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Winnebago makes huge statement in 1A Girls win

Published by
ILXCTF - Mike Newman   Nov 11th 2019, 5:00pm
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Winnebago makes huge statement in 1A Girls win

 

Surtz in control in winning Girls title; Rogers shuts the door in open Boys race; Monticello edges Harvest Christian Academy in great team race

 

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

 

Peoria – It would be an understatement if you were to say that the Winnebago Girls team wanted to close the mouths of some that doubted them respectfully.

The team used the trip this state meet weekend to Peoria as a business trip with one focus, one goal in mind.

Girls Race Video | Boys Race Video | Results

Bago accomplished that in a workmanship-like manner. The Indians had four all-state runners and five runners in the top 26 to overwhelm the rest of the competition scoring only 63 points or the team win.

They remembered what happened at Amboy almost a month ago when they lost by five points to Monticello. This team was not going to let that happen again.

“We knew after that Amboy race we knew we would have to work for this,” their #1 runner Natalia Martino said. “We were prepared. We were as well as prepared as we have ever been.”

WINNEBAGO TEAM INTERVIEW

Winnebago wore new singlets for this meet paying tribute to the teams that came before them and their coach Janet Erb who wore one similar to that when she ran in the 1989 state meet.

Bago had the race won with five runners in the top 30 at that point. They never blinked. They never lost focus. They kept their eyes on the prize for the final two miles maintaining their positioning.

Natalia Martino turned in an all-state performance as she finished sixth leading her team. Kaylee Woolery finished four seconds behind Martino as the team’s second runner (10th overall). Then came the pack. Katie Erb was 24th with Grace Erb 25th and Marissa Roggensack 26th within seven seconds of each other. The team had only a 24 second split on those scorers. Add in the fact that all seven runners from Winnebago in that race were underclassmen.

We should see plenty of them next year. They know they will have to work to get back to this point.

Monticello finished second (144 points) with two all-state runners leading them. Mabry Bruhn led the team (13th) followed by Rachel Koon (19th). Grace Talbert (33rd), Emma Brown (44th), and Kyara Welter (89th) were the Sages’ three other scorers.

Tolono Unity finished off a great season finishing third (147 points) just three points behind Monticello. Kylie Decker finished 22nd to lead the Rockets followed by Taylor Joop (35th), Evelyn Atkins (41st), Caroline Bachert (56th), and Elizabeth Hulick (57th). The team had a 56 second split on their top five runners.

There was no question who would win the individual race once Rosary’s Lianna Surtz broke away from the rest of the pack 400-meters into the race. Surtz won her first state cross country title to go along with her state title last spring at 1600-meters in Class 2A. Her winning time of 16:41 was 17 seconds ahead of Lydia Roller of Staunton (16:58) with Amelia McLain of Benton finishing third (17:05).

“I was looking for a fast time today,” Surtz said. “I was looking around making sure no one was close to me. I remembered what happened last year.” She was caught by Brooke Stromsland of the final 20-meters of the 2A race finishing second.

 

1A Boys Race

The individual race was supposed to be wide-open with any of 12 runners capable of winning the race. When Herscher’s Drew Rogers passed by 2-miles in 9:38 with already a seven second lead on the rest of the pack, he shut that door solidly.

The sophomore’s lead doubled in the final mile as he celebrated before he crossed the line in 14:30 with his first state title. Rogers finished 11th as a freshman in 2018.

“I was trying to go under 14:40 so I am happy that I ran this,” Rogers said. “I knew there was going to be a lot of competition. I just put in surges starting at a 1.5 miles. I was just trying to separate myself from everyone. That was my main goal.”

WATCH ROGERS INTERVIEW

“I was so happy,” Rogers said as he described his emotions at the end. “All that hard work in the summer paid off. Winning the state title has hit me a little.”

Two other runners finished under 1-minutes in this race. Dawson Smith of Rock Falls capped off a great senior season by finishing second (14:44). Miles Shepperd of Hamilton/Warsaw made a hard charge just after two-miles on his way to finishing third (14:53) ahead of Noah McIntyre of Athens (15:01) and Ryder James of Paxton-Buckley-Loda (15:05) followed. Rogers, Shepperd, and James are all sophomores. The next two years in Class 1A should be exciting to say the least.

You could see Monticello coming to this moment in winning the Class 1A Boys team title as each of their team races improved coming down the stretch. It was closer than most expected as pre-season #1 Stanford Olympia and Harvest Christian Academy had aim at the top trophy in this classification.

Monticello prevailed with 115 points. It was the highest winning team total in all six races on this day at Detweiller Park. It also showed how competitive this division was.

Luke Sokolowski led the Sages with an 11th place all-state performance. Josh Bayshore (28th), Ed Mitchell (36th), Morgan Dixon (47th), and Jackson Grambart (54th) were separated by only 23 seconds. All five of their scorers are underclassmen and will return in 2020.

Harvest Christian Academy always likes to fly under the radar and prove it at the state meet. The Lions picked up their third trophy in the school’s history by finishing second just six points behind Monticello (121 points). Matthew Olech had a great race to lead his teammates as he finished 16th in all-state position. Hayden Colclasure and Daniel Winkelman finished together at 34th and 35th with Erik Richter (44) and Carson Welsh (60) close behind. Those five runners were within 35 seconds of each other. Four of their top five are back in 2020.

Stanford Olympia finished third with 127 points. The Spartans were led by all-state runner Charlie Kistner who finished ninth. Logan Wheeler was the team’s second runner (33rd. ) followed by Dylan Bennet (38th), Anthony Ragland (50th), and Jon Neville (66th). Bennet passed 10 runners in the final 75-meters to establish his position.

The team’s second through fifth runners were separated by only 22 seconds. Their top five split was 46 seconds.

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