Tate Bode breaks course record at Lake of the Woods

By Fred Kroner

Tate Bode broke the course record at Lake of the Woods on Saturday (Sept. 17), leading the Mahomet-Seymour boys’ cross-country team to the championship of its own 12-school invitational.

Bode ran the 2-mile course in 11 minutes and 19 seconds.

Five of his teammates positioned themselves among the top 20 in the 81-runner race.

Other team leaders were Noah Crane (ninth), Cody Moen (10^th), Tayten Gergen (11^th), Adam Smigielski (16^th) and Jack VanHoorn (18^th).

M-S’ team composite score was 47 points. Charleston and Normal Parkside each totaled 83 points, but Charleston won the tie-breaker (finish by the No. 6 runner) to wind up in second place.

“This group has strong leadership,” M-S coach Lisa Martin said. “Tate Bode sailed smoothly across the finish line knowing that he had a strong pack of athletes that would also soon cross the line.

“The duo of Noah Crane and Cody Moen gets stronger with each race. Excited to see where these two newcomers will take this sport over the next couple of weeks. Just a few short strides behind that group of three, we saw Tayten Gergen and Adam Smigielski rounding out the top five.

“Our sixth and seventh runners were just steps behind, Jack VanHoorn and Grant Morphew. Grant ran in his first varsity race. It was Jack that helped him dig deep and persevere while learning how to succeed in a varsity-level race.”

In the 173-runner boys’ open race, M-S was dominant, accounting for 12 of the first 16 finishers.

Meet champion Laim Noon was timed in 12 minutes and 39 seconds.

He was followed by Dominic Gaudio (second), Liam Burwell (third), Kiptyn Fan (fourth), Jamison Griffen (fifth), Caleb Zulauf (sixth), Carter Alderks (seventh), Elliot Smith (eighth), Jackson Koontz (12^th), Dominic Bruns (14^th), Caleb Atteberry (15^th) and Izaiah Brotherton (16^th).

“I can’t say enough good things about the leadership on the course from this group,” Martin said. “Liam Noonan, Dominic Gaudio, Liam Burwell, Kiptyn Fan, Jamison Griffen, Caleb Zulauf, Carter Alderks, Elliot Smith and Will Bednar all ran within 37 seconds of each other to earn spots one through seven.”

In the girls’ varsity race, M-S also earned team honors out of 13 schools.

The Bulldogs’ team composite score was 48 points. Runner-up Tolono Unity had 76 points and third-place Shelbyville ended with 97 points.

Individual winner Taylor Mills led a 1-2 Bulldog finish. Mills ran the 2-mile course in 12 minutes and 28 seconds.

Anniston Huff was second. Three other teammates in the 78-runner race garnered finishes among the top 20.

Ava Watkins was 11^th, Kennedy Ashby was 15^th and Jaci Kellenberger was 19^th.

“Our girls varsity is coming together nicely,” Martin said. “We still have Taylor Mills and Anniston Huff leading the way. The rest of our lineup is eager to close the gap and push closer to our team leaders.

“Our top five was rounded out by Ava Watkins, Kennedy Ashby and Jaci Kellenberger. This core group will continue to learn and grow together with the talent of Emma Busch and Cecily Smith on their heels. We are so strong and it will be exciting to watch what this group can do as we look to prepare for the Dunlap Invitational on Friday (Sept. 23).”

In the girls’ open race, Claire Waggoner outran all competitors in a field of 152 contestants.

Her winning time was 14 minutes and 3 seconds.

Trailing her and placing among the top 20 were Norelle Eilts (second), Evie Hillard (third), Finley Smith (fourth), Hannah Martin (fifth), Emily Ramirez (sixth), Alyssa Gray (seventh), Zoey Wallace (ninth), Erika Johson (10^th), Paige Jansen (12th), Ava Cvengros (13^th), Phoebe Graham (15^th), Ayla Finfrock (16^th) and Emma Dewitt (19^th).

“Once again, the Bulldogs were the first athletes to cross the finish line, taking spots first through seventh,” Martin said. “Clarie Waggoner had another breakout race and led the entire time. She has really found her stride as of late and we can’t wait to see where this season will take her.

“Norelle Eilts, placed second. Eilts has been watching and learning as she is a sixth-grader that is eager to take the challenge of being a front runner. Evie Hillard crossed the line in that third spot. She, too, had a breakout race. We have been patiently waiting for this day due to previous years of injuries.

“Finley Smith, Hannah Martin, Emily Ramirez and Alyssa Gray all ran season-best times today to push the pack to the finish line. Zoey Wallace and Erika Johnson were just steps behind and looked solid, placing in ninth and 10^th respectively.” 

On Thursday (Sept. 15), the Mahomet-Seymour’s boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams captured first place in four-school meets at Lake of the Woods.

The boys’ compiled a team score of 20, followed by Mount Zion (41), St. Joseph (76) and Champaign Holy Cross (81) in the M-S home-opener.

The Bulldogs swept the top three spots in the 2-mile race, with meet champion Bode running the course in 11 minutes and 29 seconds.

He was followed by runner-up Crane and third-place Moen.

Twelve of their other teammates secured finishes among the top 25.

They were: Gergen (sixth), Smigielski (eighth), VanHoorn (10^th), Morphew (11^th), Noonan (12th),  Griffen (15th), Gaudio (16^th), Zulauf (20^th), Burwell (21^st), Fan (23^rd), Bednar (24^th) and Smith (25^th).

In the girls’ race, M-S totaled a winning score of 31. The Bulldogs were trailed by Mount Zion (58), Holy Cross (59) and St. Joseph (60).

Three of the top five finishers represented M-S, including runner-up Mills, who was timed in 12 minute and 27 seconds for the 2-mile course.

She was just one second behind the race champion.

Huff placed third and Watkins fifth for the Bulldogs.

Ten other squad members secured berths among the top 25.

They were: Kellenberger (seventh), Cecily Smith (14^th), Busch (15^th), Waggoner (16^th), Martin (20^th), Wallace (21^st), Eilts (22^nd), Finley Smith (23^rd), Ramirez (24^th) and Gray (25^th).

“We are thankful that the high school cross-country teams took their practice time to run over and support us,” Martin said. “The athletes lit up with excitement when they saw these athletes.

“We have a pretty special thing going on right now in our running programs and we are thankful for the relationships we have to foster growth in our sport. 

“So many athletes hit personal records in the heat. Other runners were affected by the heat and found themselves struggling to hit their times. No matter which group an athlete could identify most with, they could all walk away thinking about what they learned that will help them reach goals.”

Among the volunteers who assisted at the first home meet were Cara Tee, Nichole Jessup, Doug Fisher, Nathan Mills, Lindsey Hall, Tom Appenzeller and Linda Parnell.