Shorewood High School Cross Country Claims 2025 State Title

Boys cross country wins state

Shorewood's boys capturing the Division 2 state championship with 66 points on Saturday, Nov. 1, defeating defending champion Kohler (72 points). This marked the program's 10th state title, ranking third-most among all WIAA member schools.

The Greyhounds returned to Division 2 after competing in D1 in 2024, bringing back six experienced runners who dominated the field. Senior Ryan Lien and junior Nolan Johnson led the charge after winning and placing second at their sectional meet.

At the WIAA Division 2 Sectional on Oct. 24 at Kettle Moraine Lutheran, the Greyhounds dominated the competition, scoring just 27 points to win the sectional title and punch their ticket to the state meet.

Senior standout Ryan Lien won the race in 16:06 with teammate Nolan Johnson right behind at 16:07.5; Ryan Optekar, Benny Bejma and Kingston Nelson also packed it in for top‑15 finishes.

As sectional champions, Shorewood advances to the WIAA State Cross Country Championships on Nov. 1 at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.

Congratulations to the Greyhounds on their sectional victory and best of luck at state!

Source: Shorewood Athletics

Season recap

• Thursday, Aug 28 (Boys) – Hoehnke-Hill Milwaukee River Invitational: An evening meet co-hosted by Shorewood and Milwaukee King, held at Veterans Park along Milwaukee’s lakefront. Results: 1st overall out of 22 teams.

• Thursday, Aug 28 (Girls) – PrimeTime Timing Night Race (Arrowhead Night Invite): A unique night-time invitational at Arrowhead High School’s campus in Hartland. Location: Arrowhead HS (Schwarz XC course), Hartland. Results: 8th overall out of 17 teams.

• Friday, Sep 12 – Nightfall Classic 920 (Neenah): A night cross country meet hosted by Neenah at Winagamie Golf Course in Neenah. Start time: Approximately 8:30 PM for the main varsity races as the event is a “nightfall classic” run under floodlights.

• Saturday, Sep 20 – Angel Invitational: A large, long-running invitational meet held at the UW-Parkside Cross Country Course in Kenosha. The Angel Invite is hosted by St. Catherine’s (Racine) and takes place on Parkside’s nationally recognized 5k course. Races are in the morning. Dozens of teams compete, making this one of the season’s marquee events.

• Saturday, Sep 27 – Midwest Invitational (High School): A major mid-season invitational at Blackhawk Golf Course in Janesville. This meet is one of the largest in Wisconsin, with over 3,000 runners in some years. Races start in the morning (the first varsity races around 9:30 AM). Shorewood’s athletes will run against top competition from across the state at the Midwest Invite

• Fri–Sat, Oct 3–4 – Nike XC Town Twilight (Terre Haute, IN): A special out-of-state invitational spanning two days at the LaVern Gibson Championship XC Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. Shorewood’s team will travel to compete against regional and national-caliber teams. Events take place Friday evening and Saturday, with the premier “Race of Champions” under the lights on Saturday night. (This meet is commonly known as the Nike XC Town Twilight, held in conjunction with the annual XC Town Festival in Indiana.)

• Thursday, Oct 9 – Shorewood Invitational: Shorewood’s home invitational meet, held at Lincoln Park Golf Course in Milwaukee. Start time: approximately 4:00 PM for the first race. This weekday afternoon invite features multiple teams (high school varsity and junior varsity, and sometimes middle school races) on Shorewood’s 5k course through Lincoln Park.

• Thursday, Oct 16 – Woodland Conference Championship: The championship meet for the Woodland Conference. Location: McCarty Park, West Allis. Start: ~4:00 PM (boys varsity race) on Thursday afternoon with girls and JV races to follow. All Woodland member schools compete for the conference title at this meet, which serves as the final tune-up before the state series.

• Thursday, Oct 23 – 30th Annual JV State Meet: An invitational meet for junior varsity runners from across Wisconsin (often dubbed “JV State”). In 2025 it is hosted by Menomonee Falls. Location: Rotary Park, Menomonee Falls
  Start time: about 3:15 PM for the JV boys race (with JV girls afterward). This meet gives JV athletes a championship-style season finale, unofficially crowning a “JV state champion.”

• Friday, Oct 24 – WIAA Division 2 Sectional (Sectional 7): The WIAA postseason qualifying meet for Shorewood. Location: Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School course. Competing schools in this sectional include Shorewood and other regional D2 teams. The top two teams and top five individuals at Sectionals advance to the WIAA State Championships on Nov. 1 at Wisconsin Rapids.