TUSCOLA - The Oakwood Comets girls cross country team concluded their regional campaign with a fifth-place finish at the IHSA regional meet held at Wimple Park last Saturday. The team advanced to Saturday's sectional meet at Lake Land College in Mattoon.
All five scoring runners for Oakwood achieved PRs at the regional meet. Sophomore Callie Richardson led the charge, securing a seventh-place finish with a time of 18:37.25, a nearly 10-second improvement over her previous best.
Juniors Bracie Hird (20:59.99) and Taylor Wells (21:00.51) followed closely, placing 27th and 28th respectively. Hird shaved over 15 seconds off her previous best, while Wells, in only her third varsity race, continued her impressive development. Sophomores Taylor Remole (21:11.96) and junior Zoe Moudy (23:01.73) rounded out the scoring five, both achieving significant PRs. Moudy's improvement was particularly noteworthy, dropping over six minutes from her season debut.
The team's combined score of 124 points placed them behind regional powerhouses Unity (40 points), St. Joseph-Ogden (70 points), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (94 points), and Urbana University (106 points).
The Comets turn their attention to Saturday's IHSA Class 1A Sectional meet at Lake Land College. While the competition will be fierce, the team's recent performance suggests they are well-positioned to make a strong showing to qualify for the state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria on November 9.
Keywords: Oakwood Comets cross country, IHSA regional meet, Class 1A Sectional, Detweiller Park, personal records, state meet qualification.
