Apr. 14—Janesville Craig's boys cross country team picked up a victory to close out the regular season Tuesday night.

Led by a 1-2 finish from senior Bryan Bloomquist and freshman Noah Martinson, the Cougars scored 24 points to top Verona (53), Milton (70) and Beloit (98) at Optmist Park in Janesville.

Bloomquist covered the 5-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 51 seconds to win by nearly a minute over Martinson (17:44), while Milton's Trey Smith (18:16) was third.

"The boys had several new PRs, especially among our sophomores in our varsity group," Craig coach Brandon Miles said. "It was nice to see them work up, because they're going to be super important during sectionals.

"Bryan and Noah were out front the whole time, and then we had a big pack for our next four varsity guys, who probably passed about eight runners during the race."

Sophomores Matt McBride and Damian Soto, along with senior Kadin Wojcik and junior Chris Wier gave Craig six finishers in the top nine.

On the girls side, Milton junior Mara Talabac won the individual race to lead the Red Hawks to a narrow victory. They scored 33 points to edge Verona (39) and Craig (64).

Talabac turned in a time of 19:40 to win by 72 seconds. Milton junior Samantha Benson (21:20) was third, Craig junior Rylee Coleman (21:36) fourth and Milton freshman Emma Beuhn (22:08) fifth.

"We have a couple injuries on the girls side, so we're not at full strength, but we had some PRs there, as well," Miles said. "We were happy with the effort."

Craig's regular season is now complete, with track and field practice beginning Monday. The Cougars will run in a cross country sectional May 1, with qualifiers moving on to the state meet May 8.

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Craig quad

At Optimist Park

BOYS TEAM SCORES

Craig 24, Verona 53, Milton 70, Beloit 98

TOP BOYS FINISHERS

Bryan Bloomquist (C) 16:51, Noah Martinson (C) 17:44, Trey Smith (M) 18:16, 6. Damion Soto (C) 18:44, 7. Matt McBride (C) 18:44, 8. Kadin Wojcik (C) 18:51, 9. Chris Wier (C) 18:52.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES

Milton 33, Verona 39, Craig 64, Beloit incomplete

TOP GIRLS FINISHERS

Mara Talabac (M) 19:40, Anna Knueve (V) 20:52, Samantha Benson (M) 21:20, Rylee Coleman (C) 21:36, Emma Beuhn (M) 22:08, 9. Alayna Borgwardt (M) 22:52, 10. Caitlyn Dickman (C) 22:54.