Cross country season began in earnest last Thursday at the nine-team Prescott Invitational, featuring some of the best teams and runners in western Wisconsin. The field included Bloomer and its highly regarded girls program, St. Croix Central's traditionally strong boys and girls teams, and Minnesota visitors Totino-Grace and PACT Legacy Christian. Last week, the St. Croix Central's girls successfully defended their Prescott Invitational championship, edging Bloomer by a single point, 44-45. The boys race required a tiebreaker after Totino-Grace and St. Croix Central finished even in the standings, with Totino-Grace earning the championship. Both teams have now defended titles won in 2024 and 2025. The Prescott's girls finished fourth in the team competition, while the Cardinal boys earned a sixth-place finish. Senior Kyra Dix led Prescott with a second-place finish in the girls race, navigating the demanding home course in 18:41, a mere seven seconds off her career-best time of 18:34. Sophomore Dawson Langer medaled for the boys, finishing 10th with a time of 19:07. The girls race brought together three of western Wisconsin's top distance runners. Bloomer's Ciara Hartman claimed the individual title in 18:03, followed by Dix and Amery's Macie Boe, who clocked in 19:12. The three last met at the WIAA State Track and Field Championships in June in the 3,200 meters, where Hartman finished second, Boe third and Dix fifth. St. Croix Central's Jack Schauer captured the boys title on Thursday with a time of 16:41. Schauer, a sixth-place finisher at the 2025 WIAA State Cross-Country Championships, will again be among the state's distance runners to watch this season.

I’ve watched plenty of high school sporting events over the years, but every once in a while, something comes along that stops you in your tracks and reminds you why prep sports can be so powerful. Last Thursday’s cross country invitational at Prescott did exactly that. The race itself was impressive, but it was the final 100 meters I will remember. Runner after runner came toward the finish line and, regardless of where they were positioned in the race, they found another gear. A runner might have been battling for a medal or trying to catch the runner in front of them. And for each competitor, the spectators responded. Families cheered. Teammates screamed encouragement. Coaches urged their runners on. And strangers, people who had never met these kids, joined in the cheering. Well done. As they approached the finish runners didn't know whether the person cheering was a parent, a teammate, or a friendly stranger. It didn’t matter; they were all rooting them on. Additionally, what a tremendous job by Prescott Head Cross Country Coach Tim Phillips and Athletic Director Matt Smith for hosting the event. It was exceptionally well organized and the compliments from spectators and participants were endless. And bravo and brava to all the assistants and volunteers who helped make last Thursday a success. The spectators reaped the benefit of their hard work. Most importantly, we got to see young athletes fight for every meter and hear a crowd cheer them on. It was a wonderful reminder sometimes the most inspirational athlete isn't the one who wins the race. It is the kid who is exhausted, hears people cheering and then finds a little more. High school sports does not get much better than that.

The Prescott Cardinals travel to take on #9 ranked Baldwin-Woodville who fell to #2 ranked Pewaukee last week by a score of 31-14. Baldwin-Woodville is led by senior quarterback Joe Jensen and junior running back J.T. Dachel. In their first two games Prescott featured two ball carriers who eclipsed the century mark. Quarterback Reese Stanton ran for 100 yards in game one against Northwestern and fullback Charlie Block did the same last week at Prairie Du Chien. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Hunting season is upon us and the DNR reminds hunters there are six different dates in September when various seasons open. Therefore, it’s probably a good idea to check the calendar before heading into the woods or marsh and, perhaps even more importantly, make sure all the required licenses and stamps are in hand. The DNR has created an online version of the hunting regulations on its website featuring a drop-down filter to help users get to the information they need without spending the morning searching through the regulations. Whether your target is common gallinule, early Canada goose, early teal, mourning dove, rail or snipe, the do's and don'ts are just a few clicks away. And speaking of snipe, most hunters and outdoor enthusiasts have always known the snipe is an actual bird.

Headshaker of the Week: It happened again. Just when you think you've seen the dumbest possible behavior from a sports parent, somebody comes along and says, "Hold my water bottle." This time it happened in Racine County. It was Saturday morning, Aug. 22. A 10-and-under football game between the Racine Case Eagles and Milwaukee Colts was underway in Mount Pleasant. The Eagles were leading 20-0 when one of their players, a 9-year-old, broke free and was about to score a touchdown. Apparently, one Colts parent decided it was too much to take. A 41-year-old dad moved toward the sideline and tripped a player a few yards from the goal line. Let me say that again. A 9-year-old. Tripped by an adult at a youth football game. Forget defensive schemes. Forget tackling. Forget making a goal-line stand. Just send Dad onto the field. There is something almost breathtakingly stupid about this incident. These are kids. Ten-and-under football. Saturday morning. They're supposed to be learning teamwork, sportsmanship, and how to handle winning and losing. Instead, one adult decided the proper response to an impending touchdown was to stick out a leg. Idiotic. Dumb. Foolish. Doltish. Pick a word. Any word will do. Sadly, this isn't the first time we've seen such behavior from out-of-control sports parents. However, at least the tomfoolery is usually confined to the stands, where adults scream obscenities, berate officials, and relentlessly criticize coaches. Sadly, people of this ilk are everywhere - in all 50 states. They show up at basketball games, wrestling meets, softball games, and baseball diamonds. Seemingly wherever children are competing. But this story? This one takes the cake. I guess this is a different way to look at "parent involvement." Youth sports doesn't need more adults acting like children. It needs more adults acting like adults. It’s a headshaker.