By Fred Kroner
Eighth-grader Auggie Gaudio set the pace in Mahomet-Seymour’s final boys’ cross-country regular-season meet on Saturday (Oct. 2) at Lodge Park, in Monticello.
In a 19-school meet with 162 runners, Gaudio was the meet champion, covering the 2-mile layout in 11 minutes, 18.3 seconds.
Three of his teammates captured spots among the top 11.
Ethan Peterka was third (11:24.5), Henry McMurry was fourth (11:25.2) and Emmett Kearns was 11th (12:04.1).
The Bulldogs annexed the team championship with a composite score of 54 points. Runner-up Tolono Unity had 94 points, followed by Mount Zion (116 points).
Other M-S entries in the varsity race were: Camden Wood (35th in 12:49.9), Preston Sriver (40th in 12:56.5) and Henry Carpenter (51st in 13:16.6).
All seven Bulldogs are eighth-graders.
“Auggie Gaudio raced solidly today, strong and consistent throughout the race,” M-S coach Lisa Martin said. “He went out in control, keeping the lead runners in sight while he patiently waited to make his move to lead the race.
“Ethan Peterka ran his usual solid race, finishing just six seconds behind Gaudio. Henry McMurry took the race out stronger than his usual pace and the risk paid off, only one second behind Peterka.
“This was really fun to watch. These three thrive when they are battling it out in the front of the race. Emmett Kearns ran a personal record today to help lead this group to being crowned race champions.”
In the 184-runner open race, 18 of the first 25 finishers were representing M-S.
“Once again we saw the Bulldog jerseys dominating the finish line in this race,” Martin said. “Tucker Loven sped through the course as the leader for the entirety of the race.
“Not far behind him was teammate Jackson Davis who ran a lifetime record to finish third in this race.”
Loven’s time of 12:31.9 gave him a 10.4-second margin of victory. Davis’ time was 12:44.3.
Tate Bode (fourth in 12:52.8), Jamison Griffen (fifth in 13:00.3), Corban McMinn (sixth in 13:00.7), Jack Meyer (eighth in 13:01.9), Gideon Hayter (ninth in 13:02.1), Jack VanHoorn (10th in 13:04.3), Evan Shuff (11th in 13:16.3), Landen Dowers (12th in 13:21.1), Dominic Gaudio (15th in 13:35.8), Liam Burwell (16th in 13:39.4), Liam Noonan (17th in 13:44.3), Camden Snodsmith (18th in 13:46.1), Dominic Bruns (!9th in 13:46.6), Adam Varga (20th in 13:46.9), Jonathan Franklin (21st in 13:55.3) and Jackson Koontz (25th in 14:00.3) were the other Bulldogs in the top-25.
“As the coaches discussed the strength of the Bulldog race leaders, we also made note of how excited we were for our athletes across the board, all of them,” Martin said. “The athletes that don’t find their names in the press often, but the ones that showed up to cross-country not realizing the challenges they would face, only to find themselves improving so much each race.
“As coaches, we talk equally about the athletes that lead the races and the ones that push through to run just a little faster each race.”
On Wednesday (Sept. 29), M-S ended a close second in the Champaign County meet at Tolono Unity. The host school edged M-S by two points.
The M-S lineup included Auggie Gaudio, McMurry, Peterka, Parker Wilkins, Kearns, Sriver and Bode.
M-S will return to action on Saturday (Oct. 9) in the Class 3A IESA sectional meet on its home course at Lake of the Woods, by the Swiss Valley area.
