It was an absolute wet, muddy mess with huge wind gusts at Detweiller Park in Peoria for the High School Cross Country Championships on Saturday. The rain came pouring in during the 1a girls race and continued hard throughout the day.
In the 1a boys team competition, Benton was 5th behind champion DePaul College Prep followed by Riverdale, Latin and Normal University. Pinckneyville was 17, Newton 19, St Anthony 20 and Freeburg 21. Benton’s Gavin Genisio was the state champ with Pinckneyville’s Isaac Teel 2nd. Columbia’s Ethan Hogan was 6th, Okawville’s Grant Schleifer 33 with Columbia’s Calvin Range 59, Chase Smith of Fairfield 94, Christ Our Rock junior Elijah Gregory was 98th.
In the girls team competition, Tolono Unity was champs followed by DePaul College Prep, Rosary, Winnebago and Chicago Christian. Anna Jonesboro was 6, Mater Dei 16, Pinckneyville 18 and Freeburg 28. Okawville’s Caroline Tepe was 20th. Mater Dei was led by Isabella Hacker 55th, Christ Our Rock junior Sarah McKowen was 104 followed by Mater Dei’s Emma Diekemper 118 and Alexis Kampwerth 123. Ella Sager of Fairfield was 132nd followed by Mater Dei’s Avery Rahden 175 and Reid Emig 185 with Julia Korte 222nd.
In 2a, Riverside Brookfield was the team champ followed by Belvidere North and Glenbard South. Marion was 8th and Mt Vernon 25th. Marin’s Dylon Nalley was the individual champion in a time of 14:44.62. For the Rams, Trey Mygatt was 118, Branden Etheredige 134, Evan Taylor 136, Rowan Wilford 163, Caedmon Cook 187, Eli Johnston 189 and Joel Hayes 203.
In the girls competition, Waterloo was 13th. Olney’s Tatum David was state champ in 17:05.06. Effingham’s Jessica Larsen was 67th, Ellary Blakey of Herrin 84.
In 3a, O’Fallon was 14th overall as a team. They were led by Dylan Ybarra who was 21st.
Edwardsville was 12th in the 3a girls competition led by Emily Nuttall in 50th place.
