Photo Gallery: Area runners give all at state cross country meet
St. Joseph-Ogden's Savanna Franzen runs in the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. Franzen, a freshman, finished in 6th place over all at 17:51.72 to help the Spartans to a fourth-place finish in the girls Class 1A division. See more photos of the SJO athletes here.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity's Malia Fairbanks runs her second lap around Detweiler Park during the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. The veteran senior harrier was the fifth runner from the Rockets to cross the finish line at 19:04.82 to secure the team title with 126 points. The victory secured Unity's sixth consecutive cross country state trophy in over the past six seasons.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
University High School junior Kate Ahmari heads to the finish line on her way to a second-place Class 1A finish on Saturday. The Illineks finished in ninth-place with at team score of 320 behind #7 IC Catholic (246pts) and Wheaton Academy in 8th place with 289 points. Ahmari crossed the finished line at 17:29.24.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
SJO's Ava Knap runs the last thirty yards to the finish line in her 3-mile race at Detweiller Park. The Spartans' top finisher clocked in 17:48.51 in fifth-place.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Incoming Storm
Salt Fork runner finishes in top 25
Oakwood-Salt Fork runner Macie Russell heads to the finish line in the Class 1A race. The sophomore earned All-State status after coming in 16th place. A student at Salt Fork High School, she ran the 3-mile course in 18 minutes and 21.94 seconds.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Urbana University's Stefania Dzhaman runs to the finish line behind Eureka's Meika Bender in the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. Dzhaman, a senior, finished her run at 19:42.85.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Pulling away from her nearest competitor, Unity's Harper Hancock closes in on the finish line. The Rockets have won the state title two other times since the 2015 season (2015, 2017). The program was runner up in 2016 and finished in third-place in 2018 and 2019 in Class 1A. Hancock, a senior, finished in 30th place with her time at 18:39.30. Follow link to view more photos of Unity cross country runners on Saturday.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
With a few more strides to go to finish his race, St. Joseph-Ogden's Luke Stegall leans forward in preparation to cross the finish line during the boys' Class 1A race. Stegall, a senior, finished the last cross country race of his prep career at 15:52.49. The Spartans finished in sixth-place in the boys team standings.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Pushing himself the last eight yards of his race, Urbana University's Henry Laufenberg runs to a 15:58.37, placing 46th place overall.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Champaign Central's Maaike Niekerk runs in the Class 2A girls' race. The senior clocked in at 19:05.30 in 86th place on Saturday.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Celia Barbieri and Northside's Allison Feeney runs in the Class 2A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. The solo runner representing the Tigers at state finished 111th overall at 19:19.22.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
With about 10 yards left in their race, Urbana's Brian Allison and Julio Angrave along with Champaign Central's Nick Bonn continue their final kick to the finish line during the Class 2A race.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Hudson Coady and Champaign Central's Enrique Bueschlein run through a shaded area of the Detweiller Park course on their second lap in the Class 2A race. Coady finished 220th oveall at 17:28.15, while Bueshlein crossed over 13 seconds later for a time of 17:41.80 in 227th place.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Sam Lambert closes in on the finish line in the Class 2A race. The senior harrier for the Tigers finished just one place away from making All-State status in 26th place at 15:25.63. Earlier in the season, Lambert won the Big12 Conference title for UHS. See more photos of Urbana's cross country athletes here.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
