SJO and Heritage place in top five at Acklin Cross Country Meet

Spartans and Hawks strong at Acklin Meet as Charleston defends title. Paris’ Harrison Hays repeats as top finisher.


PARIS - East-central Illinois cross country teams converged on Paris High School Saturday for the 9th annual Acklin Cross Country Meet, with 19 schools and 146 runners competing in the varsity boys’ race. St. Joseph-Ogden placed fourth overall, while Heritage finished fifth in a field loaded with competitive talent.

SJO SPORTS

Charleston repeated as team champion, winning its second consecutive Acklin title with 72 points. The Trojans, who also claimed the 2024 crown with 67 points, were followed by Cumberland (84) and host Paris (94). The Spartans tallied 114 points, and the Hawks rounded out the top five with 165. Last year, SJO was runner-up with 87 points, and Cumberland finished third at 123.

Leading the way for Heritage was junior Clark Roland, who finished sixth overall in 16 minutes, 57.7 seconds. Freshman Christian Paul was next for the Hawks at 29th in 18:04.6, followed by sophomore Colby Schrock (37th, 18:20.8), freshman Greyson Guevara (42nd, 18:37.9) and senior Joshua Stierwalt (54th, 18:57.0). That top-five effort was enough to edge several larger schools and secure a top-five team finish.

The Spartans put five runners inside the top 30, separated by just 17 seconds. Junior Colin Burnett led SJO with a 20th-place finish in 17:44.5, with freshman Adam Bello (21st, 17:44.7), senior Lance Retz (22nd, 17:44.8), sophomore Eli Franklin (23rd, 17:46.6) and junior Nate Farney (28th, 18:01.0) close behind. Junior Aiden Hundley also contributed with a 30th-place finish at 18:11.1.

Paris junior Harrison Hays successfully defended his Acklin title, taking first in 15:53.57 after winning last year’s race in 16:49.48. He was followed by Dieterich senior Trevor Crutcher (16:04.79), Effingham senior Alex Gordon (16:22.41), Robinson junior Wyatt Herrington (16:40.25) and Cumberland freshman Colby Roedl(16:46.67). Hays, Crutcher, Gordon, Herrington and Roedl all finished among the top 10 a year ago, underscoring their consistency at the Acklin course. Roland was the highest Heritage finisher in the top 10 this year.

Top 10 Individual Finishers
  1. Harrison Hays, Jr., Paris – 15:53.57
  2. Trevor Crutcher, Sr., Dieterich – 16:04.79
  3. Alex Gordon, Sr., Effingham – 16:22.41
  4. Wyatt Herrington, Jr., Robinson – 16:40.25
  5. Colby Roedl, Fr., Cumberland – 16:46.67
  6. Clark Roland, Jr., Heritage – 16:57.77
  7. Nathan Fonner, Jr., Paris – 17:00.40
  8. Gavin Whitaker, So., Cumberland – 17:01.99
  9. Jonathan Brown, Sr., Charleston – 17:06.44
  10. Stanley Himes, Sr., Charleston – 17:08.25
Team Standings – Top Five
  1. Charleston – 72
  2. Cumberland – 84
  3. Paris – 94
  4. St. Joseph-Ogden – 114
  5. Heritage – 165
St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans cross country, Heritage Hawks running team, Acklin Cross Country Meet results, Charleston Trojans repeat title, Illinois high school cross country standings
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