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Below are the RallyAroundUs Athlete of the Week Nominees for the week of October 25 through 31. Voting is open until Friday at 2 pm, so be sure to vote for who you feel is most deserving and spread the word. Users may vote once per day.

RallyAroundUs Athlete of the Week Nominees: October 25-31

Nathan Cumberbatch, Shorewood boys cross country: Cumberbatch was the catalyst for a Shorweood boys cross country team that took home the Division 2 team title with 54 points. The junior runner was top medalist and individual champion as he ran the course in 16:06.4, which was ten seconds better than the second place finisher. Cumberbatch won gold after finishing fourth in Division 1 in 2020.

Shane Griepentrog, Valders boys cross country: Griepentrog took home his first state championship after finished sixth in Division 2 last season. The senior runner ran the course at Ridge Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids in a time of 15:38.6 which stands as the second fastest in Division 3 history. Valders as a team took home the Division 3 team title for the sixth time and fourth in the last five years. Griepentrog finished a whopping 36 seconds ahead of second place finisher and teammate Clay Taylor.

Elsie Kmecak, Catholic Central girls cross country: Kmecak surged at the end of the race to take home the Division 3 state championship this past weekend. With 25 yards left, the junior runner put it in another gear and passed 2019's individual state champ Abby Bartel of Weyauwega-Fremont. Kmecak finished the course in 19:47.7, finishing just under three seconds ahead of Bartel.

Kayci Martensen, Southwestern/Benton/Cuba City girls cross country: Martensen did something this past weekend that only five others have done in state history. She won her third straight state championship. Martensen finished the course in 18:10.0 which was better than 14 seconds than the second place finisher. Her time also was the fourth best in Division 2 state meet history.

Lauren Pansegrau, Middleton girls cross country: Pansegrau came as close as possible to setting a new state record in Division 1 as she took home the individual title. Her time of 17:44.7 was just 00:00.1 seconds slower than the record held by Kora Malecek of Onalaska from 2019. Pansegrau won the title in the alternate spring season as a junior and finished as a runner-up as a sophomore, to Malecek.

The Athlete of the Week is sponsored by RallyAroundUs. It highlights the players who have "made a splash" in the world of high school sports each week. If you have a nominee for Athlete of the Week please send it to Colton Wilson. 

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