One spot.
That is all that stood in the way of Adeline Baird qualifying for the WIAA Cross Country State Championships last week Friday.
The Ripon High School junior finished seventh overall and sixth among individuals not on qualifying teams at the Waupaca Division 2 Sectional. The top-two teams and top-five individuals not on qualifying teams advanced.
Her time of 20 minutes, 47.9 seconds was 17.1 seconds behind the fifth and final individual qualifier. While she fell short, it still was a drastic improvement from her freshman year when she ran a 24:03 to place 59th…