WIAA State Meet History

The WIAA goes back to 1913 to determine its first boys cross country tournament champion. Milwaukee Riverside was the first team champion. Otto Andel of Milwaukee North is credited with winning the first individual title as the first high school runner to cross the finish line that season.

Milwaukee Normal School (now University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) conducted the first State meet and the next 22. The meet has been staged in 13 different locations, including Milwaukee (four different sites), Madison, South Milwaukee, Whitefish Bay, Hartford, Kettle Moraine, Wausau, Kenosha, Wisconsin Dells and presently Wisconsin Rapids, where it has been since 1988 with the exception of 2020 when the championships were raced at Arrowhead High School for Division 1, Colby High School for Division 2 and at Maple Grove Venues in West Salem for Division 3 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was one class of competition until 1933, when for two years it changed to two divisions. The format reverted back in 1935 because of insufficient school participation until 1949 when it returned to two classes. It became three classes in 1956 and has remained at three except in 1968, 1969 and 1970 when it was two classes. Terminology was changed to Divisions 1-2-3 instead of Classes A-B-C in 1990.

Milwaukee Riverside not only won the first championship, but also the next seven, as well as six more from 1923 to 1928. Darlington also won six straight championships, capturing Division 3 titles from 2011-16.

Riverside has won the most championships with 16, and all of them were won between 1913 and 1936. Stevens Point has 15 titles, and Shorewood and South Milwaukee are next with 10. Next on the list are Darlington and Madison West with eight. Fennimore has seven team titles, and Albany, Milwaukee Bay View and Valders have six. Cochrane-Fountain City, Milwaukee Washington, Port Washington and Whitefish Bay have five.

Only seven boys have won three individual championships. They are Jim Brice of Wrightstown (1975-77), Paul Voss of Clinton (1977-79), Phil Downs of Madison Memorial (1989-91), Chris Solinsky of Stevens Point (2000-02), Tyson Miehe of Darlington (2011-13), David Vannucchi of Luther (2016-18) and most recently Manny Putz of Onalaska (2022-24). There have been an additional 32 boys in Wisconsin who have won two individual titles.

Milwaukee Riverside has produced the most individual champions with 10, followed by South Milwaukee with eight and then Shorewood and Stevens Point with seven. Madison West has produced six. Menomonee Falls North and Milwaukee South have produced five individual champions, and Boscobel, Madison Memorial, McFarland, Port Washington and Whitefish Bay have claimed four individual championships. Individual titles have been won by runners from 136 different school programs.

Chris Solinsky of Stevens Point raced to the fastest 5-kilometer time in State Meet history, recording a time of 14:54 in 2002 at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.

WIAA Girls XC State Meet History

Team and Individual Champions

Girls Cross Country Team State Participation History (1975-2025)

WIAA Top State Meet Performances

The WIAA began sponsoring a girls cross country tournament program in 1975. Prairie du Chien won the first championship with Waukesha South finishing runner-up.

The State meet has always been held in conjunction with the boys State meet. The girls meet has been raced at several different locations, including Yahara Hills in Madison, the American Legion Golf Course in Wausau, UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Christmas Mountain in Wisconsin Dells and the Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids, where it has been since 1988 with the exception of 2020 when the championships were raced at Arrowhead High School for Division 1, Colby High School for Division 2 and at Maple Grove Venues in West Salem for Division 3 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was only one class of competition for the first three years (1975-77). It became two classes in 1978 and three classes in 1980. Terminology was changed from Classes A-B-C to Divisions 1-2-3 in 1990. The girls ran a 3,200-meter until 1993, and the distance increased to 4,000 meter until 2014 when the distances were extended to five kilometers.

Waukesha West leads the way in number of State championships with seven. Dodgeville/Mineral Point and Lourdes Academy are next on the list with six. Luxemburg-Casco, Middleton, Mount Horeb (not including a title as a co-op program with Barneveld), Neenah and Pewaukee have won the fourth-most titles with five. Albany, Arrowhead, Boscobel, Cochrane-Fountain City, Edgar, Fennimore, La Crosse Central and Tomahawk are tied for next on the list with four each; followed by Brookwood, Lancaster, Prentice, Stevens Point and Verona with three each.

Only Waukesha West (1998-2001) has won four consecutive championships. Three consecutive titles have been won by Albany (1989-91), Arrowhead (2011-13), Dodgeville/Mineral Point (2010-12), Fennimore (1980-82), La Crosse Central (1988-90), Lourdes Academy (2013-15), Middleton (1995-97), Neenah (1981-83), Pewaukee (2001-03) and Prentice (1985-87).

Molly Seidel of University Lake School (2008-11) and Suzy Favor of Stevens Point (1982-85) are the only Wisconsin girls cross country runners to win four State titles.

Cathy Branta of Slinger (1978-80), Ashley Beutler of New Glarus/Monticello (2004, 2006-07), and Kayci Martinson of Southwestern/Benton/Cuba City (2019-21) are the only other runners to have won three titles.

Suzie Houston of Tomahawk (1975-76), Maryann Brunner of Waukesha North (1978-79), Jackie Anderson of Mount Horeb (1981-84), Clare Eichner of Wauwatosa East (1986-87), Amy Wickus of Baraboo (1988-89), Avrie Walters of La Crosse Logan (1991-92), Sue Daggett of Random Lake (1991-92), Kristina Betzhold of Eau Claire North (1993-94), Rachel Earney of Cochrane-Fountain City (1995-96), Liz Reusser of Middleton (1997-98), Kelly Bogard of Kimberly (2005, 2007), Gabby Levac of Arrowhead (2008-09), Alexandra Fons of Franklin (2010-11), Dana Feyen of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (2016-17) and Marissa Ellenbecker of Edgar (2017-18), Ella Anschutz of Muskego (2023-24) and Emmerson Drobec of Deerfield/Cambridge (2024-25) have two titles.

Cochrane-Fountain City, Middleton, Mount Horeb, Slinger, Stevens Point and University Lake School have produced the most individual champions with four. Baraboo, Dodgeville/Mineral Point, Edgar, New Glarus/Monticello, Pardeeville, Random Lake, Shorewood and Southwestern/Benton/Cuba City have produced three individual champions. Individual titles have been won by runners from 91 different schools.

Lauren McCalla of Menomonie has the fastest 5-kilometer race time in State Meet history, finishing in 17:26.4 at the 2025 State Championships at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. Before the move to the longer distance, Molly Seidel of University Lake School ran to the swiftest time on a 4-kilometer course at 13:39.59 recorded at the 2011 State Meet at The Ridges. Prior to that, Suzy Favor of Stevens Point ran to the fastest time on a 3,200 course, finishing with a time of 10:52 at Christmas Mountain in Wisconsin Dells in 1984.

*Info provided courtesy of the WIAA

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