DECATUR — The Effingham and St. Anthony girls cross country teams advanced to the Class 1A and 2A State Final Meet after strong showings at their respective sectional competitions.
St. Anthony competed at South Shores Park in Decatur in the Decatur (St. Teresa) Sectional; Effingham competed at Jacksonville Community Park in the Jacksonville Sectional.
St. Anthony finished fifth in their sectional with 190 points. Tolono (Unity) won with 45, Shelbyville was second with 118, Robinson was third with 161 and Champaign (St. Thomas More) was fourth with 186.
“With the rain, it softened the ground, so it was easier on their legs,” St. Anthony head coach Art Geen said. “The course was in good shape; quite a few turns, but it was marked fantastically.”
Isabella Keller won the meet with a time of 17:10.88. It was her first time running the course.
“It’s not too bad,” Keller said. “You get there and walk through the course and jog and you look at it when you walk.”
Keller said that the two-mile mark was when she separated herself from the rest of the pack.
Marshall’s Molly Farrell finished second at 17:27.72.
“I felt around the two-mile mark (was when) I tried to pull away and keep going with my move so that way they couldn’t come back up on me,” she said.
Fellow freshman Aubrey Denning was second on the team with a time of 19:34.06. She finished in 14th place.
“I finished really well,” Denning said. “I tried to put it all out there, so I had nothing left at the end.”
Senior Stacie Vonderheide finished 19th at 19:58.90, senior Emma Helmink was 62nd at 21:25.92, senior Grace Niebrugge was 125th at 24:48.45 and junior Ava Faber was 134th at 25:38.70.
As for other local teams, Newton finished 15th with 391 points, Cumberland County was 18th with 447, Dieterich was 19th with 510 and Teutopolis was 20th with 540.
For Newton, sophomore Layna Marshall finished 31st at 20:25.22, sophomore Shay Bennett was 92nd at 22:47.74, junior Natalie Kistner was 111th at 23:35.48, sophomore Lily Yager was 114th at 23:53.98, freshman Kate Bierman was 118th at 24:20.12 and junior Avery Mulvey was 124th at 24:47.53.
For Cumberland County, senior Libby McGinnis finished 82nd at 22:28.61, senior Lexie Fletcher was 112th at 23:50.27, sophomore Annie Clark was 120th at 24:28.22, junior Atalie Osborn was 122nd at 24:39.33, sophomore Natalie Beaumont was 138th at 25:59.23 and senior Megan Baker was 145th at 27:17.93.
For Dieterich, senior Adriana Gordon was 98th at 22:59.43, junior Ella Kreke was 104th at 23:11.82, freshman Addison Miller was 130th at 25:22.67, sophomore Callie Faller was 132nd at 25:31.19, junior Marli Michl was 135th at 25:44.37, senior Makenna French was 137th at 25:50.69 and senior Adriane Huber was 146th at 27:57.05.
Lastly, for Teutopolis, freshman Pearl Huber finished 105th at 23:12.64, junior Ella Niehls was 119th at 24:27.24, freshman Elaina Gaffin was 129th at 25:14.87, freshman Mary Jane Dennis was 139th at 26:07.24, sophomore Claire Overbeck was 140th at 26:22.30 and junior Maddie Zane was 142nd at 26:57.74.
“They ran a lot better times compared to last week at regionals,” head coach Chelsea Gruel said. “The cooler conditions I felt led to some better times.”
Individually, Altamont freshman Krista Hall finished 94th at 22:53.16.
“She was a fantastic addition to our team this season,” head coach Trenton Deadmond said. “Her first time as a cross country runner and she knocked it out of the park. She had a three-mile personal record today, so it was her best race of the season. She has some infectious enthusiasm, so we’re hoping she’ll help us recruit and grow the team and grow the squad.”
Hall couldn’t be happier with her first season on the cross country team, either.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “I had a really good cross country family and I had amazing coaches who brought me the whole way through. (My coaches) make me the best runner that I possibly can be.”
As for the boys’ race, Newton finished 10th with 274 points, Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City was 11th with 302, Cumberland County was 12th with 316 and Dieterich was 21st with 486.
For Cumberland, freshman Cameron Roedl finished 12th at 16:07.09.
“I think he had a really solid race, especially for a freshman,” head coach Deacon Faulkner said. “If you look at the guys in front of him, a lot of them are upperclassmen, so as a freshman, I think he represented himself and Cumberland County really well.”
Junior Riley Morgan finished 47th at 17:17.32, sophomore Kade Bradley was 93rd at 18:19.42, senior Zack Buescher was 100th at 18:31.65, senior Kaleb Bierman was 108th at 18:39.95, sophomore Cole Margenthaler was 137th at 19:35.72 and sophomore Maximus Strader was 149th at 21:12.08.
For Newton, senior Luke Weber finished 23rd at 16:38.07.
“It was a fast course,” Weber said. “It’s the first time I’ve been fresh in a while, but I like the course; it’s mostly flat and there were a lot of great runners here today.”
Senior Brock Probst finished 49th at 17:19.56, sophomore Hayden Borgic was 74th at 17:46.41, junior Isaac Street was 82nd at 17:57.95, sophomore Tanner Whitaker was 83rd at 17:57.97, junior Jackson Sornberger was 91st at 18:16.63 and sophomore Wade Ochs was 113th at 18:47.63.
For Cowden-Herrick, sophomore August Cosart finished 25th at 16:40.77.
“He gets better every time he runs,” head coach Clint Lorton said. “He’s got a work ethic that’s unbelievable and he’s got a lot of heart.”
Freshman Griffin Vaughn finished 44th at 17:14.71.
“Griffin’s got a lot of potential and he’s going to have a really good future,” Lorton said. “It’s a big jump going from the junior high distance to the high school distance and they’re getting used to it, but Griffin’s going to be somebody we lean on.”
Junior Aiden Wallace finished 75th at 17:46.78.
“Aiden’s really getting into his groove,” Lorton said. “He’s finding himself and building more confidence.”
Freshman Porter Lilly finished 97th at 18:28.10, freshman Hayden Sarver was 101st at 18:31.68 and sophomore Drake Richards was 131st at 19:14.29.
“We went about things a little differently this year and we’re going to go about them differently next year and keep progressing,” Lorton said.
Lastly, for Dieterich, sophomore Trevor Crutcher finished 55th at 17:27.58, senior Kaden Einhorn was 61st at 17:36.99, senior Trevor Niemerg was 141st at 19:50.54, senior Gabe Jackson was 142nd at 19:57.31, freshman Cody Landers was 144th at 20:01.74, sophomore Tanner Niemerg was 146th at 20:07.63 and sophomore Gavin French was 147th at 20:11.27.
Individually, Teutopolis also advanced a pair of runners.
Sophomore James Hughey finished 116th at 18:51.95 and freshman Nicholas Waldhoff was 128th at 19:09.18.
“I liked that they used the opportunity to have good competition and they pushed themselves; they took advantage of the situation,” Gruel said.
Class 2A Jacksonville Sectional
Effingham finished seventh to qualify as a team for the state competition.
The Flaming Hearts finished with 217 points. Chatham (Glenwood) won with 40, Mt. Zion was second with 121, Waterloo was third with 133, Normal (University) was fourth with 151, Champaign (Centennial) was fifth with 176 and Rochester was sixth with 191.
For Effingham, junior Jessica Larsen finished 25th at 18:00.60, sophomore Baylee Summers was 29th at 18:14.40, freshman Drew Weis was 47th at 18:53.30, junior Morgan Springer was 66th at 19:32.70, senior Audrey Wagoner was 73rd at 19:39.30, senior Kyra Hazelton was 82nd at 19:50 and junior Haddie Hill was 93rd at 20:02.50.
As for the boys’ race, sophomore Alex Gordon finished 31st at 15:12.80 and junior Adam Flack was 124th at 17:06.