UW-Stevens Point
The Mustang stampede is stretching well beyond Menomonie this fall. Former standouts Brooklyn Hoff, Gaby Skorczewski, Bella Jacobsen, Peter Cimino, Grant Burns and Conor Norby are carrying their cross country strides into college, showcasing the program’s reach across Wisconsin, Minnesota and beyond.
Brooklyn Hoff – UW-Stevens PointBrooklyn Hoff, a 2024 Menomonie graduate, is in her second season at UW-Stevens Point and is one of the Pointers’ top distance runners. She has competed in three meets this season — placing 35th in the 6-kilometer run at the Phoenix Open (23 minutes, 53.4 seconds); setting a personal best of 22:53.4 at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Fall Classic; and competing at the Blugold Open, placing 94th of 337 runners in a time of 24:16.1 in the 6K.
During the 2024 season, Hoff ran in six meets, finishing 60th at the Roy Griak Invitational (24:39.6) and logging a personal best of 23:09.2 at the WIAC Championships. She led the Pointers at the NCAA Division III North Region Championship, finishing 45th (23:20.5).
At Menomonie, Hoff earned eight varsity letters in cross country and track and field. She was the first Mustang girl to qualify for state all four years, was named district runner of the year as a junior, and earned first-team all-conference that same season. She received second-team all-conference honors as a freshman. Hoff is majoring in biology.
Gaby Skorczewski – Lawrence UniversityNow in her third season with the Lawrence University women’s cross country team, Skorczewski has yet to compete in a meet during the 2025 season. The Vikings return to action Saturday, Oct. 11, when they host the Gene Davis Invitational.
Last season, Skorczewski ran in six of the Vikings’ seven meets. She competed at the Midwest Conference Championship on Nov. 2, where the Vikings won the team title. Skorczewski finished 50th individually (25:44.3) in the 6K and set a personal best of 25:21.0 at the Gene Davis Invitational on Oct. 12. She earned Academic All-Midwest Conference honors in 2024.
Bella Jacobsen – University of WisconsinThe University of Wisconsin women’s cross country team posted a perfect score in winning the Badger Classic on Sept. 19, and 2022 Menomonie graduate Bella Jacobsen, a redshirt junior, led the way with a first-place finish in 21:45.9 in the 6K run. The Badgers swept the top five spots to score a perfect 15 points. Jacobsen opened the season by placing 26th at the Mizzou Opener (18:14.8) on Aug. 29.
The Badgers are next scheduled to host the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, Oct. 17.
At Menomonie, Jacobsen was a conference and sectional champion, district runner of the year, and placed fifth at the state cross country meet as a senior. As a junior, she won her first conference individual title and earned all-state honors. Jacobsen also received second-team all-conference recognition as a freshman and sophomore.
Peter Cimino – UW-StoutA freshman at UW-Stout, Peter Cimino has competed in three meets this season. He placed 20th at the Toni St. Pierre Invitational with a time of 16 minutes, 48.2 seconds in the 5K (xxx location); 98th at the St. Olaf Invitational in 28:02.1 for the 8K; and 268th of 322 at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational at Whitetail Golf Course with a time of 27:44.2 in the 8K.
Cimino, a 2025 Menomonie graduate, was a member of the Mustangs’ team that advanced to the WIAA State Cross Country Championships. He was Menomonie’s second finisher at state, placing 71st (17:09.2) in the 5K. Cimino finished 13th (16:54.1) at the 2024 Big Rivers Conference meet, earning second-team all-conference honors, and placed 12th (16:36.8) at the Division I sectional meet.
Grant Burns – Taylor UniversityTaylor University, an NAIA program in Upland, Ind., is currently ranked No. 5 nationally and is coming off an eighth-place finish at the 2024 NAIA Cross Country Championship. Grant Burns, a 2025 Menomonie graduate, is recovering from an injury and awaiting his first collegiate race.
As a Mustang captain in 2024, Burns finished the season 11th on the Big Rivers Conference honor roll, clocking 16:35.10 at the Menomonie Relays before his injury cut short his season. He earned seven varsity letters between cross country and track and field and was named team MVP. Burns is majoring in biochemistry.
Conor Norby – Winona State UniversityConor Norby is in his third year at NCAA Division II Winona State. Last season, he competed in six meets, including the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship, where he finished 45th in the 8K (25:34.4), and the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship, where he finished 104th in the 10K (32:55.7).
This season, Norby ran at the Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota, placing 81st (28:26.2) in the 8K and finished 14th (27:56.70) at the Griffon Invitational at Missouri Western Oct. 4.
A 2023 Menomonie graduate, Norby was a Mustang captain, earned all-conference honors, and was a state qualifier.
Layne Pitt retired as the longest serving sports information director at UW-Stout and also worked more than a decade at the Dunn County News.
Menomonie Collegians by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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