By Shelby Burget
Junior high cross country runners from around the area capped off their 2025 season Saturday, running in the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) State Cross Country Finals at Maxwell Park in Normal.
In the Class 3A boys race, Macomb eighth grader Leslie Antah finished 58th out of 223 runners. He posted a time of 11 minutes, 40.40 seconds on the two-mile course.
Eighth grader Bentlee Lawrenz of Rock Falls East Coloma won the race with a time of 10:14.94.
In the Class 3A girls race, Macomb seventh grader Evelyn Goc finished 150th out of 222 runners with a time of 13:50.38.
Roscoe eighth grader Haylie Simpson took top individual honors with a winning time of 11:29.44.
In the Class 1A boys race, Bushnell-Prairie City placed 24th out of 24 teams with a score of 650 points.
Mt. Prospect St. Raymond captured the team title with a low score of 57 points.
Individually for B-PC, eighth grader Kevin Robinson led the way for the Braves as he finished 82nd out of 218 runners with a time of 12:25.24.
Seventh grader Carter Curry was next (170th, 13:34.40), followed by seventh grader Murphy Curry (203rd, 14:17.63), fifth grader Noah Hughes (212th, 15:45.26) and fifth grader Isaiah Rodeffer (218th, 17:49.55).
Eighth grader Dylan Weimer of Bourbonnais St. George won the race with a time of 10:47.69.
In the Class 1A girls race, South Fulton placed 22nd out of 24 teams with a score of 566 points.
Brimfield won the team title with a low score of 55 points. Eighth grader Kailyn Chenoweth paced the Rebels, finishing 20th out of 222 runners with a time of 12:57.48.
Eighth grader Lauren Markley was 148th (14:41.70) for South Fulton, followed by eighth grader Paisley Foglesong (181st, 15:13.97), sixth grader Leamay Riadi (218th, 18:05.13), eighth grader Ainsley Leverton (220th, 20:02.25) and sixth grader Sarah Mason (222nd, 24:34.64).
Als running was B-PC eighth grader Bailey Joiner, who finished 153rd in the race with a time of 14:47.08.
West Prairie was also represented as seventh grader Remi Ford finished 157th (14:50.05), while eighth grader Kate Beck was 209th (16:43.69) Downers Grove St. Mary Gostyn eighth grader Brynn Bartkus won the race with a time of 11:46.45.
In Class 2A, Schuyler-Industry Middle School was represented by a pair of runners.
In the girls race, sixth grader Pyper Davis finished 144th out of 222 runners with a time of 14:27.48.
Eighth grader Hazel Atkins, Shelbyville Moulton won the race with a time of 11:25.63.
The boys race saw eighth grader Gerry Koch finished 199th of 223 runners, completing the two-mile course in a time of 13:46.80.
Eighth grader Camden Fisher of St. Joseph won the race with a time of 10:31.76.
Complete team and individual results from Saturday’s races can be found at iesa.org.
