Betsinger, Gruber cap seasons with state appearances

Pierz sent two individual runners to the Class A State Cross Country Meet Nov. 7 at Majestic Oaks Golf Club.

Senior Wyatt Betsinger and junior Quinn Gruber represented the Pioneers at the meet. Betsinger set a school record with his fourth appearance at the state meet, while Gruber was competing for the third time.

Betsinger has improved every year at the state meet. This season, he finished in seventh place with a time of 15:49.5, just 32.9 seconds behind the first-place finisher. Betsinger fell just nine seconds and two places short of his goal of finishing in the top five at the state meet, which he set at the beginning of the season. Although he fell short of that goal, he finished an impressive career by earning top-10 and all-state honors this season.

At the 2025 state meet, Betsinger finished in 14th place with a time of 16:28.3. He took nearly 40 seconds off his time between his junior and senior state races. As a sophomore in 2024, he finished in 69th place with a time of 17:27.7. In 2023, he finished in 74th place with a time of 17:28.4.

In her third straight state appearance, Gruber finished in 75th place out of 160 runners with a time of 20:26.9. In her first two state appearances, she finished in 52nd and 55th place with times of 20:09.3 and 20:26.2, respectively.

The cross country season has come to an end, and Betsinger closes his chapter with Pioneer cross country after four state appearances. Gruber will look to improve during her senior season and tie Betsinger’s school record by qualifying for her fourth state meet.