Richardson leads Comet Cross Country team at Tuscola Regionals

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.

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Keywords: Oakwood Comets cross country, IHSA regional meet, Class 1A Sectional, Detweiller Park, personal records, state meet qualification.

Unity claims another cross country regional title, Rockets positioned to make it a four-peat at state

TUSCOLA - The Unity girls' cross country team secured yet another triumph on Saturday, winning the Tuscola Cross Country Regional at Wimple Park. The Rockets, defending three-time Class 1A state champions, extended their dominance with a first-place finish, posting a team score of 40 points, well ahead of second-place St. Joseph-Ogden’s 70. Paxton-Buckley-Loda rounded out the top three with 94 points.

Unity’s success was built on a balanced performance from its top runners, as five Rockets finished in the top 15, showcasing the depth and strength of the team. Senior Emily Decker led the charge for Unity, finishing second overall with a time of 17:11.44, just over a minute behind Tuscola’s Kate Foltz, who claimed first place in 16:02.82. Decker’s commanding performance set the tone for Unity's steady climb toward another potential state championship.

Following Decker, Unity’s junior standout Mackenzie Pound crossed the line in third place, clocking in at 17:51.90. Pound’s continued improvement this season has made her a key asset for the Rockets as they gear up for another postseason run.

Unity’s depth shone through with senior Josie Cler finishing 10th (19:21.96) and fellow seniors Ashlyn Denney (19:49.92) and Camryn Reedy (19:50.54) closely following in 13th and 15th places, respectively. Rounding out Unity’s top seven were Molly Baxley (20:20.06) in 20th and Grace Wherley (20:29.00) in 22nd, further solidifying the Rockets’ dominance in the regional field.

With clear blue skies and a crisp 40-degree temperature, the fall weather created ideal conditions for the athletes at Wimple Park. Unity capitalized on the fast course, maintaining strong positioning throughout the race. Decker’s aggressive start, coupled with Pound’s steady pace in the middle stages, helped Unity quickly take control.

While Unity's runners were focused on team success, Foltz of Tuscola delivered an individual performance for the record books, finishing nearly a minute faster than any other competitor with a time of 16:02.82. Her dominance gave the home crowd plenty to cheer for, even as Tuscola finished seventh overall.

St. Joseph-Ogden, paced by Savanna Franzen’s fourth-place finish (18:11.90) and Grace Bressner in sixth (18:29.91), tried to keep pace with Unity but ultimately couldn’t match the Rockets’ depth. Paxton-Buckley-Loda’s Audrey McCoy (19:16.19) and Urbana University’s Clara Knutson (19:33.73) also finished strong, earning spots in the top 20.

Unity’s team-oriented approach, coupled with standout performances from its top runners, has put the Rockets in prime position for another state title. Having finished first or second in six of the last eight seasons, Unity is once again reloaded to make a deep postseason run.

The state meet is just weeks away, and Unity’s continued dominance at the regional level serves notice the Class 1A programs across the state.

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Keywords: Unity girls cross country, Tuscola regional results, Illinois high school cross country, Class 1A state champions, Unity Rockets cross country, 2024 cross country

Photo-of-the-Day: December 28, 2021

Unity takes third at state XC meet

Tolono Unity's Audrey Hancock runs at the 2018 Illinois High School Association Cross Country State Finals on Saturday, November 3, 2018. The junior finished her race in 53rd place overall, 35th in the race for team points, at 18:49.39. The Rockets' tallied 130 points to earn a third-place finish behind Eureka (first) and Rock Falls (second) at the season finale in Peoria. See more photos from this game.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Photo of the Day - December 23, 2020

Rockets qualify for state

Unity's Henry Dust [496] runs ahead of Monticello's Josh Clark through a muddy section of the course at the IHSA Cross Country sectional competition at Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School on Saturday, October 27, 2007. The senior finished the rain soaked course in 17 minutes, 12 seconds. Dust's 38th place overall finished helped the Rockets' cross country team qualify for the Class 1A state championship race for the first time since the 2000 season after their 5th place team finish.

Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks

Woodard leads Rockets to regional cross country title, SJO 4th

Unity's Erica Woodard crossed the finish line at the St. Teresa regional at 18:21 good for fourth place overall in a field of 89 runners. The Rockets' rising star was followed in by five teammates all finishing in top 15 places to secure the postseason title at Hickory Point Golf Course on Saturday.

Just 27 seconds over her best time in her short prep career on Saturday, Woodard turned in the best time of her prep career back on September 19 at Darcy Trails for the Shelbyville-Marshall-Unity triangle meet.

Caelyn Kleparski, Taylor Joop and Olivia Shike clocked in within a 16 second period 8-9-10, respectively, for 24 points. Malia Fairbanks rounded out the top five Rocket runners 13th overall at 19:33.9. Unity finished with a meet best of 40 points.

Unity along with St. Joseph-Ogden, who finished in fourth place with 104 points, advance to next Saturday's sectional meet to run on the same course.

The Spartans were led by junior Ava Knap and her season best time of 19.33.3.

Crusing in behind Knap for the Spartans was Helene Jones. A freshman, Jones went out for cross country when the fall volleyball season was put on-hold due to restrictions by the state in the effort to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Setting a new PR of 19:36.0, the first-time harrier shaved nearly three minutes off her initial three-mile time of 22:14.

Later, 22 minutes and 37 seconds after her race started Chloe Burkhalter was followed in by teammates Malorie Sarnecki and Ashlyn Lannert to pick up needed points to extend the Spartans' running season one more week.

Regional Results:
4. Erica Woodard (Unity) 18:21.0
8. Caelyn Kleparski (Unity) 19:13.8
9. Taylor Joop (Unity) 19:15.3
10. Olivia Shike (Unity) 19:29.4
12. Ava Knap (SJO) 19:33.3
13. Malia Fairbanks (Unity) 19:33.9
14. Helene Jones (SJO) 19:36.0
15. Elizabeth Hulick (Unity) 19:43.0
18. Caroline Bachert (Unity) 20:03.8
25. Chloe Burkhalter (SJO) 20:37.6
28. Malorie Sarnecki (SJO) 20:52.3
30. Ashlyn Lannert (SJO) 20:57.5
34. Kailyn Ingram (SJO) 21:02.6
38. Addie Allen (SJO) 21:16.9

Area runners qualify for boys cross country sectional

Sixteen area high school runners qualified to compete at the IHSA St. Teresa cross country section next Saturday.

With no state meet this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, eight members from both Unity and St. Joseph-Ogden will run for a chance to bring home this year's highest award in cross county next week.

Representing the Rockets, who finished in fouth place at the regional meet, are seniors Jarrett Cox, Ben Gavel and Connor O'Donnell along with juniors Nolan Miller, Clayton Jamison and Thomas Cler. The upperclassmen are supported by sophomore Brendan Graven and freshman Bryson Denny.

Finishing above Unity in the final team standings, the St. Joseph-Ogden boys squad was just 7 points away from bringing home the regional title. Helping SJO to a second place finish and advance were Ethan Blackburn, Charlie Mabry, Carson Maroon Brandon Mattsey, Elijah Mock, Luke Stegall, Spencer Wilson and Logan Wolfersberger.

Regional Results:
5. Brandon Mattsey (SJO) 16:00.6
8. Charlie Mabry (SJO) 16:11.6
10. Carson Maroon (SJO) 16:19.9
11. Elijah Mock (SJO) 16:37.6
14. Connor O'Donnell (Unity) 16:39.7
16. Logan Wolfersberger (SJO) 16:40.6
17. Ben Gavel (Unity) 16:44.0
19. Jarrett Cox (Unity) 16:45.8
24. Luke Stegall (SJO) 17:06.0
27. Clayton Jamison (Unity) 17:14.3
29. Spencer Wilson (SJO) 17:19.7
30. Thomas Cler (Unity) 17:21.0
39. Bryson Denny (Unity) 17:54.6
40. Brendan Graven (Unity) 17:58.9

Girls XC advances to Effingham sectional meet

Despite cold conditions and wet, rainy conditions, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls cross county team finished in third place behind Monticello (first) and Unity (second) as one of seven teams advancing to next Saturday's Class 1A sectional in Effingham.

Hannah Rajlich runs during the Spartan Classic in September. The all-conference runner did not compete in Saturday's regional race. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

The Spartans finished the meet just two points ahead of St. Thomas More with a score of 85 points in arguably the state's toughest small school sectional qualifier.

Led by senior Jillian Plotner, SJO's scoring runners completed the course at Wimple Park in a strong formation of 9, 16, 19, 20 and 21.

Plotner circumvented the course in 19 minutes and 10 seconds for a ninth place overall finish. Ashlyn Lannert was the next Spartan to cross the finish line 33 seconds later at 19:43. Two runners and five seconds later, Ava Knap locked up 19th place.

Malorie Sarnecki rounded out the top 20 finishers with a time of 19:54 with teammate Ally Monk one second behind her at 19:55.

Sophomores Addie Allen and Kailyn Ingram finished their races under the 21 minute mark.