The Macomb High cross country teams headed to Alpha Park in Bartonville on Saturday for Illinois High School AssociationClass 2A Regional competition.
It was a good day for the Bombers as the girls squad, along with junior Alex Simmons and freshman Jackson Petitgout, qualified for next week’s Class 2A Sectional competition at Geneseo.
By IHSA rule, the first six placing teams and the first five runners who are not members of the advancing teams in each regional advance to sectional competition at the site to which they are assigned.
In the girls race, the MHS girls tied for sixth out of 11 teams with 174 points.
“I couldn’t be happier for the girls,” said MHS coach Douglas Bradley. “When you tie for the final qualifying spot, then you know it was a team effort. If any of our girls finish one place further back our season would be over.”
Peoria Notre Dame captured the regional title with a low score of 47 points.
Washington was second with 60 points, followed by Morton (101), Geneseo (101), Dunlap (107), Illinois Valley Central (Chillicothe) (174) and Macomb (174).
Quincy Notre Dame was eight with 225 points, followed by Galesburg (251), Limestone (271) and East Peoria (306).
Individually for the Bombers, freshman Ella McKee finished sixth out of 76 runners with a time of 19 minutes and seven tenths of a second.
“Ella was fantastic,” said Bradley. “She’s battling some nagging aches and pains, but she didn’t let those get in the way.”
Freshman Allexis Gray finished 31st, posting a new PR of 20:27.00.
“Allexis got out to a strong start and then fought hard to keep her position,” said Bradley.
Junior Ava Weaver was 37th with a PR of 20:59.00, while freshman Khloe Diggs also posted a PR, finishing 40th with a time of 21:06.40.
“Ava had her fastest race ever and so did Khloe,” said Bradley. “Those girls came up big when we needed them.”
Sophomore Sofia Cardenas- Roman finished 60th (23:22.90).
“Sofia has had a strong season,” said Bradley. “As our number five (runner), I knew she’d be keyed upon by a couple of opponents. She handled it well and just competed every step.”
Freshman Leah Gorman ran a PR to finish 64th (24:21.40), while senior Jackie Rouse posted a season- best time of 27:59.40 to place 72nd.
Peoria Notre Dame freshman Lillian Chaddock claimed the individual title, completing the three-mile race with a winning time of 17:35.20.
Other individuals qualifying for sectional competition included Quincy Notre Dame sophomore Elcee Waters (12th, 19:38.10); Limestone freshman Kaia Hale (27th, 20:23.20); Galesburg junior Grae Boone (35th, 20:49.50); Limestone senior Michaela Pilgrim (38th, 20:59.40) and Galesburg sophomore Keerah Cooper (47th, 21:34.40).
The boys competition saw MHS finish seventh out of 10 teams with a score of 210 points.
“The boys had a tough draw. The gap between them and sixth place was sizable,” said Bradley. “They knew they had to be both great and lucky. They ran good races but didn’t get the big time drops they needed.”
Peoria Notre Dame completed the sweep, winning the boys team title with a low score of 31 points.
Other teams advancing to sectional include Washington was second with 71 points, followed by Morton (80), Illinois Valley Central (Chillicothe) 102, Geneseo (104) and Dunlap (135).
Following Macomb in the team standings were Galesburg (217), Quincy Notre Dame (271) and East Peoria (300).
Individually for the Bombers, Alex Simmons finished 20th out 72 runners, posting a time of 16:13.10.
“Alex came through with a solid race,” said Bradley. “He’d been battling a cold all week. He felt like the extra gear just wasn’t there, but he toughed it out to advance.”
Meanwhile, Petitgout finished 38th, capturing the final individual qualifying spot with a time of 17:00.00.
Jackson actually spent part of the day on Friday at home because of a virus going around,” said Bradley. “So, to have him just behind Alex at the mile mark told me that he was planning on having a great day.”
Freshman Landon Richards finished 49th for MHS with a time of 17:27.20. Junior Marc Simmons was 54th (17:52.30), followed by junior Eymen Tasdan (58th, 18:18.10), sophomore Xander Merritt (60th, 18:41.90) and junior Cohen Hunt-Twomey (67th, 19:22.40).
Peoria Notre Dame junior Maxwell Kirby won the race, finishing in a time of 14:49.10.
Also qualifying individually were Limestone sophomore Evan Hermacinski (14th, 15:58.80), Galesburg sophomore Brayden McGuire (28th, 16:34.80) and Limestone senior Blake Schade (35th, 16:49.90).
Complete individual results from this meet can be found at the following link: https://www.athletic.net/ CrossCountry/meet/267268/ infoRichmond Hill Park will host this week’s Class 2A Sectional.
The girls race is slated to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the boys race at noon.
The first seven placing teams and the first 10 runners who are not members of the advancing teams in each sectional will advance to state final competition at Detweiller Park, scheduled for Nov. 8
