5 high school boys cross country stars of the week: Oct. 18 edition

The State Journal will recognize the accomplishments of five boys cross country runners from our coverage area each week.

The efforts may not be the greatest statistically but are notable. We then invite readers to vote for the Supernova, the performance that most stood out to you.

Here are this week's honorees.

Mason Bieri wins All-City Championships

Madison East coach Chris Malloy said senior Mason Bieri entered the Madison City Championships with the fastest time and "expected to win based on who was there" at Lake Farm County Park.

He turned that belief into reality by cross first in 16 minutes, 7 seconds, which was 11.4 seconds faster than Madison Memorial sophomore Will Lisowski-Semb in second at 16:18.4.

"It was his race from the beginning," Malloy said. "He set the pace and there was a pack that went about 3 kilometers into it, and then he sort of started pushing a little bit at that point to open up a gap that stayed until the end of the race."

Lucas Castellanos helps power La Follette

Madison La Follette sophomore Lucas Castellanos just missed All-City honors at the Madison City Championships, finishing 11th in 16:38.3.

"The Madison city schools are pretty darn good in distance running," La Follette coach Brady Nichols said.

He was the last of four Lancers who finished withing 6 seconds of each another. Seniors Emmett Samson (16:33.4) and Gustas Montvydas (16:35) and junior Mikias Daniels (16:36.3) joined Castellanos in leading the Lancers.

"He was one of four to be under 16:40, so that's the first time he finished under 16:40," Nichols said about Castellanos' lifetime best time. "For a sophomore on a course like that, it's pretty awesome."

Nichols hopes Castellanos uses the finish as motivation for the rest of the season and next season.

"It's pretty exciting that he was running with those guys and running strong," Nichols said.

Elijah Pabon uses win as preparation for postseason

DeForest senior Elijah Pabon raced to victory in the 5,000-meter race at the Shorewood Invite with a time of 16:11.5.

DeForest coach Joe Parker said Pabon knew there were a couple individuals who could run with him for the first mile, so his game plan was to sit back and allow them to do the work as he stayed near the lead. His focus was the last 1,200 meters.

"He was preparing himself for the end of the season and the goals he has in the state meet," Parker said. "That was the focal point for him in the race and it was successful because he was able to get to that point in the race without much stress and focus in."

Aaron Yarbro takes the Wisconsin Lutheran Invite

Verona junior Aaron Yarbro ran "smart" race at the Wisconsin Lutheran Invite, according to coach Matt Cooper. He grabbed the top spot about 2 kilometers in and never lost it, winning in 15:52.2.

"It was very cool to watch him have that confidence to take the race at that point and go for it," Cooper said.

He was nearly 19 seconds ahead of Stoughton junior Elijah Judd in second place.

"He's been having some really good workouts the past few weeks, and I think that confidence is compounding over the weeks of quality training and racing," Cooper said.

Elijah Judd does well on McCarty Park course

Stoughton coach Pat Schneider was watching his athletes run about a half mile from the finish line at the Wisconsin Lutheran Invite at McCarty Park and noticed Elijah Judd was in sixth place when he passed him. The plan was to kick hard in the last half mile. Judd passed four runners to finish second in 16:11.1.

"This was a big deal race for him," Schneider said. "He hasn't had a particularly great race since he ran at Verona at end of August. We've trained pretty hard through most of our races this year, so I don't think he felt like he was running up to his full potential."

The outing best his personal best by about 20 seconds, according to Schneider.

"It puts him in the mindset where he can run with some of the big dogs in Division 2 at the state meet," Schneider said. "... For him, he beat a few kids that he either hasn't beaten since Verona or hasn't beaten before. When you start beating guys you haven't beaten in awhile, it's a good headspace to be in."

Supernova voting

Congratulations to Madison La Follette's Joey Houseman, who won last week's poll with 46.8% of the vote.

Vote for your favorite performance to be the State Journal supernova below. Check back next week to find out who won.

Regional Sports Reporter