M-S places 2nd in Monticello race that featured 5 state-ranked teams
By Fred Kroner
The Bulldogs placed second on Saturday (Oct. 17) in a seven-school girls’ cross-country meet at Monticello’s Lodge Park that featured five schools that were ranked last week in the milesplit.com state poll.
Meet champion Monticello (ranked first in Class 1A) had a composite score of 31 points. M-S (ranked 25th in Class 2A) was next with 86 points. Following them were St. Joseph-Ogden (No. 20 in Class 1A) with 92 points, St. Thomas More (No. 16 in Class 1A) with 105 points and Stanford Olympia (No. 11 in Class 1A) with 108 points.
M-S was led by Elizabeth Sims, whose 3-mile time of 19 minutes, 36.21 seconds was good enough for seventh place.
The next four Bulldogs completed the course within 29 seconds of one another, led by Ava Boyd, who was 16th in 20:27.04.
Teammates close to her were: Delaney King (18th in 20:45.09), Emily Bednar (19th in 20:47.61) and Klein Powell (26th in 20:56.18).
The other M-S competitors in the varsity race were Callie Jansen (32nd in 21:20.85) and Grace Lietz (42nd in 22:03.49).
“Our team continues to show determination during this strange season,” M-S coach Jama Grotelueschen said. “The girls continue to work well together in races.
“Delaney King and Emily Bednar both had solid races on Saturday. While as a team, we have yet to have that breakout race this season, I am so proud of the girls’ perseverance.”
The Bulldogs captured team honors in the open race, scoring a composite of 29 points. They outdistanced Monticello (53) and St. Joseph-Ogden (59).
Eight of the top 13 finishers were wearing a Bulldog jersey, including individual champion Shaelin Ruzich, whose 3-mile time of 20 minutes, 58.79 seconds gave her a seven-second margin of victory.
Other teammates in the top pack were: Ella Wolters (fifth in 21:47.02), Alyssa Christensen (sixth in 21:50.40), Olivia Bunting (seventh in 21:53.78), Chloe Allen (10th in 22:35.47), Lauren Bednar (11th in 22:44.15), CeCe Abramson (12th in 22:50.68) and Gretchen Scheele (13th in 22:51.97).
The other seven M-S athletes in the open race were: Meg Turner (23rd in 24:15.77), Hannah Hofbauer (27th in 25:07.15), Fiona Taylor (28th in 25:23.81), Zoe Joyce (29th in 25.24.46), Emily Bergia (30th in 25:37.62), Sadie Wilcoxon (31st in 26:56.87) and Natalie Parrott (34th in 28:29.04).
“Shaelin Ruzich ran her lifetime best,” Grotelueschen said. “Third-year runner, Alyssa Christensen lowered her lifetime 3-mile best by 13 seconds.
“Our first-year runners continue to show improvement, Zoe Joyce (junior), Emily Bergia (sophomore) and Sadie Wilcoxon (freshman) were other athletes who ran 3-mile bests.”
The Bulldogs honored their four seniors: four-year runners Bunting and Scheele and two-year participants Ruzich and Wolters.
“These young women are excellent role models for their teammates and are some of the kindest human beings you will ever meet,” Grotelueschen said. “They have shown tremendous dedication and perseverance in a season like no other.
“They have left their mark on the program and they will certainly be missed.”
M-S returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 24) in the 11-school Class 2A Taylorville Regional.
