By Fred Kroner
Two Mahomet-Seymour runners qualified for the IHSA Class 2A girls’ cross-country state meet based on their performance in the Saturday (Oct. 28) Jacksonville Sectional.
Senior Ava Boyd was the fifth-place runner in a field of 137 competitors and earned one of the 10 berths available to individuals not on an advancing team.
Boyd’s time was 17 minutes, 17.70 seconds on a course that was measured at 2.9 miles.
She will be joined at state by freshman Taylor Mills. She finished 28th overall in 18:08.90.
The Bulldogs were a near-miss for qualifying their entire team.
The top seven teams in the sectional reserved berths at state. Effingham was the seventh-place team with 217 points. M-S finished eighth in the 17-school meet with 221 points.
The Bulldogs’ other sectional entries were freshman Jaci Kellenberger (45th in 18:50.60), junior Chloe Bundren (79th in 19:46.00), junior Ava Jansen (90th in 20:00.10), junior Emma Frazier (104th in 20:26.60) and sophomore Hadley Grotelueschen (105th in 20:28.90).
Chatham Glenwood earned the sectional team title with 40 points. The Titans were followed by Mount Zion (121), Waterloo (133), Normal University High (151), Centennial (176), Rochester (191) and Effingham (217).
The state meet will be held at Detweiller Park, in Peoria, on Saturday (Nov. 4). The Class 2A girls’ race will start at 11 a.m.
