SJO Running places sixth at Class 1A state meet

By Fred Kroner

With its top five runners crossing the finish line within 40.76 seconds of one another, the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team placed sixth on Saturday in the Class 1A IHSA state meet at Detweiller Park, in Peoria.

Seniors Charlie Mabry and Luke Stegall finished within a step of one another, placing 39^th and 40^th, respectively.

Mabry ran the 3-mile layout in 15 minutes, 51.71 seconds. Stegall closed in 15:52.49.

Teammates closely following them were junior Payton Wendell (58^th in 16:10.76), senior Eijah Mock (96^th in 16:29.7) and sophomore Carson Maroon (104^th in 16:32.47).

The Spartans’ other state runners were junior Ethan Blackburn (128^th in 16:47.08) and sophomore Aden Armstrong (151^st in 16:56.11).

There were 260 runners in the boys’ Class 1A race.

Team honors were won by Chicago Latin (165 points), followed by Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond (172 points), Chicago DePaul Prep (186 points) and Normal University High (193 points).

SJ-O was sixth with a team composite of 225 points.