By Fred Kroner
Five of the seven Villa Grove/Heritage runners who competed in a four-school boys’ cross-country meet at Sullivan’s Tabor Park on Monday (Oct. 6) registered their best 3-mile times of the season.
Zach Ruwe placed fourth overall, finishing with his high school-best time of 16 minutes and 53 seconds.
Teammates who also logged their top times were Daniel Olson (21st in 19:02), Lukas Carey (25th in 19:33), Aidan Ashbrook (26th in 19:52) and Logan Chapman (32nd in 21:00), an improvement of 2:40.
The other VG/Heritage participants were Rowan Denmark-Collins (17th in 18:54) and Ethan Meneely (27th in 19:55).
In the boys’ open race, Austin Zoch placed ninth in 26:56.
In the team chase, the Blue Devils finished fourth, trailing Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond, Tuscola and Sullivan.
“We’re coming off our toughest week of practice all season as we look toward the last two weeks,” Blue Devil head coach Jim Kestner said.
“We have our eyes set on the regional meet hosted by Decatur St. Teresa at Hickory Point Golf Course on Oct. 24.
“Our athletes are excited and driven to be at the top of their abilities, and I look forward to seeing them realize the benefits of a season of hard work.”
VG/Heritage returns to action on Tuesday (Oct. 13) at Paxton-Buckley-Loda.
