M-SJHS goes neck-and-neck with Unity at Edison Invitational
By Fred Kroner
With five runners placing among the top 15 finishers on Saturday (Aug. 28), the Mahomet-Seymour Junior High girls’ cross-country team was hot on the heels of Tolono Unity for team supremacy in the 19-team Champaign Edison Invitational at Parkland College.
Unity won the meet with a composite score of 45 points. M-S was next with 46 points. In third place was Mount Zion with 93 points.
The Bulldogs’ individual leader was eighth-grader Madalyn Marx, who placed fifth overall with a 2-mile time of 13 minutes and 40 seconds.
The team’s other scoring runners were Taylor Mills (seventh in 13:52), Anniston Huff (eighth in 13:59), Hannah Martin (13th in 14:31) and Hadley Grotelueschen (15th in 14:37).
The top five Bulldogs had a split of 57 seconds from the first to the fifth finisher.
“When looking at the team aspect, the girls’ varsity race was probably the most intense one we have had in quite some time,” M-S coach Lisa Martin said. “As a local coach, we always know that Tolono Unity will be bringing a stellar lineup.
“This year proved to be no different. With a one-point difference separating the girls’ teams.”
In the girls’ open race, M-S was dominant, sweeping the top three places and having 10 of the top 15 runners.
Leading the pack were race champion Kennedy Ashby, a sixth-grader, (14:31), runner-up Claire Waggoner (14:54) and third-place finisher Abi King (14:54.2).
Other Bulldog frontrunners were Jaci Kellenberger (fifth in 15:29), Erika Johnson (seventh in 16:02), Jinan Abdo (eighth in 16:03), Ayla Finfrock (ninth in 16:04), Marley Cloward (10th in 16:07), Emma Busch (13th in 16:20), and Annaleise Ruzich (14th in 16:30).
“The coaches noted that our favorite part was watching the members of our team support each other,” Martin said. “Cross-country is a unique sport in that there is so much individuality to it.
“However, you wouldn’t know that by spending time with our team. When not competing, you could find Bulldog orange uniforms all over the race course cheering for those who were racing.”
M-S will return to action on Friday (Sept. 3) in the Chrisman Cowchip Classic.
