The work to secure a location for this year's Scenic Bluffs Conference meet started half a year ago, for Bangor head coach Dan Rampetsreiter.
What Rampetsreiter found was a new raceway at Justin Trails Resort in rural Sparta.
"We really wanted to host a SBC (meet) because it has been so long since we have had it," said Rampetsreiter, "so we spent some time in the spring to find a location and we were happy with landing at Justin Trails."
"It is exciting to host, but it does take a lot of work to make sure it can be a reliable course for competition."
Saturday's meet will be the first on the course at Justin Trails. The Bangor coach says there are several uphill climbs, but each are complimented by lengthy downhill stretches.
Rampestreiter believes the course will be spectator friendly with long straightaways at both the starting line and finishing area.
"The downhill on the second and third mile is exciting because it can lead to some exciting finishes on the straightaway," said Rampestreiter.
This weekend will mark the third different home course for the Cardinals in the past 20 years.
Despite the program's success, have never had a true home course. In 2007, Bangor hosted the Scenic Ridge meet (a combined meet with both the Scenic Bluffs and Ridge and Valley Conferences) at Veterans Park in West Salem.
In 2011, the first year the SBC tried having its own race, Bangor hosted and ran around school ground and on the La Crosse River State Trail.
READY FOR REPEATS
All four winners from last year's SBC meet at Brookwood will be in title contention again this weekend.
Individually, Royall's Katie Field will be in the hunt for a second-straight individual title. Field dethroned 2024 winner Delilah Hedden a year ago.
The Bangor girls team is the favorite to win and could lock up a fourth-straight title.
Brookwood's Cooper Powell will aim for a second-straight title as well and third overall SBC championship. The last three-time boys winner was Cashton's Jarett Carpenter (2018-20).
Powell is the lead runner for a Brookwood team eager to add an 18th SBC championship to the trophy case.
