There was plenty of WIAA playoff action this past week as the Menomonie football, boys cross country, girls cross country, boys soccer and girls volleyball teams participated in tournament play. The Menomonie equestrian team competed in state competition this past weekend. The boys and girls cross country teams will compete at the WIAA State Cross Country Championship, Saturday, Nov. 1 in Wisconsin Rapids.

Football
Kudos to the Menomonie football team for advancing to the WIAA Division playoffs for the 36th consecutive year, the longest active streak in the state, and the program’s 39th overall appearance. The Mustangs were the sixth seed in their part of the bracket in Division 3 and traveled to third seeded Onalaska Friday, Oct. 24. Junior running back DJ Butler carried the ball 30 times for 285 yards and scored three touchdowns, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Mustangs lost 34-31. Onalaska led 27-16, on the strength of two explosive plays, a kickoff return for a touchdown and a pick-6, before Butler scored two touchdowns on runs of 25- and 64-yards, to give Menomonie a 31-27 lead with eight minutes left in the game. The Hilltoppers’ quarterback Ian Kowal scored the winning points with 11 seconds remaining from six yards out. Menomonie tallied 315 rushing yards on 52 carries, with Butler carrying the workhouse load. Luke Pember carried the ball 15 times for 36 hard-fought yards and a TD. Menomonie averaged 6.1 yards per carry while Butler averaged a whopping 9.0 yards per tote.  Aaron Howard completed 2-of-5 passes for 21 yards, both to Liam Asher. The Mustangs finished the season at 4-6 overall.

Boys Cross Country
With their five scorers in the top 17 places, the Menomonie boys cross country team captured their first WIAA Sectional title since 2020, Saturday, Oct. 25. Luke Ray led the Mustangs in the 5000-meter run in a time of 15-minutes, 34.9-seconds, a time that placed him fourth. Menomonie’s next four runners finished in a pack between 12th and 17th place. Owen Pelzel was 12th (16:40.06), Evan Olson 14th (16:44.9), Logan Topper 15th (16:45.7) and Noah Winder 17th (16:52.3), a difference of just over 12 seconds separating Pelzel and Winder. Ben Seguin finished 54th (18:15.3) and Cole Christianson 56th (18:16.2) of 84 runners. The Mustangs edged out Hudson by six points, 62-68. Twelve schools competed in the race on the Menomonie High School course. | Complete Results    

Girls Cross Country
As it has been all season, Menomonie’s Lauren McCalla had no challengers as she captured her third WIAA sectional individual title, Saturday, Oct. 25, but Bloomer put an end to Menomonie’s sectional reign by reeling in their first Division 1 sectional title. The Blackhawks, who last year competed in Division 2, moved up to Division 1 after placing second at the WIAA Division 2 state championship two consecutive seasons. The Blackhawks took the top spot by scoring 41 points to Menomonie’s 59. Menomonie had finishes of first, ninth, 12th, 18th and 19th, while Bloomer squeezed all of their scorers into the top 16 places. McCalla won the event by more than one minute, clocking a time of 17-minutes, 15.3-seconds on the 5000-meter course. Bloomer’s Aliya Hartman was second (18:27.8). Bennett Schmitt was ninth (18:53.4), Bree Barfknecht 12th (19:19.6), Bella Drake 18th (19:54.1) and Addison Schuler 19th (19:54.8). Kyah Barnhart was 36th (20:45.8) and Sara Palmer 50th (21:330) in the 84 runner field. Twelve schools participated in the run on the Menomonie High School course. The Mustangs earned sectional titles in 2024, 2023, 2021 and 2020. | Complete Results https://live.pttiming.com/xc-ptt.html?mid=8229

Soccer
The Mustang boys soccer team saw their season come to an end in the first round of the WIAA Division 2 playoffs. Menomonie fell 2-0 at Wausau East Oct. 21. After a scoreless first half, the Lumberjacks advanced in the tournament by scoring two goals in the second half. Menomonie finished the season at 5-15-2 overall.

Volleyball
The Menomonie girls volleyball team bowed out of the WIAA Division 1 playoffs by falling 25-19, 25-12, 25-19 at New Richmond, Oct. 23. Menomonie closed out the season by finishing 5-22 overall.

Equestrian

The Menomonie Equestrian Team earned a spot in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Horsemanship Association (WIHA) state finals, Oct. 26-28, finishing as the Division A Reserve Champions in Madison. This year’s competition was one of the largest in WIHA history, featuring six Division A teams made up of students in grades six through 12. In addition to their runner-up finish, the Menomonie team captured the Spirit Award for outstanding stall decorations, creative theme and sportsmanship. The team also won the mascot race, topping a field of 34 schools.

Layne Pitt followed Menomonie High School sports during his more than a decade at the Dunn County News.

Menomonie High School in WIAA Tournaments 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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