Bulldogs win Apollo Conference meet

By Fred Kroner

Five Mahomet-Seymour runners placed among the top 12 on Tuesday (Oct. 11) as the Bulldogs ran away with team honors in the boys’ Apollo Conference cross-country meet at Mattoon’s Lake Land College.

The composite score for M-S in the seven-school event was 49 points. Runner-up Lincoln had 66 points and third-place Taylorville finished with 75 points.

Sophomore Blake Dillman set the pace for the Bulldogs, covering the 3-mile course in 16 minutes, 53.5 seconds. He placed seventh in an event with 73 participants.

Senior Ben Wallace was ninth in 16:58.5.

Others in the top five for M-S were freshman Henry McMurry (10^th in 17:02.0), sophomore Kaleb Kasper (11^th in 17:04.0) and senior Hayden Grotelueschen (12^th in 17:07.2).

The split between the top five performers was 13.7 seconds.

Four other Bulldogs broke the 18-minute barrier: freshman Emmett Kearns (15^th in 17:20.9), sophomore Lukas Nykaza (16^th in 17:27.1), junior Grant Smysor (19^th in 17:40.4) and junior Lukas Carey (24^th in 17:56.5).

Other squad members who participated in the conference meet were freshman Henry Carpenter (37^th in 19:17.1), sophomore Zach Wilcoski (38^th in 19:19.7), sophomore Gavin Fan (40^th in 19:45.6), freshman Corban McMinn (41^st in 19:45.7), junior Colin Johnson (48^th in 20:21.5), freshman Ben Schultz (66^th in 24:55.4) and senior Alex Carpenter (67^th in 24:55.7).

M-S will return to action on Saturday (Oct. 22) in the 11-school Olney Class 2A IHSA regional.