Spartans place first in Monticello

By Fred Kroner

The Spartans captured first place on Saturday (Oct. 17) in a star-studded seven-school boys’ cross-country meet at Monticello’s Lodge Park.

The results are sure to shake up the state rankings.

SJ-O (ranked 12^th in Class 1A by milesplit.com) had a composite score of 47 points to win the event. Mahomet-Seymour (No. 11 in Class 2A) was the runner-up with 52 points and was followed by Monticello (No. 6 in Class 1A) with 61 points, Stanford Olympia (No. 1 in Class 1A) with 90 points and Paxton-Buckley-Loda (No. 23 in Class 1A) with 109 points.

In a field of 37 runners, three Spartans finished among the top-10 individuals.

Brandon Mattsey was fourth with a 3-mile time of 15 minutes, 45.91 seconds, Carson Maroon was fifth in 16:03.74 and Charlie Mabry was seventh in 16:10.73.

The school’s other participants were: Elijah Mock (15^th in 16:56.28), Logan Wolfersberger (16^th in 16:57.73) and Luke Stegall (20^th in 17:05.49).

In an open race, SJ-O was second to M-S, 19-42, in a race that featured 37 runners.

Three Spartans secured spots in the top 10.

Spencer Wilson was fourth in 17:35.08, Ethan Blackburn was fifth in 17:54.34 and Lukas Hutcherson was 10^th in 18:20.08.

The other SJ-O athletes in the open race were: Isiah Mock (13^th in 18:32.32), Aden Armstrong (14^th in 18:38.89), Holden Jones (16^th in 18:47.59) and Zach Dahman (22^nd in 19:36.64).

The Spartans will return to action on Saturday (Oct. 24) in the 17-school Decatur St. Teresa Class 1A regional.