Lauren McCalla Wins State Cross Country Title

2025 WIAA State Cross Country Championships Complete Results

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The top three finishers at the 2025 WIAA Girls Division 1 State Championship broke the meet record, but Menomonie’s Lauren McCalla shattered the record on her way to becoming Menomonie’s first-ever cross country champion, Saturday, Nov. 1 at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.

McCalla paced the field throughout the entire event, finishing in a time 17-minutes, 26.4-seconds, 15 seconds ahead of two-time defending champion Ella Anschutz of Muskego, who clocked a time of 17:41.4. Whitefish Bay’s Karstin McCabe finished third (17:43.2) and also surpassed the previous meet record of 17:44.6 set by Kora Malecek of Onalaska in 2019. McCalla was named the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association (WCCCA) runner of the year and earned first team all-state designation.

The Menomonie girls team was making their third consecutive trip to the state meet and their 12th overall. The Mustangs finished fourth, their best-ever finish, topping a 2021 fifth place finish. | Division 1 Girls Results

Bennett Schmitt, who earned all-state second team honors, placed 23rd in a time of 18:57.9, followed by Bella Drake 71st (19:43.3), Addison Schuler 90th (20:00.5), Bree Barfknecht 119th (20:27.1), Kyah Barnhart 139th (20:50.50) and Sara Palmer 146th (21:00.0).

McCalla’s victory capped a steady rise through the state ranks. She placed 10th in 2023 with a time of 18:56.1, then moved up to sixth in 2024 with a time of 18:36.9 before capturing the 2025 title.

In 2024, Barfknecht was 23rd (19:13.6), Drake 126th (20:55.4), Schmitt 91st (20:15.8), Schuler 98th (20:21.4), Barnhart 147th (21:16.0) and Palmer 139th (21:12.5).

Neenah won the girls race, followed by Slinger and Bloomer. The Mustangs’ fourth-place finish continues an upward trend for the program. Menomonie placed 10th as a team in 2023, improved to seventh in 2024, and climbed again in 2025 to secure the highest team finish in school history.

It’s probable that McCalla and Anschutz will meet again in future Big 10 cross country races. McCalla has committed to the University of Washington and Anschutz, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, has give a verbal commitment to the University of Wisconsin.

Boys Results
The Menomonie boys team was making their second consecutive trip to the state meet and their seventh overall trip, finishing eighth, improving on last year’s 15th place team mark. | Division 1 Boys Results

Luke Ray led the Mustangs by placing 37th with a time of 16:31.0. Owen Pelzel was 60th (16:49.4), Logan Topper 67th (16:52.2), Evan Olson 90th (17:02.2), Noah Winder 108th (17:16.8), Cole Christenson 177th (18:22.1) and Ben Seguin 182nd (18:36.6).

As a team, the Mustangs were recognized as Academic All-State.

At the 2024 state meet,  Olson finished 68th (17:06.2); Ray, 77th (17:13.2); Topper, 79th (17:16.8); Pelzel, 89th (17:23.3). and Winder (114th, 17:56.9).

Stevens Point took the top spot, followed by Homestead (Mequon), Marquette University High School and DePere. Twenty teams qualified for each race and both races included 190 runners.

The Mustangs did not qualify a team or individual in 2023, while in 2022, senior Connor Norby represented Menomonie individually, finishing 56th in 16:59.6.

All-Big Rivers Conference
McCalla was selected as the Big Rivers Conference runner of the year and was a first team All-BRC selection following the conference meet at Rice Lake, Oct. 15. Schmitt, Barfknecht and Drake joined McCalla on the first team. Schuler was a second team selection and Barnhart was honorable mention. | Girls All-BRC

For the boys, Ray, Winder and Pelzel were first team selections. Topper earned second team honors and Olson was honorable mention. | Boys All-BRC

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

Lauren McCalla Wins State Cross Country Title 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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