September 7, 2010

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Heyworth boys, NCHS girls top Normal Open cross country

September 7, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

By Randy Sharer | rsharer@pantagraph.com  

NORMAL — Heyworth High School (enrollment 265) has never had a boys cross country team qualify for the state meet.

That may not be the case after this year judging by the Hornets’ winning effort in the nine-team Normal Open at Maxwell Park on Saturday.

Led by individual winner Zach Quinn, Heyworth scored 36 points to vanquish much larger schools such as host Normal Community (enrollment 1,921) and Bloomington (1,547).

BHS finished second (59), NCHS third (65) and Central Catholic fourth (106).

“It looks pretty promising,” said Heyworth coach Jeff Trask. “These boys worked really hard in the offseason. I definitely think they should have a shot at being the first team to do it from Heyworth.”

Quinn did his part by touring the 3-mile course in 15 minutes, 56 seconds, besting runner-up Ryan O’Leary of NCHS by 10 seconds.

Quinn broke away from O’Leary in the final half mile after the juniors covered the opening miles in 5:10 and 5:27. O’Leary’s 16:06 put him 36 seconds under his old best.

 “I had a lot left in the tank,” said Quinn, whose goal is a top-five Class 1A state finish.

Quinn failed to finish last year’s state meet because he “just mentally wasn’t there.” Now he uses that disappointment for motivation.

El Paso-Gridley sophomore Julie James was psyched up for a stirring race with Carly Pederson, but strep throat sidelined the NCHS star.

“I always enjoy running against her because she’s a really good runner,” said James, who earned 1A state track medals in the 800 (2nd), 1,600 (5th) and 3,200 (6th). “It’s fun to have someone to try to catch and make me be better.”

James led through miles of 5:58, 6:35 and 6:26 to win in 18:59 Saturday. Central Catholic all-stater Alex Van Hoof was second in 19:09.

In third was Carley Catherine (19:22), who paced NCHS to a winning 43 points. BHS was second (59), Heyworth third (74) and Central fourth (81).

Filed Under Cross, News Tagged With Alex Van Hoof, Carley Catherine, Jeff Trask, Julie James, Kyle O'Daniel, Ryan O'Leary, Zach Quinn

Boylan boys, girls give strong showings

September 7, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

By Brenda Young

ROCKFORD — Two cross country meets, two second-place finishes.

Not a bad start to the season for Boylan, whose boys and girls teams combined to finish second at the Harlem Invitational under mild conditions on Saturday at Rock Cut.

On Wednesday, the teams finished second in their respective division at the Ben Newson Invitational at Searls Park.

Seniors Kayla Droessler and Matt Melloch led the Titans. Droessler finished second with a time of 15 minutes, 22 seconds in the girls junior/senior race, while Melloch took second at 16:14 in the boys senior race.

“We have started the season really well,” Droessler said. “We are all pretty excited.”
The 10-field meet was scored from the seventh lowest times from the boys and girls races. The top four overall team times went to Harlem at 229.32, followed by Boylan at 232.46, Burlington Central 234.41 and Freeport 254.14.

Burlington Central had won the meet for three straight years.

Harlem junior Leah Raffety won the girls junior/senior race with a time of 14.57 on the 2.5-mile course.

“I felt good,” said Raffety, who last year won the girls fresh/soph race. “It was a hilly course, but it was good. The cool weather was perfect for racing.”

Harlem’s team victory was also paced by a pair of brothers in Nick and Luke Miller, who both placed second in their respective races. Nick Miller finished second in the junior boys race at 15.41, while Luke Miller went 13:44 in the fresh/soph boys race.
Freeport sophomore B.J. Smith claimed the fresh/soph boys title at 13:39. Last year, he won the freshman race.

Christa Nordgren of Kirkland Hiawatha finished first in the fresh/soph girls race at 15:53.

Clint Kliem of Burlington Central followed up his sophomore win from last year, by taking the junior boys race at 15:23.

Ari Rothschild of Highland Park finished first in the senior boys race at 15:37.

Filed Under Cross, News Tagged With Rockford Boylan

Mattoon girls win Charleston Invitational for the first time

September 6, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

By MIKE MONAHAN Staff Writer   

CHARLESTON – Saturday in the 12th annual Charleston Cross Country Invitational, the Mattoon girls’ team made history by winning the event for the first time. The Lady Wave won the six-team meet with 38 points, six better than Mount Zion, at Eastern Illinois University.

“We have come over here for so many years and this is a great race,” said Mattoon coach Eric Haslett. “I can remember a time where we were happy if one girl got a medal (top 25) and today we got five and six in the top 30. That is a credit to their work ethic. They want to keep working harder. We had so many girls that got a personal record today and we are young. They are very excited right now and they are just learning.”

On the boys’ side Mount Zion, the No. 7 preseason ranked team according to dyestat.com, won with 30 points, a whopping 34 better than second-place Mahomet-Seymour in the 10-team meet.

Individually, two Mattoon runners took the title, Whitney Maninfior, a freshman, won the girls’ race with a school-meet and personal record time of 19n minutes, 1 second, while senior Joe Calio defended his title with a time of 15:27, also a personal record.

“You can say Whitney did a great job, but when you look at Victoria Drake and Courtney Considine, it is a team effort and the kids realize that,” said Haslett. “They have very high goals for this season and they are very attainable. It is competitive, but in a very friendly way.”

Mattoon has never finished higher than third (1998, 1999 and 2000).

“It gives them a lot to smile about over the weekend,” said Haslett. “Still a lot to look forward to and I was very happy to hear the girls say ‘this is just the beginning. We are still working.’ I am excited. I feel like a little kid at Christmas time.”

Girls

Maninfior had been waiting to see what she could do in high school. Last year on the first-ever Mattoon Middle School cross country team she finished 74th overall in the Class AA state meet with a time of 13 minutes on the two-mile course as MMS finished 25th as a team. After running the 3.05 mile-course in 19 minutes, 56 seconds last Tuesday to lead all runners, she not only beat all 57 runners Saturday, but shattered the school record of 19:39 set last year by Cassy Shaffer, who is now a sophomore and finished third overall in a time of 19:45.

“I have been waiting to get here for along time,” said Maninfior. “It is so exciting for me. My goal was to get in the 19:20s so I am happy with my time and now my goal is to get in the 18’s. It is a pretty fast course (on grass and a bike trail).”

The race was run with temperatures in the mid 60s and a cool breeze.

“The weather wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” said Maninfior, who was ahead by 10 yards early before taking a 50-yard lead and winning by 30 seconds over second-place Meghan Houk of Urbana. “It was a pretty good day to run.”

Charleston finished fourth with 105 points and was led by Kristen Gisondi, who ran a 22:07, just three seconds faster than her sister Sarah Gisondi, a freshman. The two medaled earning 23rd and 24th place overall. It was Sarah’s first race.

“I am really exited for them to medal,” said Charleston coach Derrick Landrus. “It is a big confidence booster for them. I thought we ran pretty well.”

Shelbyville didn’t have enough runners to compete as a team, but Katelyn Duckett, the No. 6 (Class A) preseason runner in the state, placed fifth overall with a time of 19:56.

“My legs were really tired,” said Duckett. “Coach (Kevin Kramer) said it is probably because of the hard workout Friday and that made a difference as well as this was the first time we have run on the grass. I knew the Mattoon girls would be tough. I was going to try and stay with Whitney Maninfior, but she took off a lot faster than what I have been. Last year I ran a 20:15 (third) and this year I got under 20 so it is better than last year. I have room to improve. I need to get a better finish. It was a tough meet.”

Sullivan-Okaw Valley was led by Hannah Robinson’s 22nd (14th among scoring teams), who finished with a time of 22:00.

“Our times are getting a little better,” said S-OV coach Ted Walk. “We are still rebuilding a little this year (lost No. 1 runner Caitlyn Cordell, who moved) We have a couple new people out, two sophomores so we are getting there. I was happy with the time improvement.”

Boys

Calio was eight seconds faster than Mount Zion’s Caleb Abfall and 13 seconds faster than his time at last year’s meet.

“My goal was to get under 15:40 because that is what I ran last year and my other goal was to win it,” said Calio who was neck-and-neck with Abfall for over a mile. “I had been talking with Caleb Abfall about how we had had been running over the summer. When we were running I was thinking ‘wow, he is doing really well. OK, when do I get to break him?’ He ran great, but it was a good day for the entire team.”

Calio broke Abfall near the two-mile mark as the course began to get hilly.

“I knew that was where I break some people,” said Calio. “I worked at it and it was a good race. My goal now is to get into the 14s by the end of the season and this is one step closer to that goal. Another goal is to try and get the team to state. We ran spectacular today. We are working hard to get that goal.”

Mattoon was fourth overall with 93 points.

“Joe Calio didn’t run Tuesday (dual with Charleston) and it was just a minor thing,” said Haslett. “To see him come out today and win it for the second year in a row was wonderful. John Righter ran in the 15 minute range for the first time (15:59) and I know he was very excited about that. Chris Third finished in the 17 minute range for the second meet in a row. They are happy with where they are at, but they also know they still have more things they want to achieve.”

Charleston finished in seventh place and was led by Riley McInerny, who was third overall with a time of 15:44, a personal record.

“I ran a 16:25 last year (third) so to improve 41 seconds is great,” said McInerney. “The weather was beautiful, a little windy and there were a lot of guys here to push you and that got you motivated to do well. I just tried to stay up there in the top group. I kind of surprised myself by beating some of the Mount Zion runners.”

Landrus said, “Riley ran a very good race. I am real happy with him. He ran a smart race. He was in 12th to 14th place at the mile mark. He looked like he felt good. To try and catch Calio would be a good goal for him now. Taylor Garrett is really talented. His times are similar to what Riley ran last year. He ran a good race today. Those two I am pretty happy with. I don’t expect the No. 3, 4, 5 guys to run with them, but I don’t expect them to be as far back as they were today. We can’t have that big of a gap and I think they have the ability to move up.”

Sullivan was led by Cameron Harvey, who finished ninth overall in 16:11. Last year he was 12th in 16:59.

“The boys’ ran real well,” aid Walk. “Cameron Harvey’s goal was to finish in the top 10. We had a lot of people step up for us. Matt Garrelts ran No. 2 for us and everyone ran a great race. Micah Plank was third, Walker Herzog was fourth, which is a nice addition and Kent Hanson was fifth. Our times were a little better than I had hoped for and we finished about where I thought we would (fifth place).

Both Walker and Hanson also play football.

“The team was excited to race against Drew Bandelow, who moved to Mount Zion,” said Walk. “He was our No. 2 most of the time last year. The guys are excited to see him and it is a little extra rivalry.”

Bandelow finished 20th overall in 17:02.

“This was the first test and there is nothing like testing yourself against big schools,” said Walk. “That way when you go against schools your own size you are ready for it. It is good to get a big invite out of the way and get some jitters out.”

Shelbyville was led by Clayton Baker, who was 24th with a time of 17:20.

“We will be a lot better by November than Sept. 4,” said Kramer. “We had a bunch of personal records. We are so young with only one senior with any kind of experience and the rest of them are two years or less, but they all beat their times from last year and beat their goal time so overall it was a pretty good day. It was a good day to run. We are kind of the small fish in a big pond over here with all of the big schools, but the kids competed hard and that is what we are looking for. I told the kids our goal this year is to run our best race the last race and that is what we are working for.”

Mattoon is to travel to Springfield for a 9 a.m. Springfield Lanphier Invitational Saturday, while Charleston is to travel to Peoria Woodruff Saturday. Shelbyville is to play host to its won invitational Saturday at 10 a.m., while Shelbyville is to travel to Argenta-Oreana Tuesday for a 4:30 p.m. meet.

BOYS’ TEAM RESULTS

1. Mount Zion 30; 2. Mahomet-Seymour 64; 3. Danville 83; 4. Mattoon 93; 5. Sullivan-Okaw Valley 161; 6. Champaign Central 161; 7. Charleston 187; 8. Effingham 195; 9. Shelbyville 202; 10. Paris 223; no team scores for Decatur Eisenhower, Springfield Lanphier, Urbana

Top 25 results

1. Joe Calio, Mattoon 15:27; 2. Caleb Abfall, Mount Zion 15:35; 3. Riley McInerney, Charleston 15:44; 4. Joe Fritzsche, Mount Zion 15:50; 6. John Righter, Mattoon 15:59; 7. Lucas Prather, Mahomet-Seymour 16:02; 8. Jake Brown, Mount Zion 16:07; 9. Cameron Harvey, Sullivan-Okaw Valley 16:11; 10. Taylor Fatheree, Effingham 16:23; 11. Elijah Johnson, Mahomet-Seymour 16:28; 12. Alex Goodland, Champaign Central 16:31; 13. Jonathan Schaap, Mahomet-Seymour 16:32; 14. Taylor Garrett, Charleston 16:34; 15. John Butcher, Mahomet-Seymour 16:34; 16. Javon Shaw, Danville, 16:41; 17. Matt Cleveland, Danville 16:50; 18. Forrest Smoes, Mahomet-Seymour 16:51; 19. Devante Robinson, Danville, 16:53; 20. Drew Bandelow, Mount Zion 17:02; 21. Nick Toohtman, Mount Zion 17:03; 22. Kyle Hammel, Champaign Central 17; 09; 23. Chris Third, Mattoon 17:15; 24. Clayton Baker, Shelbyville 17:20; 25. Ethan Russell, Mahomet-Seymour 17:26

Other Mattoon results

27. Cooper Collings, 17:33; 36. Adam Sowers, 18:06; 42. Jacob Perry 18:33; 72. Colton Dodson 20:38

Other Sullivan-Okaw Valley results

29. Matt Garrelts 17:42; 35. Micah Plank 18:01; 39. Walker Herzog 18:20; 52. Kent Hanson 19:00; 57. Bill Brown 19:12; 68. Cody Carman 20:11

Other Charleston results

59. Jay Daniels, 19:14; 61. Tristan Grayling 19:16; 65. Austin Heise 19:28; 66. Grant Olson 19:51; 67. Zach Steidl 19:51

Other Shelbyville results

43. Aaron Thomas 18:34; 45. Seth Applegate 18:44; Zach England 18:45; Alex Matlock 18:46; 58. Myles Foor 19: 14; 62. Matt Bagwell 19:18

GIRLS’ TEAM RESULTS

1. Mattoon 38; 2. Mount Zion 44; 3. Champaign Central 78; 4. Charleston 105; 5. Effingham 107; 6. Sullivan-Okaw Valley 141; no team scores for Urbana, Shelbyville

Top 25 results

1. Whitney Maninfior, Mattoon 19:03; 2. Meghan Houk, Urbana 19:33; 3. Cassy Shaffer, Mattoon 19:45; 4. Kelsey Cramsey, Effingham 19:56; 5. Katelyn Duckett, Shelbyville 19:56; 6. Kim Carter, Danville 20:10; 7. Taylor Green, Mount Zion 20:24; 8. Nicole Choquette, Urbana 20:30; 9. Sarah White, Mount Zion 20:33; 10. Hannah Wright, Champaign Central 20:44; 11. Victoria Drake, Mattoon 20:44; 12. Alicia Pizzo, Shelbyville 21:03; 13. Jenna Bingham, Effingham, 21: 16; 14. Julia Smith, Champaign Central 21:18; 16. Ashlee Jackson Perry, Decatur Eisenhower 21:31; 17. Alisha Larrison, Mount Zion 21:33; 18. Kara Anderson, Danville 21:38; 19. Courtney Considine, Mattoon 21:44; 20. Malorie Harder, Mount Zion 21:59; 21. Madeline Gierach, Mount Zion 21:59; 22. Hannah Robinson, Sullivan-Okaw Valley 22:00; 23. Kristen Gisondi, Charleston 22:07; 24. Sarah Gisondi, Charleston 22:10; 25. Michaela Drake, Mattoon 22:14

Other Mattoon results

30. Carinne Mausehund, Mattoon 22:43; 55. Brittney Tipsword, Mattoon 27:05

Other Charleston results

31. Peyton Sledge 22:49; 38. Missa Borah, 23:23; 40. Codi Martin 23:50; 46. Rachel Miller 24:57; 51. Miranda Randall 25:48

Other Sullivan-Okaw Valley results

41. Hayley Harshman 24:00; 47. Haley Edwards 25:08; 48. Abbey Buxton 25:37; 52. Meredith Murphy 26:04; 56. Emma Adkinson 27:06; 57. Ali Beard 27:47

Other Shelbyville result

34. Kayla Brown 23:17

BOYS’ OPEN RESULTS (top 15)

1. Patrick Tharp, Mount Zion 17:42; 2. Chris Coulton, Mahomet-Seymour 18:05; 3. Noah Gingerich, Mount Zion 18:34; 4. Kyle Appleghist, Mahomet-Seymour 18:37; 5. Dhairan Vahil, Mahomet-Seymour 18:59; 6. Max Collins, Decatur Eisenhower 19:04; 7. Scotter Ellenburg, Springfield Lanphier 19:05; 8. Juwan Lee, Decatur Eisenhower 19:13; 9. Dan Lewis, Mahomet-Seymour 19:17; 10. Logan Seevers, Mount Zion 19:22. 11. Ryan Johnson, Sullivan-Okaw Valley 19:22. 12. Andrew Bell, Mattoon, 19:25; 13. James Williams, Mahomet-Seymour 19:30; 14. Syler Written, Danville 19:33. 15. Tuelcar Viljee, Danville 19:36

Other Sullivan-Okaw Valley results

18. Brock Bales 19:43; 19. Nick Shields 19:44; 28. Aaron Wood 20:13; 29. Patrick Miller 20:20; 33. Bryce Miller 20:42; 36. Hunter Perrine 20:59; 38. Garrett Sparks 21:06; 42. Jordan Waldhoff 21:29; 46. Shane Atchison 21:40; 47. John Manck 21:45; 50. Brody Sparks, 21:52; 64. Riley Wisely 22:59; 25. Josh O’Brien 23:21; 26. Garrett Griffin 23:28; 27. Dalton Williams 23:28; 73. David Puyear 24:46; 76. Wyatt Grohler 25:07

Other Shelbyville results

22. Diennion Martin 19:58; 26. Kyle Brown 20:08; 35. Cory Powers 20:52; 43. Braxton Lape 21:30; 54. Pete Mosley 22:15; 69. Dakota Prazha 23:46

Other Mattoon results

48. Luke Young 21:47; 52. Austin Sherman 22:04

GIRLS’ OPEN RESULTS

1. Jakeenya Evans, Champaign Central 21:51; 2. Nikki Dentzman, Springfield Lanphier 22:23; 3. Sophie Ruiz, Urbana 23:50; 4. Morgan Lowell, Urbana 23:58; 5. Brittany Irwin, Charleston 24:13; 6. Kathryn Gunderson, Champaign Central 24:34; 7. Sara Sunderland, Champaign Central 24:48; 8. Niallan O’Brien, Champaign Central 24:50; 9. Cierra Zimmerman, Champaign Central 24:56; 10. Courtney Health, Paris 25:13; 11. Shasta Bryant, Springfield Lanphier 25:17; 12. Jenna Collins, Sullivan-Okaw Valley 25:42; 13. Hunter Worthey, Mattoon 25:48; 14. Val Lau, Paris, 26:03; 15. Sarah Fritz, Charleston 26:27

Other Sulllivan-Okaw Valley results

17. Heather Clements 27:22; 22. Katie Devore 28;54; 23. Cheyenne Creek 29:00; 28. Elizabeth Priest 31:52

Shelbyville results

18. Allie Paisley 27:28; 25. Megan Martin 30:17

Other Mattoon result

24. Telsey Kinnaman 29:50

Filed Under Cross, News Tagged With Joe Calio, mattoon, Whitney Maninfior

Pierce changes her strategy

September 6, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

BY AARON PATTERSON CNHI

CHRISMAN — Last year, when Oakwood/Armstrong-Potomac’s Ciara Pierce found herself placing at the top of nearly all of her cross country races, she began to feel pretty good about herself, and her chances of having a successful performance at the state competition.

The problem was, she never made it to state. By the end of the season, she hit a wall and just wanted it to be over.

“Last year, I just got out of therapy, and I was ready to run,” Pierce said. “I pushed in every single practice. Last year, all I thought about was winning. I wanted to go out there and win. And I didn’t know what to expect, either. I didn’t know how hard I should train. I didn’t know what my pace should be. I just went out there and ran it. I felt good. I peaked really fast. Then, I just couldn’t do anymore because I made my body go into shock so soon.”

Now as a junior, she is determined to finish the season on a better note, and qualify for state. In an effort to maximize her late-season goals, Pierce decided to take a different approach to her cross country training.

Instead of running, she spent the summer doing other things, like swimming and being crew chief for her brother, Bobby, who races a Crate Late Model.

“We did summer runs, but when they said it was easy runs, easy miles, slow, 40 minutes, that’s what I did,” Pierce said. “I didn’t do as much. I probably should have done a little bit more (in miles), but I said I didn’t want that to happen to my body like I did last year. I got weak. I lost so much weight, and I just wasn’t strong. At the end, I was ready for it to be done.”

At Saturday’s 29th Annual Cow Chip Classic, Pierce placed fifth among the event’s top runners with a time of 20 minutes, 11 seconds. Her time was an improvement from Wednesday’s second place finish of 20:43 at the Kickapoo Kickoff Klassic. Though she realizes taking a different approach will help her qualify for the state meet, she finds herself getting anxious to finish ahead of the pack.

“It is frustrating because I want to be up there like I was last year,” Pierce said. “I keep thinking about last year too much. I need to think about how this is a new year, and it’s still the beginning. It’s only the beginning of September, and I’ve got until October to be really strong.

“I feel bad because I’m not up there and I’m tired and I’m wore out,” she said, thinking about trailing during a race.” I’m pushing myself, but this is all I’ve got right now. So it’s really different from last year. But I’m really hoping by training this way that I’m going to peak later on, and I’m going to be better than last year at the very end.”

OAP coach Tim Lee said Pierce is currently about 30 seconds behind where she was at this point last season. His team is still increasing mileage, and though Pierce understands the ultimate goal, Lee has seen her competitive side come out after two races. But after barely missing the qualifying mark for state last season, both agree it will all be worth it in October.

“She’s a racer,” Lee said. “She wants to win. She actually has to dial herself back. That’s tough for her, but so far she’s taken the coaching, and I think she’s doing all the right things.

“I think she’s a little bit frustrated, but I think she’s frustrated with not winning. I don’t think she’s frustrated with the program. She just likes to be the frontrunner. She’s close. We’re right there with the pack we want to be.”

Bismarck-Henning’s Kari Free had the next best time among area runners, finishing in 22:55. The overall winner in the top girls division was Mahomet-Seymour’s Brittany Bohn, who finished in 19:08, though teammate Tessa Hanlon had the day’s fastest time of 18:47 (in the second division).

Mahomet-Seymour also won the girls team title with seven points while St. Joseph-Ogden placed second with 16. It was the 10th consecutive year Mahomet-Seymour finished in either first or second place.

Filed Under Athlete, Cross, Spotlight Tagged With Ciara Pierce, Cow Chip Classic

QUITE THE CRU — Team philosophy works wonders for runner-up Marquette

September 6, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

SENECA — This season is all about team for Marquette. With that, the Crusaders knew Seneca’s Twilight in the Woods would provide the perfect gauge as to how they match up against the state’s best.

They can’t argue with the results.

In a strong field with state title contenders, Marquette finished second overall at Friday’s meet with 64 points. The Cru fell four points shy of champion Yorkville, but still beat out Beecher, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 1A early in the year, by one point.

“This year our whole goal is team-oriented toward state,” said Marquette’s Evan Darm. “With this, we knew coming in that we’d have the No. 1 team in the state in Beecher. We were interested to see how we matched up with them. I don’t think they ran their No. 1, but we still wanted to see how we matched up as a team. We’re preparing ourselves for the bigger meets we have coming up in the season, and hopefully this will set us up for a good run in the state series and get us down state.”

Darm was leader of Marquette’s first pack of runners. He was a very strong third in 16 minutes, 9.4 seconds.

He was one of three MA runners to finish in the top 10. James Weissensel was sixth overall in 16:29.4. Luke Hill beat his older brother Buck’s best time at the Seneca FFA course by 10 seconds, allowing him to claim eighth place in 16:38.0.

“We’re stressing pack-running this year, and we had three guys who were pretty close,” Darm said. “Then our next three or so were in a pack together. But I think once we move our pack times closer together, I think we’ll be looking like a real solid team this year. We’re looking at the pack, and they all ran great races.”

Drew Gama was 27th overall in 17:56.7 for the Crusaders. Dave Finn completed the Marquette scoring with a 46th-place time of 18:50.7.

In his second year with cross country, Sandwich’s Mike Gaydos has proven his talents. The talented distance runner claimed fourth place in 16:22.3, leading the Indians to sixth place as a team.

“As I learned from one of my coaches, you can be happy but never really satisfied,” Gaydos said.

“I have big goals for myself, but it takes time to achieve them. This is only my second year in cross country. I’m getting up there and trying to press myself.”

Seneca’s Ray LaFree also earned a medal at the meet. He finished 11th overall in 19:02 as the Irish placed seventh as a team.

Elsewhere for the Irish, Ben Barnett was 35th overall in 18:31 and Miguel Williams placed 54th in 19:02. Travis Koetz (67th place/19:42) and Patrick Sandness (80th place/20:20) also scored for Seneca.

Cristian Martinez has been nursing an ankle injury, but still mustered enough strength to lead Streator to 11th place. Martinez finished 29th overall in 18:15.

Tre Wade dropped 30 seconds from his time at last year’s Seneca meet and placed 69th overall in 19:47. Cristian Russell and Gavin Reed, both newcomers to the Bulldogs team, claimed the Nos. 3 and 4 spots. Russell was 79th in 20:19 and Reed 83rd in 20:24.

Nate Welch was 88th overall in 20:40.

“Our boys team is deep; we just need to get more training under our belts,” said STHS coach Brad Brittin. “To finish 11th out of 16 teams, I’ll take that. I’m real happy with the boys, and we’re only going to get better because our No. 2 runner, Willie Clark, has been out with mono. Willie is the difference of 30-40 points tonight.”

Ottawa finished right behind Streator in 12th place despite another strong outing from T.J. Draper. A rookie in the sport, he claimed 31st place in 18:21.

“T.J. Draper is a very hard worker and a very smart runner,” said OTHS coach Doug Hearn. “He’s just really coming along, especially for a guy who’s never run cross country before.”

Matthew Maunu finished 57th overall in 19:05 and Eddie Weber was 78th in 20:17. Joaquin Santoy claimed 90th place (20:49), and Thomas Wolfe was 124th overall in 22:47.

Fieldcrest did not accumulate a team score, but it did receive a solid performance from James Leigh. He finished 23rd overall in 17:31.

Filed Under Cross, News Tagged With ottawa marquette

Running smart

September 3, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

Sycamore, DeKalb happy with Invite

BY STEVE NITZ – sports@daily-chronicle.com

MALTA – Desa Diedrich was so tired after finishing her race at the Sycamore Invite, that she fell down.

That’s understandable, as the DeKalb junior and first-year cross country runner, who ran some two-mile races in track, was running her first three-mile race.

“My legs were just absolutely exhausted,” Diedrich said.

Diedrich was no slouch at the invite. She took sixth place with a time of 20:17.98, one spot behind Sycamore’s Tessa Strack (20:01.01). Wheaton St. Francis’ Kelly McShea finished first (19:01.64), despite taking a wrong turn at one point.

“I was happy with (Diedrich). She ran a really smart race,” DeKalb coach Mike Wolf said. “She put herself in position early. Stepping up to three (miles) is a little bit of a change for her.”

Diedrich started off well, but lost some ground as the race went on. Being able to pace herself is something she knows she’ll get better at as the year goes on.

“I did pretty well for the most part. For my first race my time was pretty good, top 10,” she said. “Cross country’s a lot harder than track so it’s definitely a lot more work that you have to put in. The distance is a lot harder, so I have to pace myself. As the season progresses I think I’ll be able to handle the longer distance better.”

Irisa Hecott had the Barbs’ next best time (22:08.22), finishing in 18th place. Alex Wade (24:47.94) took 30th for DeKalb, who didn’t have enough runners to qualify as a team, as Wolf likes to keep all of his younger runners at the frosh/soph level the first few races of the season.

Sycamore took third place as a team, two spots behind first-place Dixon.

Maggie Lalowski (20:59.91) finished in 11th place for the Spartans, with Corinne Ruff (21:59.47) taking 16th. Morgan Morreale (22:14.60) was 20th while Shekinah Bergmann (23:04.98) came in 25th.

In the boys race, Sycamore finished third while DeKalb was sixth. Riley Powers was Sycamore’s top finisher, coming in 12th place with a time of 17:27.25.

“I thought it was really important for our team to get out like this. We’ve got a lot of younger guys out,” Powers said. “It was overall I think a good experience for them, coming to a first meet like this and performing the way they did. Especially in this heat, it worked out really well.”

Zach Aase (17:44.65) finished 14th for the Spartans, with Mark Stice (18:22.77) taking 20th. Henry Weberpal (19:21.81) was 29th while Stephen Grimson (19:32.80) was 32nd.

Matt Phanenbecker (19:34.56) was DeKalb’s top finisher, taking 34th place. Chris Meyers (20:03.68) finished 41st for the Barbs.

Defending Class 2A state champion Belvidere North ran away with the title, as four of its runners finished in the top five. Paul Zeman, who finished first at the Class 2A state meet a year ago, had no problem winning his first race of the year, finishing 38 seconds ahead of Sandwich’s Mike Gaydos, who came in second.

“I used to run with a lot of those guys in club,” Powers said. “They’ve got a really good team this year and they had a good team last year. They didn’t lose a whole lot of people, they’ll be great this year.”

Filed Under Cross, News Tagged With Desa Diedrich, Sycamore Invite

Runners make first impression

September 3, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

BY CHAD DARE Commercial-News

DANVILLE — Being a first-time varsity cross country runner proved to be a good thing on Tuesday.

Danville freshman Johnny Leverenz and Schlarman sophomore Jesse Hahne both recorded top-10 finishes in the Kickapoo Kickoff Klassic.

Leverenz, who did run cross country in middle school, was fourth with a time of 16 minutes, 59 seconds.

“I think I did pretty decent,’’ he said. “I ran a smart race.

“I was just hoping for a top-10 finish and I was in the top-five.’’

Hahne, who had been a football player until this fall, was seventh, completing the 3-mile course in 17:08.

“I pushed myself further than I thought I could and I did better than I thought I could,’’ he said. “This is the best that I’ve done.

“I was hoping for a top-10 finish and I got it.’’

Hahne, a state qualifier in the 3,200-meter run last spring, said his success on the track led him to switch from football to cross country.

“It was a very difficult decision,’’ he said. “I started running in junior high to help with my football and I found out that I was a pretty good runner.’’

Not only did Leverenz finish fourth, but he was also the top finisher for the Vikings, beating seniors Jovon Shaw (fifth) and Matt Cleveland (10th).

“I was expecting it to be fast, but once it started, I felt tired and got too nervous,’’ said Shaw, whose time was 17:03. “John ran well. He ran with a lot of confidence and that is good have.’’

But can a senior accept a freshman beating him?

“It’s going to push me a lot harder,’’ Shaw admitted. “I thought I was the No. 1 guy.’’

Danville finished second in the team standings behind the Unity Rockets (53-57).

“We didn’t back off for this meet. This was just the first meet of the year,’’ Danville coach Todd Orvis said. “I was pretty happy with the way the team ran, and I’m sure the two senior guys are disappointed, but we still have a full season.

“The end of the year is the important time to run well.’’

That is the same philosophy that Oakwood/Armstrong-Potomac’s Ciara Pierce is running with this season.

Pierce was second in the girls’ race with a time of 20:43, finishing behind Chelsea Blaase of St. Joseph-Ogden.

“I was really pretty happy with my race,’’ she said. “Last year, I came out running hard and peaked too early.

“This year, I’m concentrating on the end of the season. So, for this being the first race of the year, it felt good.’’

Danville’s Amy Carter ws fifth with a time of 21:24, while teammate Kara Anderson was 18th.

Filed Under Cross, News Tagged With Jesse Hahne, Johnny Levernz

Rehfeldt, Rockford Christian look to repeat cross country success

September 3, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

By Brenda Young

RRSTAR.COM

The target on Justin Rehfeldt’s back gets bigger every year.  

The bull’s-eye also is directed at the entire Rockford Christian cross country team, which last year won the inaugural Northeastern Athletic Conference title en route to a 16th place finish at the Class 1A state meet. Rehfeldt, the reigning Class 1A boys state champion, and the Royals return looking for a repeat.

“Our No. 1 goal is to qualify for state,” said Rehfeldt, a senior captain. “We had a tough sectional last year, and it will be tough again. We want to do well in our highlight meets and we do want to win conference.”

Rehfeldt is joined by varsity runners Chris Donovan, Eric Vermillion and Tyler Menge, who all were members of the Royals’ state title team. Just like last year, the development of a fifth runner will be key to the Royals’ success. Newcomers Ethan Anderson, Evan Patchin, Matt Bates, Ben Thor and Alex Moye are all vying for that fifth spot.

“We have a very strong core group returning with state experience,” Rockford Christian coach Randy Moore said. “This is familiar territory for us in finding a top 5 runner. Last year, we found it in senior Gabe Orem. We are looking for somebody who can get it done and fill that spot.”

Rockford Christian should be chased in the NAC by Illinois Math and Science Academy, which finished second last year.

“We don’t take IMSA for granted,” Moore said. “They have depth and they know who their fifth runner is and that’s what makes them a threat for us.”

Rockford schools
It’s another building year for Keith, which returns with a team of sophomores led by Carter Davis, Matt Greer and Ben Ross. Junior Marco Hernandez is the lone upperclassmen on a preseason squad of six runners.

At Christian Life, Coach Ray Fertitta has a team that should finish in the top half of the conference race.

Big Northern West
Richmond-Burton, the two-time defending champion, returns a young team led by all-state senior Matt Lytle. Lytle finished eighth at the Class 2A state meet last season. He is joined by sophomores DJ Wolfram, Aaron Spivey and Mike Bland and freshmen James Kaht and Ryan Garrett.

Byron tied for second in the conference with Burlington Central, but injuries plagued the Tigers at sectional. Byron brings back all-conference runners Andrew McCarey, Brendan Walters and Charles Sievers. Newcomers Joel Walden, TJ Pitcock and Mitch Reecher join the group.

Coach Mike McHale expects to put a solid five together, and if they can all stay healthy, they will be force at sectionals.

Oregon suffered through illnesses at last year’s sectional. The Hawks, who finished fifth, hope to also stay healthy for a top-3 finish with the return of runners Nick Jones, Mahali Granados, Ben Reising, Skylar Dhaese and Garrett Newman.

Top runner Clint Kliem is back for Burlington Central.

“Our 2-7 will close the gap this year, but we are still somewhat inexperienced,” Burlington Central Coach Vince Neil said. “So we really need to focus on each and every meet this season to prepare for the postseason.”

Winnebago doesn’t have much depth, but should finish in the top half. Seniors Aaron Traum and Steven Lynn and junior Nick Olmstead and sophomore Shawn Patrick lead the Indians, who finished fourth last year.

Genoa-Kingston’s strength will rely on the return of five varsity runners. Junior Alex Bode, seniors Cody Jennings and Fernando Millan, and sophomores Zach Herrmann and Jacob Brandeis lead the Cogs.
North Boone returns a nice nucleus led by Armon and Morris Kennedy. The Vikings could finish in the top 5 after placing sixth in the conference last season. Joining the Kennedys are senior Cody Johnson and freshmen Josh Herrman.

Hampshire will be led by sophomore newcomers Dylan Keeling and Travis Keeling, while Lutheran returns six letter winners including all-conference runner Ian Lofgren.

Big 12
Dixon junior Zach Payne returns to lead a young team, which finished first in the NCIC Conference last year and hopes to repeat that feat in the newly formed Big 12.

Payne is joined by freshmen Simon Thrope, who was the IESA, IlUSATF, & USATF region 7 champion last year. Seniors Keenan Corning, Dexter Hill, and Aaron Grady are in the Dukes’ top seven. The other members of the team are very young.

DeKalb graduated top runner Nick Schrader, but brings back the rest of its top seven. Seniors Jordan Wellman and Matt Phanenbecker, juniors Dalton Bates, Chris Meyers and Matt Shamuluas, and sophomores Marc Dubrick, Patrick Martin and TJ Neidel lead the Barbs.

Sterling senior Jacob Landis returns at No. 1 for the Warriors, who have hopes of a sectional berth for first time in more than 10 years. Landis, a three-year varsity runner, qualified for state individually last year.

Others
Durand senior Matt Hamilton returns to lead a youthful squad that includes senior Adam Johnson, sophomores Grant Colborn, Austin Ware and Collin Britnell and freshman Kyle Ernzen.

Filed Under Cross, Spotlight Tagged With rockford christian

Changing of the guard has begun for West girls cross country program

August 31, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

Schmitz could emerge as No. 1 runner for girls

BY DEAN CRIDDLE – News-Democrat

BELLEVILLE — After four years and three trips to the Class 3A state cross country meet, the changing of the guard within the Belleville West girls cross country program has begun.

But the legacy of Sammie Grove won’t be forgotten.

“As a four-year letter winner, three-time state qualifier, four-time all-Southwestern Conference runner, Sammie was the face of our program, at least on the girls side,” Maroons coach Patton Segraves said. “Replacing someone of that stature won’t be easy, especially since we don’t have a lot of girls in the program right now.

“We’re just hoping that one or two of the girls step forward and become the type of leader that she was for us.”

One of those athletes could be junior Madeline Schmitz, who returns for her third season as one of the Maroons’ top runners.

A second-team all-SWC honoree last season, Schmitz may have what it takes to be the Maroons go-to girl.

“Madeline was very consistent for us a year ago. I could usually count on her to be in the top 20 in most of our big meets,” Segraves said. “We’re hoping this is the year she steps up and takes her running to the next level.”

Three other juniors — Brianna Winkel, Libby Kimutis and Hailey Horton — along with highly touted freshman Kristin Goerger round out the Maroons’ top five.

While Segraves has just 12 runners in the girls program, a record number of 30 boys are battling for running time on the varsity.

Seniors Shane Blick and Brandon Wise, along with junior Shane McCottrell, are battling to be the team’s No. 1 runner.

“I think we have a good group of boys,” Segraves said. “Blick and Wise have both been around for two years and while they’re not going to wow you, they’re just two kids who do what they’re supposed to do and come out every day and just work hard.

“McCottrell has been running since he was a freshman and I certainly think he’ll be competing for the No. 1 spot fairly soon.”

Two other juniors –Nate Gonzalez and Mike Magee — round out the top five boys.

“Like I said, we have five pretty solid kids there,” Segraves said. “None of the five are great, but they’re just good kids who like to run, like to compete and are solid high school cross country runners.”

Senior Sam Edwards is another runner in the mix for a top spot.

West faces its first major challenge of the season Saturday at the 30-team Granite City Invitational.

Filed Under Cross, Spotlight, Team Tagged With belleville west, Patton Seagraves

Strength in numbers: Althoff cross country program boasts 27 athletes

August 31, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

BY DEAN CRIDDLE – News-Democrat

BELLEVILLE — The days of hoping to have enough quality athletes be competitive at the varsity level apparently are over for coach Gary Calhoun and the Althoff cross country program.

At least in 2010.

Led by the trio of Savannah Ames, Sarah Schmidt and Jennie Gardner on the girls side and a superb group of freshman boys, the Crusaders have a record number of 27 athletes in their program this fall.

“The most we ever had before was 16, so to have 27 this year, we’re thrilled with that,” Calhoun said. “I really don’t know why. I do know we picked some up who have crossed over from other sports.

“The competition is the main thing. It used to be where if you were on the team, you had a position. Now if you don’t perform, there is someone waiting in the wings to take your spot. The best part is the kids. These are great kids who are blending well as a team.”

Megan Gillom, Trisha Quinn and Emily Flake are three other runners Calhoun is high on and should provide quality depth.

“Actually, we have four soccer players who have crossed over and are running for us this season,” Calhoun said. “I’ve always wanted to have that because if they run with us we’ll get them in great shape for soccer. Now we have that.

“Also, it allows these kids a chance to compete. As they showed during the soccer season, these girls love to compete.”

Senior Cullen Brant, an all-Belleville city runner two years ago as a sophomore, returns to lead a young, but very talented boys team.

Three freshmen — Michael Barnes, Jack Buese and Joey Bartholomew — are in the Crusaders’ top tier of runners.

“Joey, as a freshman, has come in and right now is our No. 2 or 3 runner, but I have high hopes for all three of those freshmen. They’ve all come in and looked very good,” Calhoun said. “Cullen (Brant) is our No. 1 guy and he’s always had a lot of potential. I know he’s worked hard and is anxious to come out and have a good senior season.

“Our boys are running in the 18-19 minute range for three miles. We know we have to get that lower, but we’re working hard to do that.”

While the Crusaders should have one of their better seasons in 2010, time will tell if they are able to compete with the area’s top Class 2A programs, such as Triad, Mater Dei, Highland and Cahokia, for a spot in the Class 2A state meet in early November.

“That’s the goal,” Calhoun said. “We took the girls team to state a few years ago and that was a great experience. It’s always great to be able to get an individual or a team to the state meet.”

Filed Under Cross, Spotlight, Team Tagged With Belleville Althoff, Gary Calhoun
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