Walker and Brown finish at the front of the IESA Class 2A girls’ sectional meet
By FRED KRONER
St. Joseph Middle School had the top two individuals as well as the first-place team in the IESA Class 2A girls’ sectional cross-country meet it hosted on Saturday (Oct. 7).
Eighth-grader Tessa Walker beat seventh-grade teammate Tabby Brown to the finish line by 9.12 seconds to win the 64-runner race.
Walker was timed in 12 minutes, 39.78 seconds on the 2-mile course. Brown completed the course in 12:48.90.
All of the other St. Joseph entries wound up among the top 16 runners.
Seventh-grader Ava Overstreet was seventh (13:25.96), seventh-grader Kennedi Dean was eighth (13:32.38), seventh-grader Charlene Barbee was ninth (13:40.94), sixth-grader Claire Dirksmeyer was 10th (13:49.15) and eighth-grader Avarie Dietiker was 16th (14:27.54).
St. Joseph’s winning team score was 21 points. Runner-up Marshall finished with 76 points and third-place Bement had 87 points.
Schools are allowed to add three runners to their state rosters in case substitutions are needed. The remainder of the Panthers’ roster consists of sixth-grader Ellie Miller, sixth-grader Kinsley Oleynichak and eighth-grader Aubree Profancik.
The state race will be held at Normal Parkside on Saturday (Oct. 14). The girls will run at 10:45 a.m.
St. Joseph Middle School Boys’ Cross-Country
Sectional champion Eli Franklin led St. Joseph Middle School to a team title on Saturday (Oct. 7) in the IESA Class 2A sectional boys’ cross-country race that St. Joseph hosted.
Franklin won the 2-mile race by 8.28 seconds. His 2-mile time was 11 minutes, 24.38 seconds.
All of the Panthers’ sectional entries finished among the top 23 in a race that attracted 75 competitors.
The team’s other leaders were sixth-grader Camden Fisher (third in 11:33.77), seventh-grader Adam Bello (fifth in 12:02.32), seventh-grader Brady Johnson (ninth in 12:28.73), eighth-grader Henry McCannon (17th in 12:40.12), eighth-grader Sam Zadeh (22nd in 12:50.08) and eighth-grader Nathan Hinkel (23rd in 12:51.04).
The St. Joseph cumulative team score was 35 points. Runner-up Potomac had 84 points and third-place Toledo Cumberland ended with 87 points.
The top three schools all earned berths in the 24-team IESA state finals.
The boys’ state race will be on Saturday (Oct. 14) at Normal Parkside and is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m.
Schools are allowed to add three runners to their state rosters in case substitutions are needed. The remainder of the Panthers’ state roster will include eighth-grader Patrick Clark, eighth-grader Hunter Dilley and sixth-grader Kelton Pruemer.
