11/02/2026
Tomahawk Cross Country Runners Lund and Gibeault Compete at WIAA Division II State Meet!💙💛
Press Release-Tomahawk Cross Country WIAA State Meet-The Ridges-10/31/2026
On Saturday, Tomahawk Hatchet sophomore Charlee Lund and senior Elise Gibeault headed south to Wisconsin Rapids to compete in the WIAA Division II State Cross Country Meet. This year’s girls Division II state meet was a cool, misty day that saw a total of 149 runners and the 15 best Division II teams in the state compete for the WIAA State Championship.
After previewing the course and taking in the sights and sounds of the State Meet Charlee and Elise prepared for their final race of the season. They were placed in box 22 with the other Rhinelander Sectional individual qualifiers. The Division II girls race began at 12:40 PM. Both girls got out to good positions and started the race in the upper half with Elise in 52nd and Charlee in 71st at the 1 mile mark. As the grueling state race continued the girls would find themselves separated but pressing on. The rolling hills later in the course proved to be speed bumps for many racers. Ultimately Elise would push hard to earn herself 40th place in a time of 20:12 and Charlee would finish the challenging race in 95th in a time of 21:14. This would end Elise’s four year cross country career, Charlee’s second year, and the 2026 Tomahawk Cross Country season. Girls finishing team results were as follows: New Berlin Eisenhower-87, Kettle Moraine Lutheran-99, Notre Dame Academy-132, McFarland-152, Winneconne-164, Aquinas-179, Monroe-184, Lakeland Union-184, Lakeside Lutheran-195, Saint Croix Central-198, Kewaskum-262, West Salem-278, Osceola-293, Shorewood-301, and Wittenberg-Birnamwood-375.
Other Great Northern Conference performances included the Lakeland girls taking 8th in the Division II race and the Lakeland boys taking 3rd in the Division II race. Rhinelander’s Dean Gillingham took 57th in a time of 17:14 and Avrom Barr took 70th in a time of 17:26. Northland Pine’s Ryleigh Thompson took 20th in a time of 19:31. Antigo’s Shepard Snider took 48th in a time of 16:58.
With the end of the state meet, this wraps up the 2026 Tomahawk Cross Country season. The team and coaching staff would like to thank the entirety of the school staff, parents, and community for their support. The team’s success is a result of so many supportive and helping hands throughout their journey and we couldn’t have had the success we did without all of your help. Thank you!
Quotes:
“Elise and Charlee have put in a tremendous amount of work both in the off-season and in-season to just have a chance to make the state meet. They deservingly qualified at Sectionals and did a great job representing our school and community at the highest level of high school cross country.” -Coach Ahrens
“We are so proud of what these two girls have achieved. Qualifying for the state meet is a great accomplishment and their races at the state meet were awesome to see. Elise had a great last race of
her high school cross country career and even though Charlee had a slower time than last year’s state race she will no doubt come back next year ready to compete and be even better for it.”-Coach Steph
“I enjoyed coaching Elise and Charlee and it was awesome to be present at another state meet to watch these two girls race with the best in the state. They should be very proud of what they achieved this season.”-Coach Flynn
Way to !🎉🎉
