St. Joseph-Ogden’s top-ranked Class 1A boys’ cross-country team sprinted to victory on Tuesday (Oct. 5) in the 11-school Illini Prairie Conference meet at Stanford Olympia.

In a field of 75 runners, six Spartans placed among the top 16, leading SJ-O to the conference championship.

SJ-O’s composite point total was 36. Fifth-ranked (Class 1A) Stanford Olympia was the runner-up with 68 points and 12^th-ranked Monticello was third (79 points). The rankings are compiled by milesplit.com.

The Spartans’ first six finishers were within 40.7 seconds of one another.

Leading the way was sophomore Carson Maroon, who was fourth individually. His 3-mile time was 16 minutes, 35.8 seconds.

Trailing him were senior Luke Stegall (fifth in 16:36.4), senior Charlie Mabry (sixth in 16:37.4), junior Peyton Wendell (ninth in 16:41.4), senior Elijah Mock (12^th in 16:56.1) and junior Ethan Blackburn (16^th in 17:16.5).

The other SJ-O participant was sophomore Holden Jones (50^th in 19:14.5).

In a 25-runner open race, the individual champion was SJ-O sophomore Aden Armstrong. He cruised to victory by more than 1 minute and 17 seconds.

His winning mark was 17:44.7, a time that would have placed him among the top-25 in the varsity race.

The open race runner-up was SJ-O freshman Mason Guido (19:02.8).

Also running the open race for the Spartans were freshman Jack Fisher (fifth in 19:54.6) and freshman E.J. Beckett (22^nd in 27:31.0).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 16) in the Peoria Heights Patroit Invitational.

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The state-ranked St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team turned in a solid showing on Saturday (Sept. 25) while dominating their own Spartan Classic cross-country invitational.

The Spartans’ top five runners all entered the finish chute within 32 seconds of one another, leading SJ-O to the team championship.

SJ-O’s composite score was 65 points. Runner-up St. Thomas More had a score of 104, followed by Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond (116) and Monticello (180) in the 23-team field.

Individually, the five scoring runners for SJ-O all captured spots in the top 22 in a field of 156 runners.

The three team leaders were seniors, Charlie Mabry (seventh on the 3-mile course in 15 minutes, 45.89 seconds), Luke Stegall (eighth in 15:48.09) and Elijah Mock (11^th in 15:58.61).

Close behind were Carson Maroon (17^th in 16:11.74) and Peyton Wendell (22^nd in 16:17.81).

The school’s other entries were Ethan Blackburn (29^th in 16:38.53) and Aden Armstrong (54^th in 17:23.14).

In the most recent milesplit.com state rankings for Class 1A, DePaul College Prep was rated first, followed by SJ-O’s second-ranked team.

SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday (Oct. 5) in the Illini Prairie Conference meet at Stanford Olympia.

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The state-ranked St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team didn’t have enough runners to be scored as a team on Saturday (Sept. 18) in the Richard Spring Invitational at Peoria’s Detweiller Park.

A total of 61 schools entered full teams and there were 457 runners in the varsity division.

Two seniors led the way for SJ-O.

Luke Stegall placed 109^th in 16 minutes, 11.2 seconds for the 3-mile course.

Elijah Mock was 141^st in 16:32.9.

The Spartans’ other varsity participants were Peyton Wendell (196^th in 16:56.5) and Ethan Blackburn (256^th in 17:32.5).

In the freshmen-sophomore race, out of 362 runners, SJ-O sophomore Carson Maroon ran third, finishing the course in 16:08.2.

SJ-O entered a full team and ended 13^th in a 49-team field.

The Spartans’ other participants were: Aden Armstrong (57^th in 17:38.6), Holden Jones (75^th in 17:48.1), Mason Guido (137^th in 18:36.9), Jack Fisher (203^rd in 19:36.0), Joe Griebat (219^th in 19:51.8) and E.J.  Beckett (356^th in 27:20.9).

The team champion was Oak Park-River Forest (71 points), followed by Naperville North (160). SJ-O was 13^th with a team score of 429 points.

St. Joseph-Ogden, ranked fourth in the state in Class 1A by milesplit.com, returns to action on Saturday (Sept. 25) in the Spartan Classic.

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Led by the first- and second-place finishers, Holden Jones and Mason Guido, St. Joseph-Ogden’s boys’ cross-country team ran past Monticello, 24-33, on Tuesday (Sept. 14) in a dual meet at Lodge Park.

In a 2-mile race, Jones was timed in 12 minutes and 4 seconds. Guido’s final time was 12:15.

Four other Spartans secured spots among the top-10: Joe Griebat (sixth in 13:12), Carson Maroon (seventh in 16:12), Aden Armstrong (eighth in 13:13) and Jack Fisher (10^th in 13:45).

SJ-O’s other participants were: Elijah Mock (11^th in 13:46), Ethan Blackburn (13^th in 14:06), Luke Stegall (14^th in 14:06), Charlie Mabry (15^th in 14:09), Peyton Wendell (16^th in 14:10) and E.J. Beckett (20^th in 18:45).

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The St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team stepped up its challenge on Saturday in the First to the Finish cross-country meet at Peoria’s Detweiller Park.

The Spartans are ranked second in Class 1A in the latest poll by milesplit.com, trailing only Chicago Latin.

The First to Finish meet is conducted in three separate races, one for the 1A schools, another for 2A schools and a third for the large-school 3A division.

SJ-O entered the 3A portion of the meet and placed 16^th in the 41-school event which had 366 runners.

The 3A winner was New Trier (125 points) followed by Hinsdale Central (135) and Downers Grove North (136). SJ-O’s score was 460 points.

All five of the Spartans’ scoring runners wound up among the top half of the individual field.

Luke Stegall ran the 3-mile course in 16 minutes, 16.3 seconds and was 65^th.

Charlie Mabry was 78^th in 16:22.8, Elijah Mock was 92^nd in 16.33.1, Carson Maroon was 102^nd in 16:40.2) and Peyton Wendell was 153^rd in 17:03.9.

Stegall, Mabry and Mock are seniors.

The other competitors were Ethan Blackburn (175^th in 17:19.7) and Aden Armstrong (237^th in 18:00.4).

There was also an open race that combined entries for the 1A, 2A, and 3A schools. runners. Fifty-six teams participated in a race that featured 933 runners.

Neuqua Valley was the open champion with 71 points. Lyons and Naperville Central were next, each with 79 points. SJ-O was 38^th with 1176 points.

Holden Jones ran 174^th in 18:50.0. Mason Guido was 268^th in 19:33.5.

The school’s other participants were Jack Fisher (378^th in 20:20.7), Joe Griebat (415^th in 20:45.2) and E.J. Beckett (912^th in 30:20.6).

SJ-O will return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 14) against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park.

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St. Joseph-Ogden was the runaway winner on Saturday (Sept. 4) in the Chrisman Cowchip Classic cross-country invitational.

The 26-school event was a flighted race where the No. 1 runners from each school ran only against each other, with other races held for the second through seventh runners from each school.

SJ-O athletes won six of the seven flighted races.

Luke Stegall placed fourth in the race for No. 1 runners, but recorded the Spartans’ top 3-mile time of the day, 17 minutes, 0.1 seconds.

Teammates who dominated their races were Charlie Mabry (17:11.7 in No. 2 race), Elijah Mock (17:36.4 in No. 3 race), Carson Maroon (18:04.2 in No. 4 race), Peyton Wendell (18:15.1 in No. 5 race), Ethan Blackburn (18:07.0 in No. 6 race) and Aden Armstrong (18:18.8 in No. 7 race).

SJ-O had a final score of 68 points. Runner-up Monticello totaled 133 points and third-place Tuscola had 195 points.

In the preseason state rankings compiled by milesplit.com, SJ-O was rated third in Class 2A.

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 7) at Oakwood.

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Three seniors led the way as St. Joseph-Ogden outstepped the field on Saturday (Aug. 28) to capture team honors in the 10-school Doc Acklin Memorial boys’ cross-country invitational in Paris.

The senior leaders entered the finish chute within 6.3 seconds of one another.

Luke Stegall was fourth overall, finishing the 3-mile course in 17 minutes, 18.5 seconds.  He was trailed by Charlie Mabry (fifth in 17:24.4) and Elijah Mock (sixth in 17:24.8) in a field of 71 runners.

They were followed by Carson Maroon (ninth in 17:42.7), Payton Wendell (11^th in 18:25.0), Ethan Blackburn (18^th in 19:03.9), Isaiah Mock (22^nd in 19:41.2) and Aden Armstrong (27^th in 20:15.7).

Other SJ-O participants were Holden Jones (35^th in 20:47.6), Mason Guido (37^th in 20:59.0), Jack Fisher (41^st in 21:35.6), Joe Griebat (52^nd in 23:27.9) and E.J. Beckett (71^st in 33:42.2).

Guido, Fisher, Griebat and Beckett are all freshmen who were competing in their first high school event.

The Spartans finished with a winning score of 30 points, far outdistancing Newton and Tuscola, which tied for second with 62 points.

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday (Sept. 4) at the Chrisman Cowchip Classic.

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What are your goals and where can they take you?

Although they may not realize it yet, runners on the St. Joseph Middle School cross-country team are realizing the answer to this question as they prepare to compete at the IESA State level on Saturday.

For the first time in school history, St. Joseph Middle School captured the IESA Class 2A Sectional title.

Eighth-grader Helene Jones said, “after all seven of our runners finished, Coach P (Corey Plotner) pulled us to the side saying we just made St. Joe history! There has never been a St. Joe 2A cross-country team win a sectional before.”

After the St. Joseph Middle School boys’ cross-country team finished with five runners in the top 10 spots at the sectional, the Panthers were on their way to sending both teams to the 2A IESA state meet at Maxwell Park in Normal.

The catalyst for the teams’ accomplishments has been goal-setting.

Many of the participants began running in fifth grade, looking to beat an older sibling, to have something in common with a parent or to hang out with friends, but it didn’t take long for each runner to find some intrinsic value to their time spent on the course.

“I’ve kept with it because I enjoyed the coaches, people, and I realized I did enjoy running,” Jones said. “After the first season, I knew I had to do next year.”

Coming into her third year on the Panther team, Jones decided that if she puts her mind to it, she might be able to finish the 2-mile course in under 13 minutes. With that time, Jones believed that she would be included on the Sectional roster, and it would be another step to her whole team making it to the State finals.

“All of the goals I had set were crushed,” she said.

With the same mindset, Jones wanted to finish a race to get onto the Panthers’ “board.”

“The board contains the top 20 boy and girl runners of St. Joe Middle School history,” she said.

Currently, Jones sits at No. 12.

But that wasn’t enough for the athlete who knows that time in junior high is short.

Coming into the IESA Sectional on Oct. 12, Jones wanted to finish in the top five of the 86 competitors.

Coming in at 13 minutes, 13.74 seconds, she finished in second place.

Finishing right in front of her at 13:06.69 was teammate Savanna Franzen.

In her seventh-grade year, Franzen had her teammates on her mind as she crossed the finish line.

“I felt a rush of joy because I knew my teammates were not far behind,” Franzen said.

The Panther runners are encouraged to give 100-percent throughout the season.

“My coaches have supported me by telling me when I need to push it, giving me advice for my legs, and being with me every step of the way,” she said.

Keeping her individual goals in sight, Franzen has also encouraged her teammates throughout the year to do the same as the Panthers had their eyes set on a team state-bid from the very beginning.

Jones and Franzen will work to place in the Top 25 runners at State while the entire team looks to place among the top 10.

The St. Joseph Middle School boys’ team also believes it has what it takes to finish in the top 10 on Saturday.

In fact, they’ve set the goal of finishing in the top four teams at State.

Leading the seven-member Panther pack consistently throughout the season has been Carson Maroon.

Maroon finished the two-mile IESA Sectional course in 11:38.23.

“I felt great!” he said. “I knew then that I couldn’t have accomplished anything more.”

Finishing in first place, at sectional ticked of a goal box for Maroon — now he hopes to accomplish his other two goals, finishing in the top 25 at State and finishing a race under 11 minutes.

Being part of a fun team that challenges each other day-after-day is not only what keeps Maroon coming back year-after-year, but he also believes it’s the recipe to finding success.

“The better we do individually the better we are as a team,” eighth-grader Spencer Wilson said.

Wilson finished third at the IESA Sectional meet with a time of 11:57.10.

Finding out he is “pretty decent at running” came on the back of working with great coaches.

“Coach P and Coach G (Michele Guido) are great coaches! I’m glad I got to run with them the last four years “

For Wilson, though, the reason he started cross-country in fifth grade is the same reason he still loves to come to cross-country every day.

“The best part about being on the team are game days and being with my friends,” he said.

The girls’ Class 2A state race is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, followed by the boys’ race at 11:45 a.m.

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