03/11/2023
CONGRATS Cross Country Crusaders on your STATE CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATIONS!
This is a Historical Post and will cover the Sectionals event in depth.
Both the boys and girls teams had outstanding results at the IHSA 1A SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS! The teams faced adverse conditions with temps in the 40s, torrential downpours, ankle deep puddles in places, and a very muddy course at Benton Community Park. Times were a bit slower but that didn’t mean anything as the Crusaders knew that the mission was about placing. What an amazing season for all of you in the sport with no timeouts and no substitutions!
Our Lady Crusaders ran exceptionally strong as they encountered a downpour that was like a flood from the sky! The girls came in ranked by MileSplit IL and ILXCTF at 4th and just a comment about “looks to make it,” respectively, while only the Top 6 teams are allowed to move through to the State Championship from Sectionals. Additionally, they had dropped out of the Top 25 in the state for the first time in the season coming in at 30th so there was something to prove! Breigh Desmond led the team in her “low stick” way finishing in 18:06 over the 2.85 miles distance, which equals 19:03 at 3 miles. She also ran down her competition coming in 8th overall after being out of the lead pack by around 15 seconds at the first 1K. The performance gave her “ALL SECTIONALS” accolades and she becomes the 14th young lady from Althoff Catholic to be a STATE QUALIFIER. The next 6 ladies are the 15th-20th STATE QUALIFIERS that have come from Althoff Catholic. Starting that group off, leading the remaining scoring pack of runners in their 3-mile equiv times and having a tremendous race was Bethany Kee as she finished in a 21:39.40 (.20 seconds better than last week and in these conditions!). We saw next finishing very strong, Brooke Gillum, as she went 14 seconds faster than last week finishing in 22:00! Closing out the scoring 5 was Charlotte Talafuse in 22:12 and Ava Lock in 22:36, which locked up the team trip to State. But it could not have been done without our 6 and 7 runners, Lilli Roberson (25:03…a PR and 16 seconds better than last week!) and Izzy Border (25:48…after being sick and falling on the course from mud…this girl is super tough!), who pushed runners back helping our scorers!
Like the girls’ team, the boys’ team came in ranked by MileSplit IL and ILXCTF at 5th and 5th/6th respectively with, again, only the Top 6 teams allowed to move through to the State Championship from Sectionals. Just as well, they had dropped out of the Top 25 in the state for the first time in the season coming in at 32nd. These harriers decided their ranking wasn’t good enough and got in the mix early in the race finishing in the 3rd ranked position earning the trip to State for the first time in Crusader history! Of the 162 runners competing, these boys stepped up again for the third week in a row in the post season with Sam Hiller leading the charge from the front in 16:24 for the 2.85 mile, mud and water filled course. His time equals 17:15 for 3 miles and Sam becomes the 9th STATE QUALIFIER (Boy) in Althoff Catholic history…he will be the official 3rd ever Crusader young man to appear at the State Championships! The next 6 guys are the 10th-15th STATE QUALIFIERS that have come from Althoff Catholic and will officially be the boys 4th-9th runners to toe the line at State! Ryan and Ethan Schillinger, and Joseph Talafuse followed in step behind Sam as they packed very tight completing their assigned roles finishing in 17:24.5, 17:24.6, (yes, they tied…almost) and 17:27 respectively at the 3-mile equivalent times. Michael Ruocco stuck fantastically to the race strategy and ran his best race this season finishing as 5th Crusader scorer cinching our spot to advance as he ran an 18:30, 3-mile equiv. Adam Jansen followed very close while recovering from being sick in 18:47…another tough runner on this team! Closing the gap of 7 was Sebastian Talafuse in 19:12, 3-mile equiv, bumping back as many as possible.
The season isn’t over yet though as we will make the much awaited for trip to Detweiller Park in Peoria this Saturday! They girls and guys performed at their best while having fun bringing glory to God and now we have one more shot at it! So, if you haven’t yet, get it on your calendar for this historic moment as the teams run at the STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, which is being held at Detweiller Park in Peoria, Illinois, this Saturday, Nov 4th. Girls race at 9:00am and Boys race at 10:00am! Let’s Go Crusaders!
Check out the results of the Sectionals Meet and the pics at the links below (photos courtesy of Angie Hiller…what a blessing she’s been as our photographer!).
Results
https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/231686/info
Girls’ Album
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BVsk97LNEG4iupvQ7
Boys’ Album
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nmtdbBkvkzT1mvs26
