Travis Houslet / Daily Register
Portage senior Kassie Vaness passes a pair of runners near the finish line at Saturday's WIAA State Cross Country Meet in Wisconsin Rapids.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Saturday's performance for Kassie Vaness may not have been her best at the WIAA State Meet, but the Portage senior couldn't have been happier with the way her prep cross country career came to an end. In her fourth and final appearance at the state meet, Vaness finished in 34th place in the Division 2 girls race with a season-best time of 16 minutes, 0.2 seconds.

Finishing strong isn't something that Vaness has always been known for, but it was the difference in her strong showing on Saturday. Entering the final stretch of her prep cross country career, Vaness dug down deep to make the final up-hill climb a memorable one.

"It hit me right before the hill, and there was a girl that was only a step ahead of me, and I was like, 'this is my last race, I don't want anybody to beat me," Vaness said. "I've never been a sprinter at the finish, but I passed at least five girls at the end, so it's great to able to finish my race like that."

Poynette's Katie Severson was also putting the finishing touches on a fine prep cross country career on Saturday at the state meet, and she did so by finishing 96th place with a time of 16:56. The 96th place was one spot behind the 95th she took a year ago.

"I wanted better. I wanted to run better than the last time. I missed placing better by two spots. I placed 95th last year," Severson said. "Time wise, I was trying to PR here and my best time was 16:38 at sectionals freshmen year, and I didn't get it."

While Severson was a little disappointed to fall short of some of her personal goals on Saturday, she could be proud of earning a trip to the state meet in three of her four high school seasons. Once she finished Saturday's race, she said it began to sink in that her high school cross country career was over.

"When I finished, I was standing leaning against the table thinking, 'oh my gosh, I'm done.' I wish I had more," Severson said.

Also in Saturday's Division 2 girls race, the Lodi sophomore duo of Michaela Bogdanske and Annaliese Cramer finished in 83rd and 84th place with identical times of 16:43.

CHAMPEAU HAPPY WITH STATE RACE

In the boys Division 2 race, Portage senior Alex Champeau finished his final high school cross country race in 76th place with a time of 17:49, a finish that he had no complaints with.

"I'm fine. I'm not disappointed. I'm here. I can't complain," Champeau said. "I think I started a little too fast, but it was fine."

Like many of the competitors at the state cross country meet, Champeau will always remember the long hill that runners have to climb leading up to the finish line.

"I felt strong most of the race, until that final hill there, and I was like, 'ah man, come on,' but when you can see the finish, it definitely gives you extra speed," Champeau said on Saturday.

The Portage senior also said running without his team was a different experience. In his previous two trips to the state meet, he was doing so as a member of Portage's state-qualifying teams. But on Saturday, he was the lone Portage boy running in Wisconsin Rapids.

"It was not a good thing. It was lonely," Champeau said. "I am glad to go, but it's way more fun with your team."