Keeping Evan’s memory alive
Homecoming is a time for celebrating the past and present.
It is supposed to be filled with many activities culminating with a school dance.
However, one year ago, the communities of Middleton and Madison were mourning the loss of three young student-athletes, who were killed in the Town of Middleton on the evening of Oct. 2, 2021 when their car was hit by another vehicle and burst into flames.
While it has been a long grieving process since the lives of the three teens — Middleton seniors John ‘Jack’ Miller and Evan Kratochwill and Madison West senior Simon Bilessi, a former Middleton student — were lost, they have not been forgotten.
On Saturday morning, Middleton High School will host the inaugural ‘Evan Kratochwill Memorial Cross Country Invitational’ at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains.
“Having the impact that Evan had on the team and the community, we thought this would be a great way to honor him and keep that memory of him alive and going for years to come,” Middleton boys cross country coach Brian Finnel said. “We will have some nice special touches that will hopefully enhance the impact that Evan had on the team and also keep his memory going for a long time.”
Five schools will compete in the varsity and JV races: Middleton, Kaukauna, Oconomowoc, Sun Prairie West and Verona for the boys and Middleton, Kaukauna, Oconomowoc, Sun Prairie West and Wauwatosa East for the girls.
The field will include at least three boys and three girls varsity teams ranked in the top five in their respective Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Division 1 state coaches’ polls.
While Middleton has traditionally competed at the Stoughton Invitational this weekend, the Cardinals had been contemplating pulling out of the meet and creating a meet of their own.
“With the passing of Evan, it made sense to go through with that plan to honor the memory of Evan in that way,” senior Dean Montour said. “It’s super important to honor his memory and keep remembering our teammate and what happened.”
Finnel said it had been a long time since Middleton hosted its own invite.
“It might have been since 2006 or ’07,” Finnel said. “So we haven’t had a home meet except for the random conference meet or challenge. I think we hosted the conference meet at Pleasant View in 2012.
“Sunday is the anniversary of Evan’s death. It will be an emotional meet. We’ve had a year to grieve and kind of understand where we’re at emotionally. It will still be a tough day.”
Finnel said the opening community race will be the toughest for him.
“I will feel it the most as a coach, just because there will be so many family members of Evan and friends of Evan and people who will do the two-mile run/walk,” Finnel said. “That will be an emotional event.”
What makes the debut of the meet more special is that it will be held on the grounds of Glacier Creek Middle School, where Evan was a student.
“Not too long ago, Evan attended this very middle school and ran on this very same course,” Finnel said. “We are honoring Evan as a former Middleton High School cross country runner and the wonderful young man that he was.”
The schedule of events begins with a community two-mile Cross Country run/walk at 7:40 a.m.
The girls varsity 5,000-meter race starts at 9:15 a.m., followed by the boys’ varsity race at 9:45 a.m.
The girls’ JV 5,000-meter race is set for 10:15 a.m., followed by the boys’ JV race at 10:55 a.m.
There will also be four middle school races contested. The girls middle school championship (grades 6-8) begins at 11:30 a.m. with the boys middle school championship (grades 6-8) at 12:20 p.m.
Closing out the day will be a girls’ team open race (grades 6-8) at 12:50 p.m., followed by a boys’ team open race (grades 6-8) at 1:20 p.m.
Finnel said setting up the meet has been a labor of love.
“We would like to thank so many people for making this race event possible,” Finnel said. “From our community to parents, and the cross country team we appreciate everyone taking the time to volunteer and help out for this inaugural event. We would like to thank the Kratochwill family for their support of this event as well.”
Finnel said a special thank you goes out to the Middleton High School Athletic Department and Grounds Crew for their support and for keeping the course looking sharp.
Also supporting the event are the Village of Cross Plains, Police Chief Tony Ruesga and his staff, and Mike Axon and the entire Parks and Recreation Department along with Dan Kuehn and Plastic Ingenuity for their financial support.
There will be an awards’ ceremony following the meet with the following donors supporting the program: Candace and David Montag of Montag’s Bar and Grill; Dale and Katy Ripp of The Creekside Scoop and Crossroads Coffeehouse; and Jennifer Romine and Culver’s Cross Plains.
Finnel said the Kratochwill family was grateful for the support of the Middleton and Cross Plains communities in debuting the event.
“Thank you to Coach Finnel and our cross country team for putting together this great community event,” the family announced in a press release. “Thank you everyone for attending in person or virtually running or walking in honor of Evan. We really appreciate it.
“And, thank you to Olson-Toon Landscaping for helping us on short notice to get the course ready for the races.”
Finnel said it has been a tough year grieving for the loss of Evan, but this event will keep his spirit alive.
“We all miss Evan’s love, laughter, and friendship; cross country was an important part of Evan’s life, and now his legacy,” the Kratochwill family wrote. “We are so grateful for all of the support and love during the past year.”
