MSJHS boys’ cross country finishes third at IESA State meet
By FRED KRONER
Mahomet-Seymour’s Junior High boys’ cross-country team brought home the third-place IESA Class 4A team trophy from the Saturday (Oct. 14) state meet at Normal Parkside.
Team leaders Adam Smigielski and Noah Crane earned all-state recognition for finishing among the top 25 in a meet with 222 competitors.
Both eighth-graders had competed at state previously.
Smigielski entered the finish chute in 14th place with a 2-mile time of 11 minutes. Crane wound up 18th in 11:04.
Both runners posted career-best times.
“Adam has been our consistent leader, a true bulldog,” M-S coach Lisa Martin said. “Adam leads by example. He makes great choices on and off of the race course.
“He ran a great second mile, moving up from the 26th position to the 14th finish spot, something that is hard to do when you are running against athletes that are all strong. As the race moved on, he got stronger and fiercer. That is hard to do and only happens when an athlete says yes to the pain and pushes through the grueling middle part of the race.”
A week after feeling sub-par at the sectional, Crane bounced back with his best performance.
“Noah Crane was our second Bulldog to cross the finish line- only four seconds behind his teammate,” Martin said. “This was a big day for Noah, setting and reaching the same goals that Adam had.
“Noah has battled back after not feeling well last week and he did so with energy and sheer determination. He was focused on his goals and fierce in accomplishing them. Noah joined our team as a seventh-grader (in 2022) and it has been amazing watching him grow in running in such a short amount of time.
“He is a distance runner that is just learning what he can do. Looking forward to watching him continue to be successful at whatever he does with this talent in the future.”
The other Bulldogs who ran at state were: Liam Burwell (42nd in 11:32), Caleb Zulauf (57th in 11:41), Abdel Abdo (94th in 11:57), Henry Welch (112th in 12:05) and Carter Alderks (140th in 12:17).
“Liam Burwell was our next Bulldog to cross the finish line, running a lifetime best time, as well,” Martin continued. “Liam passed a lot of runners after the mile, as he was in 70th. Finishing in 42nd really makes a statement.
“Historically, the state meet is pretty much set at the mile mark, as very few athletes make major moves in the second mile. Well, Liam found another gear and used it to earn some very important points for the Bulldogs. Liam has had a great season and put the exclamation mark on it.”
Seventh-grader Zulauf was the fourth M-S finisher at state. He was one of two seventh-graders in the Bulldogs’ varsity lineup at state.
“Finishing just nine seconds behind his teammate, Caleb Zulauf once again found himself in scoring position for the Bulldogs,” Martin said. “His consistency all season has made him a leader on the team, spending his summer preparing for a stellar seventh-grade year.
“He is going to be great to have back on the starting line next year, using this season as motivation to pick up where we left off this year.”
Abdo was the other M-S seventh-grader to participate at state.
“Abdel and Henry (Welch) both found themselves in varsity positions late in the season, continuing to improve each race,” Martin said. “These two are perfect examples of what determination can do to propel athletes in reaching goals.
“Abdel and Henry navigated the race course together, finding each other at every turn. They knew to look for Bulldog orange on the course and that is what led them to great races.”
Alderks was regaining top form.
“Carter battled back from a late-season injury to run a solid race for the Bulldogs,” Martin said. “Carter has been in a scoring position several times this season, which has led his teammates to become better runners.
“He had a solid day. I have no doubt that it is his talent and leadership that helped his other teammates have great races as well.”
In the team race in Class 4A, Bourbonnais captured the title with a score of 133 points. Runner-up Arlington Heights Thomas had 155 points and third-place M-S finished with 168 points.
The Bulldogs were followed by Chatham Glenwood (175), Quincy (189), Morton (229), Batavia Rotolo (230), Joliet Gompers (235) and Arlington Heights South (247).
A total of 24 schools qualified full teams for the state meet.
The only schools that had finished ahead of M-S in any meet prior to state were Morton and Chatham Glenwood and the Bulldogs placed higher than both at state.
“Our boys’ team decided that the state meet was a great time to set sights on their competition and prove that we were the stronger team,” Martin said. “Last week (at the sectional), we were grateful that we got to race a state’s best team, helping visualize what we would need to do to reach our goal of a state trophy. It worked! We did it.”
Besides Martin, other M-S Junior High cross-country coaches this season included Lori Clark, Conan Jurkowski and Matt Mills.
The M-S teams were greeted at state by wet, windy and muddy conditions, none of which proved to be a detriment.
“Our athletes were challenged to look beyond the weather and course conditions and change the narrative, using it as an advantage when other teams would focus on the challenges,” Martin added.
