Pierce County’s rolling hills and valleys offer a lot, but new to the mix is a middle school cross country meet hosted by Vino in the Valley. The inaugural Tuscan 2 miler welcomed Elmwood/Plum City, Spring Valley and Ellsworth middle school students to take a couple of laps around the restaurant’s scenic property Sept. 17.

“I would love to make that an annual event, whether it’s the middle school, or the high school or both. Make a day out of it,” Vino in the Valley Owner Larry Brenner said. “We’ve got the Christmas tree farm over here, and we’ve got great trails over there, a pond along the Rush River. We could expand this thing and make it even bigger. I really, really enjoyed it. It was a real feel-good event.”

Brenner said Brian Schmidt, an Ellsworth Middle School cross country coach alongside Pia Freeman, was the first to propose the idea to him. With Brenner already sponsoring the Ellsworth Claybreakers, Brenner saw another opportunity to connect area students to the nature of the valley.

Brenner and Vino General Manager Julie Karlstad organized the meet that they considered a major success.

“I have very fond memories with school. I was sad when I graduated, actually. All three schools, my mom is from Spring Valley. Elmwood/Plum City are right down the road here, and many of our young people that work here are from there. Ellsworth, of course, is where I graduated from, so it means a lot to me to expose the kids to this river and the great area that we live in,” Brenner said.

Vino in the Valley also recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary, making for a wild few weeks down in the valley.

Brenner joked that the biggest hit with the students was the free pizza and soda after the race.

“They thought this was so cool, and they loved the free pizza idea afterwards. The kids enjoyed it,” Brenner said.

Name, school and grade of the top 10 finishers in each race:

Girls

1. Reese Fritz, Spring Valley, 6
2. Kailyn Scholtz, Spring Valley, 7
3. Nora Gregg, Spring Valley, 7
4. Aubrey Bechel, EPC, 6
5. Autumn McRoberts, Ellsworth, 6
6. Adrianne Johnson, Spring Valley, 6
7. Maya Margelofsky, Spring Valley, 6
8. Natalie Matzek, Ellsworth, 7
9. Adelyn Loberg, Ellsworth, 7
10. Emma Benitz, EPC, 6

Boys

1. Oliver Fleming, Ellsworth, 8
2. Jake Peterson, Spring Valley, 8
3. Carter Benjamin, Spring Valley, 8
4. Archer Fleming, Ellsworth, 6
5. Greyson Vorlicek, Spring Valley, 8
6. Mason Wirth, Spring Valley, 7
7. Brant Peavey, Spring Valley, 7
8. Kaden Schilling, Ellsworth, 7
9. Caleb Groth-Olson, Ellsworth, 8
10. Ezra Quail, EPC, 7