By Fred Kroner
The Mahomet-Seymour girls’ cross-country team finished 24th on Saturday (Nov. 6) in the 28-school girls’ Class 2A IHSA cross-country state meet at Detweiller Park, in Peoria.
Sophomore Ava Boyd and junior Callie Jansen were the top Bulldog finishers.
Boyd ran the 3-mile course in a personal-best 18 minutes, 44.81 seconds and ended in 55th place in a field of 236 participants. Jansen was 135th in 19:39.19.
The other scoring runners for the Bulldogs were senior Elizabeth Sims (141st in 19:40.74), freshman Chloe Bundren (177th in 20:03.09) and senior Emily Bednar (194th in a season-best 20:14.82).
Both Jansen and Sims matched or were close to the best times of the season.
photo by Kristi Lietz 
photo by Kristi Lietz 
photo by Kristi Lietz 
photo by Kristi Lietz 
photo by Kristi Lietz 
photo by Kristi Lietz
“Chloe Bundren showed grit and gained invaluable state experience as a freshman,” M-S coach Jama Grotelueschen said.
The split between the top five runners was 89.31 seconds.
Also running at state were senior Grace Lietz (215th in 20:43.08) and senior Klein Powell (223rd in 21:04.38).
Sims, Bednar, Lietz and Powell were among the eight seniors on this year’s roster.
Other teammates who completed their cross-country eligibility this fall were Alyssa Christensen, Chloe Allen, Delaney King and Natalie Parrott.
“All eight of these young women competed for our program all four years of high school,” Grotelueschen said. “They have helped establish such a positive culture within our program that will carry on for years to come.”
Overall, 12 members of the girls’ cross-country team recently received academic awards.
“These young women are a vibrant part of our school community and I could not be any more proud of who they are as individuals,” Grotelueschen said.
