Macomb High cross country coach Doug Bradley called Saturday “a gold medal day for the program.”
Racing in Illinois High School Association Class 2A Sectional competition at Richmond Hill Park in Geneseo, MHS freshman Ella McKee and junior Alex Simmons battled their way to qualify for this week’s IHSA State Finals.
“Our two No. 1 runners qualifying for state was an excellent outcome,” said Bradley. “I couldn’t be happier for the kids.”
In the girls race, the Bombers finished 14th out of 19 teams, posting a score of 383 points.
Washington (111) edged Peoria Notre Dame (114) for the sectional title.
Other teams that qualified for the state finals were Normal University High (130), Bloomington High (148), Normal Community West (154), Lemont (174) and Morton (180).
McKee led the way for the Bombers, finishing 18th overall, posting a time of 19 minutes, 45.94 seconds for the three-mile course.
“Ella ran really well from the start,” said Bradley. “She put herself in the top 20 pretty early and kept herself in that group throughout the race.”
“She continues to get better and better,” he added. “She was 75 seconds faster here than she was in September. That’s not due to the training. That is her learning how hard she can push herself. “
McKee told Bradley after the race that “I felt very happy to be there and I pushed my best through the pains in my ankle.”
As for the rest of the girls team, freshman Allexis Gray was 78th overall (21:29.72), followed by freshman Khloe Diggs (97th, 22:06.92), junior Ava Weaver (113th, 22:45.29), sophomore Sofia Cardenas-Roman (124th, 24:08.69), freshman Leah Gorman (134th, 26:07.62) and junior Laney Weaver (140th, 27:56.00). “Our girls team ran pretty well on the day,” said Bradley. “The team took off an average 52 seconds per runner from their September Geneseo Invite times.”
“Allexis, Khloe, Ava, Sofia, Leah and Laney were all out there giving their best,” he added. “That’s great to see.”
“Allexis, Khloe, Sofia, and Leah are all underclassmen who have a huge opportunity to impact the team’s success over the next few years,” Bradley noted. “The twins, Ava and Laney, have one more year of racing and hopefully with this entire group we can try to get in the top 10 at next year’s sectional.”
“Finishing 14th overall in the entire sectional complex is quite an accomplishment and a solid building block for the program,” he added.
Geneseo junior Brooklyn Smith topped the field of 143 runners, finishing with a time of 18:05.07.
In the boys race, Simmons finished 31st out of 141 runners in recording a time of 16:21.27.
“Alex competed from the gun,” said Bradley. “He came through the half mile in the top 12. That made me really nervous because we had set 35 as his baseline finish.”
“I shouldn’t have doubted Alex, though,” he added. “He came to fight. He had his struggles in that middle mile, but he wasn’t going to give away places late. He actually beat a solid group of Lemont and Dunlap runners that were capable of running in the low 16’s on that course.”
Bradley noted that Simmons believed he had fallen short of qualifying.
“Initially, I was really tired and really disappointed because I thought I had missed the cut,” Simmons told Bradley. “Now, though, I’m really happy obviously with the end result of qualifying, and I feel like I pushed myself about as hard as it could go, so I’m pleased with that.”
The top 10 individuals from non-qualifying teams earn spots in the state finals. Simmons finished sixth to earn his spot.
Also running for the Bombers Saturday was freshman Jackson Petitgout, who finished 100th with a
time of 17:46.84.
“Jackson was faster than he was here in September,” said Bradley. “He’s a talented kid and made great strides this season. As he gains experience and confidence, he’s going to be a star in this sport. (This race) was a great opportunity for him to get exposed to postseason racing.”
Complete team and individual results from Saturday can be found at the following link: https://www. athletic.net/CrossCountry/ meet/267346/info The state finals will be Nov. 8 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. McKee will run in the Class 2A girls race at 11 a.m., while Simmons will run in the Class 2A boys race at noon.
