Spartans emerge as champions at Decatur St. Teresa Invitational
By FRED KRONER
The Spartans won five of seven flight races at the Decatur St. Teresa Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 19) and emerged as team champions in the 12-school event.
When the places of the flighted races were totaled, SJ-O had 14 points. Runner-up Paxton-Buckley-Loda had a final score of 23 points.
SJ-O’s flight winners were Carson Maroon (second flight, 16 minutes, 14.2 seconds), Charlie Mabry (fourth flight, 16:55.4), Luke Stegall (fifth flight, 16:52.8), Logan Wolfersberger (sixth flight, 17:10.4) and Spencer Wilson (seventh flight, 17:34.4).
The Spartans’ other entrants were Brandon Mattsey (fifth in first flight, 16:10.8) and Elijah Mock (fourth in third flight, 17:01.7).
The varsity race featured 68 total runners. All seven SJ-O runners placed in the top half, led by Mattsey (fifth overall) and Maroon (seventh overall).
In a 31-runner open race, three SJ-O athletes secured top-five finishes.
Ethan Blackburn was second in 17:47.9, Lukas Hutcherson was third in 17:48.9 and Isiah Mock was fourth in 17:51.3.
SJ-O will return to action on Saturday in the annual Spartan Classic, which will be held at the St. Joseph Community Park.
