Alsteen dives to the finish to achieve a season best and a sectional birth for the Spartans. Photograph courtesy of the sectionals live stream by Mark Eben of XM Timing.
Cross country coaches all across the nation use the old adage, "Every point counts," to drive accountability across their teams from the first runner all the way to the seventh runner. Everyone has a role to play; the difference between one runner and the next can make or break a team's victory. 
Alsteen and Kasten battling with two Chilton athletes at the finish stretch. Photo courtesy of Katie Waege.
That has never been more evident than at Tuesday's Luxemburg-Casco 5A Sub-Sectional Meet, when Senior Tanner Alsteen made a herculean effort to close the gap between himself and senior teammate Logan Kasten. In what shall forever be referred to as "The Dive", Alsteen dove across the finish line for a 32 second season best. And the best part?
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shane Griepentrog | 11 | Valders | 16:02.27 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Clay Taylor | 11 | Valders | 16:19.98 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Mitchell Braun | 11 | Valders | 17:11.84 | 3 | |||
| 4 | Spencer Thiry | 10 | Luxemburg-Casco | 17:20.40 | 4 | |||
| 5 | Eric East | 12 | Chilton | 17:25.24 | 5 | |||
| 6 | Zach Fries | 11 | Two Rivers | 17:29.32 | 6 | |||
| 7 | Isaac Rugowski | 12 | Valders | 17:33.35 | 7 | |||
| 8 | Brayden Sabel | 10 | Valders | 17:39.58 | 8 | |||
| 9 | Alek Lemke | 12 | Chilton | 17:50.37 | 9 | |||
| 10 | Peyton Dietrich | 12 | Valders | 17:53.14 | 10 | |||
| 11 | Christian Kauth | 12 | Valders | 17:54.55 | 11 | |||
| 12 | Lucas Soquet | 12 | Denmark | 18:06.32 | 12 | |||
| 13 | Brady Woelfel | 10 | Chilton | 18:31.25 | 13 | |||
| 14 | Michael Otradovec | 11 | Luxemburg-Casco | 18:33.12 | 14 | |||
| 15 | Gabe Havel | 10 | Luxemburg-Casco | 18:34.50 | 15 | |||
| 16 | Conner Hartwig | 12 | Two Rivers | 19:03.35 | 16 | |||
| 17 | Lance Cherovsky | 9 | Luxemburg-Casco | 19:07.91 | 17 | |||
| 18 | Gabe Ragsdale | 12 | Two Rivers | 19:08.13 | 18 | |||
| 19 | Caleb Kurth | 10 | Two Rivers | 19:09.46 | 19 | |||
| 20 | Logan Kasten | 12 | Luxemburg-Casco | 19:23.69 | 20 | |||
| 21 | Tanner Alsteen | 12 | Luxemburg-Casco | 19:24.70 | 21 | |||
| 22 | Cordale Fhlug | 9 | Chilton | 19:25.27 | 22 | |||
| 23 | Will Fuerbringer | 10 | Chilton | 19:26.70 | 23 | |||
"The Dive" effectively sealed a sectionals birth for the Spartans as they finished two points ahead of third place Chilton and Alsteen finished less than a second ahead of Chilton's fourth runner and just two seconds ahead of their fifth runner. Watch the finish below.
Courtesy of Mark Eban of XM Timing.
Luxemburg-Casco will be competing at their sectional meet this Friday! Special thanks to Matt Poirier of Denmark High School for the tip and Mark Eben of XM Timing for the video. For all your WIAA postseason coverage, stay tuned to MileSplit Wisconsin!
Relevant Links
Sub-Section Results Hub