DeForest runners compete at River Valley invitational

DeForest's boys and girls cross country teams posted notable performances at the River Valley Blackhawk Invitational.

Competing at the 2026 River Valley Blackhawk Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 12 at the Spring Green Golf Course, the boys’ team won the race with 75 team points, while the girls’ team placed 12th with 277 team points.

According to results provided by athletic.net, both the boys’ and the girls’ teams were part of the “Large School” portion of the race.

The boys’ team — which currently ranks eighth in the Week 3 Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association (WCCCA) Division Coaches Poll — used an abundance of strong finishes to place first on the team leaderboard on Saturday.

DeForest had three different athletes finish inside the top 10.

Meet results

Jacob Lafever, a senior, placed sixth at 16:40.2. Junior Chandler Pabon finished seventh at 16:49.9. Senior Logan Davison was the third Norski to place inside the top 10, racing to an eighth-place finish at 16:58.3.

Parker Stanosz, a senior, placed 26th at 17:39.3, while sophomore Kian Kelroy used a personal-best time of 17:40.1 to place 28th and complete the scoring for the boys’ team.

On the girls’ side, DeForest was led by sophomore Brecklyn Drobac.

Drobac, who notably won the 40th Annual Norski Invitational and placed 11th at the Verona Invitational a week prior, raced to a time of 19:42.4 in Spring Green, placing fifth overall.

Meanwhile, freshman Avery Frye placed 42nd, using a personal-best time of 21:58.3.

Fellow freshman Hailey Austin placed 67th at 23:22.1, while junior Brinly Schwanke clocked 23:33.5 to place 78th. Senior Shea Spahn completed the scoring for DeForest with a personal-best time of 23:58.0 to place 89th.

Up next for DeForest cross country, DeForest will head to the Norsk Golf Club on Saturday, Sept. 19, to race the Mount Horeb Invitational.

Boys Team Scores (Large): DeForest 75, Madison La Follette 80, Monroe 115, McFarland 120, St. Ambrose Academy 156, Richland Center 160, Madison West 172, Dodgeville/Mineral Point 223, Edgewood 250, Mount Horeb 263, Reedsburg 318, Sun Prairie East 254, Waunakee 369, Lancaster 376, Platteville 386, River Valley 448, Wisconsin Dells 451, Lodi 514.

Girls Team Scores (Large): Mount Horeb 83, Waunakee 95, Madison West 107, Monroe 122, Platteville 158, McFarland 167, Middleton 183, Richland Center 244, Lancaster 262, New Glarus 263, Dodgeville/Mineral Point 265, DeForest 277, River Valley 358, St. Ambrose Academy 398, Sun Prairie East 407, Wisconsin Dells 428, Reedsburg 433, Edgewood 451, Madison La Follette 553.