Prescott senior Kyra Dix took second, Ellsworth senior Adolfo Mendez took fourth and River Falls sophomore Micaiah Black placed 13th in what turned out to be an excellent State cross country meet Oct. 31 in Wisconsin Rapids. With about 150-200 runners in each division at State, runners must get out to a strong start and not look back, and all three Pierce County representatives did exactly that Saturday.

“I was really impressed with how [Kyra] ran,” Prescott Coach Tim Philips said. “There were about six of the top runners who went out in the lead pack. According to Kyra, those six traded the lead for the first 4K of the race. With about a kilometer to go, she and [Amery’s] Macie Boe kind of broke away. Not a lot, they just broke away by 60-70 meters. Then, at the end of the race, it really became a sprint between Macy and Kyra and Macy got her by a couple of seconds.

“She was outstanding in every way. One of the things that was most impressive over the years has been her consistency. She just rarely has a down race,” Philips said. “That race on Saturday, very likely, may have been one of her best.”

Dix has previously made State with the Prescott girls as a team and individually since joining cross country as a sophomore and has broken her own school record time on countless occasions. All that success led her to a commitment to join the St. Thomas team after graduation.

Philips said the senior class has made a massive impact on the program, and he hopes the underclassmen can learn from them moving forward.

“They kind of set a tone that I think the younger athletes can emulate and use to make us a better team in the future,” Philips said.

Mendez rounded out a dominant season with a fourth-place finish in the boys Division 2 race.

“He knew he had to establish position early in the race due to the fact that the race is pretty crowded in the beginning,” Ellsworth Coach Marcia Jahnke said. “He was right where we wanted him to be at the mile.”

Mendez maintained speed and managed the race well from beginning to end. He stuck near the runners from Sectionals and knew just where to slot himself to finish the race strong. The second, third and fourth place finishers each ended within a second of each other.

“You always want to see a runner, one that invests that much time and effort into doing well, actually reach the end of the season with that same accomplishment,” Jahnke said. “As the season went out, he learned how to race where he wanted to race. He knew how to manage his second and his third mile.”

Ellsworth is losing a sizable senior class, and it is one who recruited a lot of their teammates through being in classes together.

“They have been a lot of the energy. Their enthusiasm for running and running their best is something that we’re going to miss,” Jahnke said.

Black had an excellent Division 1 race, finishing 13th to close out the year despite going up against many upperclassmen.

“I was extremely impressed with how Micaiah ran at state - but not at all surprised. The State course is a fun one, but no one would say it's an easy course by any means. He handled his first State appearance better than I have seen anyone in my career.  He is a gamer. It's so fun to coach kids like that, I look forward to what's ahead,” River Falls Coach Kari DeLuca said.