October 22, 2018 at 10:55 a.m.
Flory fights flurries to advance to state cross country meet
Flory fights flurries to advance to state cross country meet
The Hodag senior handled the field, and the elements, Saturday to place fourth in a Division 2 sectional at Irish Waters Golf Club in Freedom to earn a trip to next Saturday's state meet.
Near-freezing temperatures, blustery winds in excess of 20 MPH and sleet greeted the runners during the boys' race - the conditions were even worse for the girls' race - but Flory was not going to be denied. He ran with the lead pack the whole way and finished a challenging five-kilometer course in a time of 17 minutes, 4.18 seconds.
For Flory, it was the realization of a goal he wasn't sure he'd ever achieve.
"It's really surreal," he said afterward. "In the back of my mind, I never really truly believed I was going to make it. I've been looking at the stats all week and trying to break down the numbers. I just went out really hard and managed to somehow find enough to make it through. It's really exciting."
His coach, M.J. Laggis, was more confident, especially considering how well Flory has raced of late.
"I knew he was going to do well today," Laggis said. "I didn't want to jinx him, but he was projected to be top four, top three, and that's right where he was."
Flory established himself among the leaders early in the race, batting among a group of runners for the second position by the mile-mark. The top five separated themselves as the race went on and Flory never left the lead pack.
"I went out hard, maybe a little too hard and then maintained third for about the first two miles," Flory said. "The last mile, I was just dead and trying to stay alive, and managed to do it."
Though Flory was among the leaders, he said he never looked behind him to see how close his nearest pursuers were. As it turned out, Flory had plenty of breathing room. He finished nearly 12 seconds ahead of the final individual state qualifier - sixth-place finisher Eric Kordus of Mosinee.
"The whole last mile I was just like, 'Oh my God, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep this.' Then the last 200 meters I was like, 'All right, I did it finally,'" Flory said.
The Hodags finished 13th in the boys' team standings and 10th in the girls' team standings on a day more suited for cross country skiing than cross country running. Nearly a half inch of snow fell during the girls' race alone, turned the venue into a wild, wintry scene.
"We thought maybe rain and high 30s or low 40s, but this has just been the most unbelievable scene," Laggis said.
Added Flory: "It was awful. Walking the course at the beginning I was like, it's going to be all right but by the second mile, just getting pelted with hail, I couldn't feel my hands. I was not doing well, mentally."
Jacob Weddle was the next Rhinelander boys' finisher behind Flory, all the way back in 66th place in the field of 100 runners. The sophomore crossed the line at 19:06.97. Cal Laggis was 75th (19:42.74), followed by Daniel Goldsworthy (81st, 20:06.68), JC Adams (85th, 20:12.48), Jaden Beske (87th, 20:16.91) and Levi Smith (92nd, 21:07.29).
Abbie Henrichs led the Hodags girls, placing 39th out of 95 finishers in the girls' race (22:43.01), Sage Flory was 45th (22:59.69), Ella Schiek was 48th (23:12.73), Ali DeNamur finished 60th (23:56.25), Emma Germain was 62nd (24:01.81), Audrey Schiek finished 66th (24:14.08) and senior Claire Bowman was 72nd (24:38.41).
"This is a phenomenal experience," Laggis said. "We're just full of freshmen and sophomores on both sides. What an experience. This is as tough as it can get."
The story of the day for Rhinelander was Flory, who became the second Rhinelander runner to qualify for state under Laggis, joining Alayna Franson who qualified in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
"This is really significant because we have some boys that are really capable of doing some significant things here and we've got a bunch of girls that are young and capable," Laggis said. "What a great lesson for them to all see right here today."
Flory now has one more cross country race ahead of him - the state championship this Saturday in Wisconsin Rapids.
"I'm going to make the most of it and just cherish every practice I've got," Flory said. "It's going to be sad. I know I've got another season with Laggis (Flory plays on the boys' hockey team which Laggis coaches), but I'm thankful to (assistant) coach Melissa Krueger for all she's done this season to help get me here. I'm going to cherish the last week with them."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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