senior, and Gietzel, a sophomore, finished 1-2 at sectionals last Friday and are looking forward to proving themselves again in an always-tough Division 1 field.
Saturday’s meet will mark the third and final state trip for Moore and she thinks her and Gietzel’s experience at state could help with both of their performances this year.
“We know where everything is and know the general idea and layout of it,” Moore said. “Having an idea of the general atmosphere is going to be really helpful, too.”
Gietzel, after proving to be one of the better runners in the state last year as just a freshman, has seen herself gain confidence this season as a sophomore, which she hopes to carry into the weekend. “I think I’m more confident,” she said. “Last year was new to me, but now having a year of experience has been helpful.”
The two Cardinals standouts both look to finish right around where they did in 2014, which placed them on the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association all-state teams — Moore on the second team, Gietzel as an honorable mention.
Annie Moore, Ally Gietzel headed back to state
WINNECONNE – One started fast. The other finished strong. Together, they proved to be an impressive pair.
Fond du Lac’s Annie Moore and Ally Gietzel placed first and second, respectively, at the WIAA Division 1 sectional cross country meet held at Lake Breeze Golf Course and will be returning to the state cross country meet next weekend in Wisconsin Rapids. “That was my mission for those two,” Fond du Lac coach Brad Theyerl said. “We took advantage of that for the team aspect. Getting those low points are big when you don’t have the depth.”
Led by Moore and Gietzel, the Cardinals nearly qualified as a team finishing third with 89 points behind West Bend West (46) and Neenah (65). Liz Ziegler finished 10th overall – narrowly missing the last individual qualifying spot – and Madison Hughes came in 16th for the Cardinals. “We knew it would be tough (to qualify) as a team and we did about as much as we could,” Theyerl said. “We knew we had a chance if we put it all together, but when the other teams do the same thing, it makes it even tougher. “I told the girls it’s nothing to hang their heads about. They ran great and we did everything they could.”
With Moore and Gietzel, Fond du Lac will be represented at the state meet, though, and it was Moore that grabbed the lead in the early stages of the race to power to the win. She had built a sizeable lead by the mile-and-a-half mark and finished eight seconds ahead of Gietzel to collect the win. “I just kind of ran how I felt and I felt good off the start so I took it out fast and then I just held on,” Moore said. “I haven’t quite thought about (being sectional champion), I guess. My goal was just to be in the top five to make it to state. I was happy to be in that group.”
Theyerl wasn’t surprised to see Moore get off to such a fast start and set her own pace as the leader of the race. “That suits her style. She’s good at getting out in that position, even if she is by herself,” Theyerl said. “She ran smart in the middle, even though the pack gained on her. She’s so strong I knew she would pull it out in the end.”
Ally Gietzel took a more conservative approach and spent much of the race in the pack of runners behind Moore. And when the time came to make a move, Gietzel was ready to run. “When one of the West Bend (West) girls started to split the pack, I said to myself ‘Go with her.’ I knew if I wanted to be a contender I needed to stay up with her,” Gietzel said. “I felt like it went really well. It’s a flat course and despite the rain I ran really well.” Gietzel was able to overtake West Bend West’s Abby Janto after the two-mile mark and then used a strong kick to hold on to the runner-up spot. “Ally ran a really smart race,” Theyerl said. “She stayed relaxed and let the other runners do the work, and then used her strength which is her speed. That’s how she got the job done.”
The Cardinals finished ninth in the boys standings, led by senior Bryton Koepke who finished 22nd overall, despite being ill. Kiernan Koepke added a 27th place finish, while Mack Matteson came in 38th. Fond du Lac finished just four points behind Sheboygan North and 14 out of sixth place. “(Bryton) gave it everything he had today. I’m just glad he was able to be here and run,” Theyerl said. “The boys looked good. I’m proud of the way they ran today.”
WIAA Division 1 Sectional
At Lake Breeze GC, Winneconne
Girls
Team scores: West Bend West 46, Neenah 65, Fond du Lac 89, Slinger 115, West Bend East 128, Oshkosh North 179, Oshkosh West 179, Hartford 200, Beaver Dam 201, Sheboygan North 251, Menasha 272, Sheboygan South 303
Individual winner: Annie Moore (FDL), 18:58.46.
FDL: 1. Annie Moore, 18:58; 2. Ally Gietzel, 19:07; 10. Liz Ziegler, 19:57; 16. Madison Hughes, 20:12; 60. Sarah Schaefer, 22:06.
Boys
Team scores: West Bend West 28, Neenah 59, Beaver Dam 87, Slinger 139, West Bend East 155, Oshkosh West 188, Sheboygan South 193, Sheboygan North 198, Fond du Lac 202, Hartford 220, Oshkosh North 290
Individual winner: Luke Guttormson (WBW), 15:27.30.
FDL: 22. Bryton Koepke, 16:45; 27. Kiernan Koepke, 16:57; 38. Mack Matteson, 17:18; 54. Jeffrey Heuer Jr., 17:49; 61. Joe Gruening, 18:16.
Fondy girls third at FVA meet
FVA Meet: Fond du Lac finished third in the girls race and fourth in the boys as each squad produced a pair of top-10 finishers.
Annie Moore was the highest Cardinal to finish, placing fourth in the girls race. Ally Gietzel came in eighth as Fond du Lac held off Neenah for the third-place finish in the team standings.
Liz Ziegler added an 18th-place finish for Fond du Lac.
Appleton North won the girls title, while Kimberly dominated the boys race to claim the crown.
Girls
Team scores: Appleton North 42, Kimberly 54, Fond du Lac 118, Neenah 125, Appleton West 151, Hortonville 159, Oshkosh West 178, Appleton East 193, Oshkosh North 206, Kaukauna 235
Individual winner: Carisa Weyenberg (KIM), 18:51.29.
FDL: 4. Annie Moore, 19:21.41; 8. Ally Gietzel, 19:30.91; 18. Liz Ziegler, 20:12.57; 26. Madison Hughes, 20:36.70; 62. Sarah Schaefer, 22:33.61.
Fondy girls fourth at Port Washington
Port Washington Invitational: The Fond du Lac girls cross country team finished fourth at Thursday’s Port Washington Invitational.
The Cardinals scored 109 points as a team, behind Pewaukee (58), Slinger and West Bend West.
Annie Moore took fifth place individually with a time of 19 minutes, 45 seconds, just edging teammate Ally Gietzel — who was sixth at 19:46. Madison Hughes was 12th and Liz Ziegler 15th.
On the boys side, Fond du Lac was 15th with 344 points. Bryton Koepke (17:17) finished in 26th to pace the Cardinals.
West Bend West won the boys race with 39 points.
Annie Moore finishes second at Fondy invite
Cold and blustery race conditions didn’t affect Annie Moore on Friday. In fact, the Fond du Lac senior seemed to thrive in them. Moore overcame strong winds and chilly temperatures to finish in second place at Friday’s Fond du Lac Memorial Invitational at Rolling Meadows Golf Course as the Fond du Lac girls cross country team took fourth overall. “I think I ran better than expected,” Moore said. “It’s a fast course, it’s a nice day. That helped.”
Calling the day ‘nice’ might be a bit of a stretch, but as long as runners were able to avoid some of the gusts of wind that blew through the open space of Rolling Meadows, the temperatures were cool enough to aid times throughout the day.
Moore finished with a time of 19 minutes, 10 seconds as the runner-up in the girls race. Stevens Point’s Autum Shurbert-Hetzel took first place with a blazing time of 18:42 — besting the rest of the field by nearly 30 seconds. The Panthers took first place as a team with 50 points. Neenah was second (84), Germantown third (89) and Fond du Lac fourth (114).
Ally Gietzel also finished highly for the Cardinals, taking seventh place with a time of 19:24. Madison Hughes was 24th, Liz Ziegler 36th and Sarah Schaefer 50th. Having run the course a number of times prior to Friday’s race, Moore thought that familiarity helped her as well, but really believed the weather — with temps in the high 50s — was key. “I think just walking it again helped refresh my memory, but I really think most of it was the weather,” Moore said.
- Girls
- Team Scores: Stevens Point 50, Neenah 84, Germantown 89, Fond du Lac 114, Appleton West 151, Appleton East 190, Menomonee Falls 202, Oshkosh North 206, Waukesha North 214, Manitowoc Lincoln 221, Sheboygan North 249.
- Fond du Lac: 2, Annie Moore, 19:10; 7, Ally Gietzel, 19:24; 24, Madison Hughes, 20:19; 36, Liz Ziegler, 20:59; 50, Sarah Schaefer, 21:41.
Fond du Lac girls 5th at Lourdes invite
Lourdes Academy Invitational: Led by Annie Moore’s fifth-place finish, the Fond du Lac girls cross country team finished fifth overall in the Large Division of Saturday’s Lourdes Academy Invitational, hosted by Oshkosh Lourdes at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne.
In taking fifth individually, Moore finished with a time of 19 minutes, 22.89 seconds. Teammate Ally Gietzel was just behind her, taking ninth with a time of 19:31.52. Madison Hughes (20:12.89) finished 19th for the Cardinals.
“It was fast. It felt fast but it was also really flat so that kind of made things nice,” Moore said about Saturday’s race. “I liked how every time there was an uphill, there was a downhill so you could always catch a breath and get back to the flat part. That was helpful.”
Fond du Lac scored 149 points as a team. Stevens Point won the Large Division of the girls race with 45 points.
In the Large Division of the boys race, Fond du Lac finished 11th with 277 points. Bryton Koepke (16:38.14) was 16th to lead the Cardinals. Kiernan Koepke was 39th. Verona Area won the Large Division with 91 points.
Fond du Lac runners fare well at Bay Port
HOWARD – Neither Fond du Lac boys or girls cross country squad competed as a full team at the Bay Port Invitational on Thursday. That’s just fine because the Cardinals did pretty well as individuals.
Ally Gietzel and Annie Moore each posted finishes in the top seven to lead the girls, while Bryton Koepke also garnered a top finish for the boys. Gietzel finished sixth and Moore was seventh as all four Cardinal runners who competed finished in the top 25. Liz Ziegler was 14th and Madison Hughes place 23rd.
Bryton Koepke finished in seventh in the boys race to lead Fond du Lac, while Kiernan Koepke was the next best finisher in 31st.
Girls Team scores: Appleton North 30, Kimberly 44, Bay Port 87, Two Rivers 128, West De Pere 159, Lourdes Academy 161, De Pere 198, Marinette 210, Sheboygan South 245, Shawano 278, Wrightstown 301,
Individual winner: Sydney Squier (AN), 19:11.65.
FDL: 6. Ally Gietzel, 20:13.63; 7. Annie Moore, 20:16.53; 14. Liz Siegler, 20:41.27; 23. Madison Hughes, 21:11.58.
Boys Team scores: Kimberly 18, Appleton North 73, Bay Port 118, De Pere 120, Shawano 147, Two Rivers 148, West De Pere 190, Sheboygan South 192, Wrightstown 295, Marinette 301
Individual winner: Nicholas Rink (KIM), 16:19.65.
FDL: 7. Bryton Koepke, 17:18.87; 31. Kiernan Koepke, 18:28.07; 49. Jeffrey Heuer Jr., 19:09.05; 61. Mack Matteson, 20:03.65.
Annie Moore wins Menomonee Falls invite
Matt Hadler Invitational: Fond du Lac’s Annie Moore won the Matt Hadler Invitational on Saturday, hosted by Menomonee Falls.
Moore finished with a time of 19:33.64 to defeat Appleton East’s McKenzie Larsen by about eight seconds and win the girls crown.
Meanwhile, Ally Gietzel finished fourth in the girls race with a time of 19:45.77. Madison Hughes was 10th and Liz Ziegler 14th.
Sussex Hamilton won the girls meet with 32 points.
On the boys side, Fond du Lac’s Bryton Koepke finished fourth with a time of 17:14.39. Hamilton’s Michael Swope finished first (16:53.37). Kiernan Koepke was 20th for the Cardinals.
Hamilton won the boys meet as well with 33 points.
The Cardinals did not have enough runners to score as a team in either race.
Fondy’s Annie Moore
A few years ago, Annie Moore was just a soccer player looking for a way to keep up on her conditioning. Once she started running, she simply hasn’t stopped.
The Fond du Lac senior is one of the top cross country runners in the area having qualified for the WIAA State Cross Country meet each of the past two years as well as making it to the WIAA State Track and Field Meet in three events last spring. Moore is coming off a strong fourth-place finish at the Neenah Invitational last week and said that being a standout runner was never part of the original plan. “I started to do it to stay in shape for soccer, but I just liked it so much I just kept it up,” Moore said before a practice earlier this week. “I finished cross country and I liked it and I did pretty well and I figured out all of my friends we’re going to be doing track and I wanted to keep hanging out with them so I switched over to track.”
That’s what makes Moore’s run of success so impressive. Many standout distance runners find their pace running on middle school teams or the occasional 5K race with a parent on weekend. There are very few Johnny-come-latelys to the grueling sport or at least not ones that reach a high level of success.
Moore just happens to be one of those rare runners and has even surprised herself with the level of success she’s achieved. “I never expected for this to be as serious as it is for me so the fact that this has been something I’ve done for four years is surprising,” Moore said. “I think everything I’ve done is more than I expected, but I’m very happy with it.”
Moore – who admits she has the propensity to stumble and fall often when she’s running – finished her freshman season as the No. 2 runner for the Cardinals and then qualified for state and finished 39th as a sophomore. Last year, she came within in a whisper of a top 20 finish at the state meet, coming in 21st.
That has set the stage for this season. I don’t feel pressure (to make it back to state), it’s just something that I’d like to do, just to keep going back. I’d like to finish my season with that,” Moore said. “Really (the goal) is just to get back to state. Where you finish is dependent on other people, so that you can’t focus your goals on that. “It’s really getting to the meet and doing whatever I can.”
In each of her previous trips to state, Moore has always had a teammate competed alongside of her. As a sophomore, she qualified with Megan Buechel while last year it was Ally Gietzel joining her on the trip. That also means she has had that high-caliber of performance from a teammate during the regular-season as well, something Moore believes has contributed to her overall success.
“I love it,” Moore said. “You train with them so you know how they run , and then when you are racing, it just makes the whole thing more familiar. It helps with the whole comfort-level of competing to have a teammate right next to you.” Having a teammate to provide a push in workouts and meets, is one thing that has helped Moore reach her level of success.
She also believes work ethic, attitude as well as the ability to be an individual while also supporting her teammates are the key factors in building a successful distance runner. Another factor is being able to focus when she is in a race or out on a run, which can be difficult over the course of a 20-minute race.
“Sometimes I think (focus) is a strength and then sometimes it’s something I struggle with,” Moore said with a laugh. “It’s really important. You are out there for 20 minutes or more and you are doing the same thing so you have to focus on what you are doing and not get distracted.”
Moore, who finished 15th in the 800 meters, 16th in the 1,600 meters and ran a leg on Fond du Lac’s 3,200-meter relay team at the state meet last spring, hopes to continue a competitive running career at the collegiate level but said she had no plans yet of where that would be. Even if she doesn’t find a spot on a cross country team next fall or running the longer distances in a collegiate track and field meet, that doesn’t mean Moore has returned to being a soccer player. It just simply means that Moore will be churning out the miles on her own. “If nothing else,” she said, “I’ll still run.”
Moore, Gietzel finish 4th, 5th for Fondy
Neenah Invitational: Fond du Lac’s Annie Moore and Ally Gietzel finished fourth and fifth at Neenah. The girls had an imcomplete team so team scores couldn’t be kept.
Moore finished her race in 20 minutes, 0.72 seconds while Gietzel was just behind her at 20:08.94. Freshman Liz Ziegler added a 27th place finish for the Cardinals (21:11.68) while another freshman, Madison Hughes, was 38th (21:54.31).
Fond du Lac girls cross country team seventh at West Bend
Jamie Block Challenge: The Fond du Lac girls cross country team finished in seventh place at Saturday’s Jamie Block Challenge in West Bend.
The Cardinals finished with a total team time of 1:45:25, an average time of 21:05 per runner. Annie Moore finished in 19 minutes, 48 seconds to pace Fond du Lac, while Ally Gietzel came in at 19:53. Liz Ziegler was third for the Cards.
Mayville finished 20th with a team time of 1:56:22. Cecily Hurtienne finished in 21:26 to lead the Cardinals. Sun Prairie won the girls race with a team time of 1:36:40.
On the boys side, Fond du Lac was 12th with a team time of 1:31:56, for an average of 18:24. Bryton Koepke finished in 17:07 to lead the Cardinals.
West Bend West won the meet with a team time of 1:23:13.
Fond du Lac thinking big in FVA
With two of the better runners in the state back for the 2015 season, the Fond du Lac girls cross country team has a chance to make some noise in the Fox Valley Association this year.
Senior Annie Moore, who finished 21st at the WIAA Division 1 state last season, will be the leader of the Cardinals, while sophomore Ally Gietzel promises to be nipping right at her heels after a 27th-place finish at state as a freshman.
However, Fond du Lac does lose Megan Buechel, Jeannie Bestor and Nicole Gietzel from a team that finished third in the FVA in 2014. While Cardinals coach Brad Theyerl hopes junior Hailey Ahrens, sophomore Nicole Lord and freshmen Liz Ziegler and Madison Hughes could step up this season, he’s not expecting quite as much out of his team as he did a season ago.
“We will be a decent team again this year but not quite as dominant up front,” Theyerl said. “Last year, we were fortunate to have three girls who were frontrunners for us to score valuable low points. We return two of those runners for the 2015 season. Otherwise, our varsity won’t look much different with our returning runners and a couple freshmen who will fill the spots left open by a couple other seniors who graduated. Once again, we lack depth at the varsity level, so staying healthy all season will be critical for our team and individual success.”
This season, Theyerl is simply hoping to finish in the top half of the FVA, realizing that last year’s team may have overachieved a bit.”For this year, a top 4 finish at conference and a top 5 finish at sectionals would both be tough but achievable goals looking at our roster,” he said. “We will continue to be competitive at our regular season meets. I expect our girls to be motivated and inspired by how well we did last year at the championship meets and strive to create that same type of season for ourselves this fall.”
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