WISCONSIN RAPIDS — Saul Lopez relished racing on the course. Max Kressner savored the experience.
The two Lake Mills seniors capped off their distance running careers by making their first-ever appearances at the WIAA State Cross Country Championships on Saturday at The Ridges Golf Course.
Lopez, the No. 1 runner for the L-Cats for much of the season, toured the course in 17 minutes, 40 seconds to finish 83rd in the Division 2 boys race.
“I was really nervous, because I heard it was a really technical course,” Lopez said.
“I actually really liked it. I liked how difficult it was. We’ve never really had difficult meets, besides East Troy. That one’s a really hard one.
“This one has a whole lot of different stuff. Sharp turns, uphills, downhills, flats, you are in the woods … that’s a very unique course. That’s what makes it really cool.”
Lopez took his inspiration as usual from his coach, Michael Roherty.
“Coach said, ‘Only the toughest ones are the ones who win,’” Lopez said. “If you just do good, you just push it out and put your guts through it. I knew the Jefferson kid (Derek Morrison). That was really cool. I saw the guys from McFarland (Spencer Alf and Isaac Ewing), who we raced against last year in track.