Waltz, girls’ team aim to return to Rapids

It was a strong fall running season for the Three Lakes-Phelps varsity cross country teams last year, with Nolan Waltz finishing runner-up at the D3 state meet and the girls’ team advancing together. Even with some senior departures, both the girls’ team and Waltz have their minds set on returning to Wisconsin Rapids by the end of the season.

Expectations remain high throughout the program for 2026, as Waltz has been training for the upcoming fall cross country season after his trip to the WIAA State Track and Field meet in La Crosse in the spring. The girls also know what it will take to get back to that level.

“Nolan has been preparing for this fall’s season since track ended last spring. He is hoping to make a fourth trip to state. After finishing second last fall, he will be putting everything he has into our season, hoping to make a final run at a state championship,” stated Head Coach Laurie Levandoski. “While we lost two seniors from our state girls’ team to graduation, we are hoping for some big things from our girls again this season. We don’t always have as much depth as we’d like, but that isn’t stopping our girls. They are already looking toward what they will need to do to head back to Wisconsin Rapids.”

Like last season, the varsity boys team will once again be led by Waltz and not have a lot of depth behind him. Coach Levandoski said some of the soccer players who ran in some of the races last year when available will likely not participate in cross country this fall due to soccer and other commitments. Levandoski mentioned that athletes on the middle school team make her look forward to the years to come on the boys’ side.

“We’ll continue to struggle with a full boys’ varsity team this fall. We will likely not be seeing any of the soccer players at our races due to graduation and other commitments,” she stated. “Keep an eye on our boys’ middle school team, however. They are going to be tough and will factor into a very strong boys’ varsity team in a few years.”

For the girls, returning athletes from last year’s state run include Bekah Koch, Rylee Glembin, Erica Stauffer, Grace Mandli and Maddie Hanneman. Two other athletes, Abby Raddatz and Mikayla Corbett, are veteran runners, and Coach Levandoski thinks they will be critical factors in another run to state.

The Bluejays will open the season this week at Rhinelander High School on Thursday, Aug. 27, starting at 10 a.m. The girls won the meet in the small school division last year, and Waltz took first overall in the boys’ race.