The Macomb High cross country teams posted second place finishes in Tuesday’s Prairieland Conference competition held at Spring Lake Park.
“The kids have had an exceptional few days,” said MHS coach Doug Bradley. “We had a fantastic workout last Wednesday on the track and then almost without exception they ran their best times of the year on Saturday at WIU’s invitational on Vince Grady Field.”
“I didn’t know what to expect for the conference meet at Spring Lake after such strong efforts late last week,” he added. “I was thrilled that they came to race on a very warm day for the end of September.”
In the boys race, Elmwood/ Brimfield repeated as conference champions, posting a low score of 31 points.
Macomb was next with 56 points, followed by LVC (90), Farmington (112), South Fulton (134), West Prairie (134) and Havana (166).
Bushnell-Prairie City, Illini West and Peoria Heights did not field full squads.
“The boys finished a solid second to a very good Elmwood team,” said Bradley. “They know they have to up their game to compete in the postseason.”
“We are the smallest school in all of Class 2A and there are three state ranked teams in our regional (only six teams qualify out of the regional) and there are three more teams running faster times than us,” he added. “I feel like our boys are taking that threat seriously and working hard to get those times down. Efforts like Tuesday will only help.”
Macomb had two runners finish in the top 10.
Junior Alex Simmons was third overall, recording a time of 16 minutes, 36.60 seconds over the three-mile course.
“Alex Simmons is really developing into one of the better runners in the area,” said Bradley. “He lost to the talented Chenoweth boy at WIU, but came back here and got him on our home course. He’s worked so hard to get results like this and it’s fun to see him be rewarded for his work.”
“I’m happy with the outcome,” Simmons stated. “My first two miles may have been a little fast, but I was able to pick off two of the kids who led us out so fast, so that was fun.”
Freshman Landon Richards finished seventh, posting a new personal record of 16:51.30.
“I got a text from my predecessor, Randy Ames, and he said that Landon Richards was only five seconds off the Bomber freshmen course record at Spring Lake,” said Bradley. “There have been some talented kids come through here, so that tells you what kind of season he’s having.”
“That record was run at a regional which means the record holder, Ryan Riggins, ran it late in October,” he added. “That’s a month’s more of training and learning so Landon clearly is among the best freshmen to ever run at Macomb High.”
“I wanted to run a sub 17,” said Richards. “It felt amazing.”
Freshman Jackson Petitgout was 12th (17:32.60) for MHS, followed by junior Marc Simmons (21st, 18:07.10) and Eymen Tasdan (26th, 18:38.80).
Rounding out the results for the Bombers were sophomore Xander Merritt (27th, 18:40.00), junior Cohen Hunt-Twomey (28th, 19:06.90), freshman Thomas Ashwood (30th, 19:31.50) and sophomore Grant Potteet (45th, 21:40.90).
Ezra Bithos led the way for West Prairie, finishing 14th with a time of 17:45.40.
Ayden Lacey was 22nd (18:13.60), followed by Milo Rodeffer (37th, 19:57.50), Ian Fentem (50th, 22:23.40), Mason Sorrells (54th, 23:27.40) and Jacob Foust (61st, 27:14.70).
Sorrells and Foust are sophomores with the remaining West Prairie runners all being freshmen.
For B-PC, junior Logan Joiner finished 58th (26:50.40), while senior Brett Havens placed 65th (28:09.00).
Elmwood/Brimfield senior Aiden Faulkner topped the field of 68 runners, finishing in a time of 15:51.50.
Farmington senior Dax Ulm was runner-up, posting a time of 16:27.00.
The girls competition saw Elmwood/Brimfield claim the title with a low score of 28 points.
Macomb was second with 62 points, followed by LVC (77), Farmington (99), Havana (127) and Illini West (154).
South Fulton, Peoria Heights and West Prairie did not field full squads, while B-PC had no participants in the girls race.
“The girls had a strong day,” said Bradley. “The goal was second place and they accomplished that with some real good efforts. They keep getting better and better.”
Bomber freshman Ella McKee set a personal record on the way to winning the individual title, posting a time of 19:14.90 over the three-mile course.
“Ella McKee and I had a couple of conversations about the race strategy for her going into her first conference meet,” said Bradley. “We knew the Havana girl, Kasyn Jibben, was the favorite based on times and finishes. The unknown was and still is ‘how fast can Ella really go?’ She’s new to cross country and every day she is learning more about herself and her abilities.”
“When she showed no fear of the idea of racing against a girl with three sub-19s, I was pumped,” he added. “She said to me, ‘I’ll do my best.’” After the race Bradley asked McKee how she felt. Her response? “Very surprised and proud.”
Macomb had three other runners finish in the top 15.
Freshman Allexis Gray was 11th (21:15.80), followed by junior Ava Weaver (12th, 21:38.50) and freshman Khloe Diggs (14th, 22:43.40).
Sophomore Sofia Cardenas-Roman finished 30th (24:55.30), followed by freshman Leah Gorman (37th, 26:45.70), junior Laney Weaver (38th, 26:51.80, a season best) and senior Jackie Rouse (42nd, 28:25.00, a season best).
West Prairie freshman Brynlee Finch finished 25th, posting a time of 24:16.60.
Jibben was runner-up with a time of 19:25.80.
Complete individual results from Tuesday’s event may be found at the following link: https://www. athletic.net/CrossCountry/ meet/260074/info Next up for the Bombers will be the Gene Jones Runnin’ Red Invitational at Black Partridge Park in Metamora on Oct. 11.
Meanwhile, West Prairie will participate in the Dan Moy Invitational at Jacksonville Community Park on Saturday.
The B-PC runners also return to action Saturday, racing in the Elmwood/ Brimfield Invitational at Maple Lane Country Club.
