By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
And Mike Ramczyk
Kelsey Radobicky set a school record and Josh Butscher ran one of the best races witnessed by his coach. The Waterford Union High School boys and girls cross country teams enjoyed quite the day Oct. 21 in a WIAA Division 1 Sectional Meet at Arrowhead High School in Hartland.
Both Radobicky and Butscher advanced to Saturday’s WIAA Division 1 State Cross Country Championships at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.
The top two teams and the top five individuals who are not members of one of the top two teams advance from the sectional to state.
Butscher finished fourth in the boys five-kilometer race, and Radobicky finished fifth in the girls five-kilometer race.
For as gutsy a performance as Butscher ran, Wolverines coach Nate Schreiber said Radobicky was the story of the day.
“As a freshman, Kelsey ran a fearless race,” Schreiber said. “She was in the top five the entire race, and pulled into second on the long straight away at the finish. She ran an amazing time – yet another school record.”
“I didn’t think I’d make it, but Coach Schreiber told me I had to relax,” Radobicky said. “The less I knew, the better I’d run, so it took some pressure off me. My strategy was to stay with the front pack.”
Radobicky finished in 19:06. Haleigh Reindl finished 25th (20:36). Jayda Obluck finished in 20:49, Lexi Neubauer in 2:28 and Alyssa Rohner in 22:08.
Butscher finished fourth in 16:19 on the strength of a strong finish, and led the race with 600 meters remaining before running out of gas with 100 meters to go.
“He was completely bound and determined to run at state,” Schreiber said. “He put everything on the line, and it paid off. He is truly one of Waterford’s greats, and I’m honored to coach him for another week.”
“It feels awesome, I’m honored to represent the team one more time,” said Butscher, who appears at state for the first time after barely missing last year.
He credited Schreiber for pushing the runners to succeed in practice.
Ian Marino finished 30th in 17:23. Sean Pritchard finished in 17:29, Adam Schubring in 17:38 and Ian Williams in 17:43.
Schreiber said the Wolverines ran a solid race against a field that contained several state-ranked teams.
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