MSJHS boys’ cross country wins Champaign Edison Invitational
By Fred Kroner
Led by three top-10 placers, the Mahomet-Seymour Junior High boys’ cross-country team earned team honors on Saturday (Aug. 26) at the 15-school Champaign Edison Invitational.
M-S amassed a cumulative score of 65 points. Edison placed second (103 points) and Mount Zion (117 points) took third.
The Bulldogs’ leaders were Adam Smigielski (fifth in the 2-mile race with a time of 11 minutes, 57 seconds), Noah Crane (sixth in 11:59) and Caleb Zulauf (ninth in 12:16).
“The success of our boys’ varsity team came from the same strategy as the girls’ varsity – the power of the pack,” M-S coach Lisa Martin said. “While the boys’ team dominated the competition, the results were met by the same tenacity and spirit of a solid team effort.
“Just as with our girls’ varsity, this was the first time this group ran as one.”
There were a total of 105 runners entered in the race.
The other two scoring runners for M-S were Carter Alderks (22nd in 13:05) and Will Bednar (23rd in 13:06).
“Both runners have worked hard to find themselves in our varsity lineup,” Martin said. “Carter’s improvement since his sixth-grade season is unmatched.
“He has grown in the sport of cross-country and we are excited to see how it will continue to benefit our team this season.”
Zulauf is another runner who has shown steady progression.
“Caleb has seen incredible improvement since last season and we are excited to see this seventh-grader work with his eighth-grade counterparts to continue his improvement,” Martin added.
Grant Morphew (24th in 13:06) and Liam Burwell (51st in 14:21) were the other Bulldog participants in the varsity race.
“Liam Burwell ran a strong seventh spot for us and soon we will see his name pushing our top five as well as he is looking strong this season,” Martin said.
In the 176-runner open race, five of the first six finishers were from M-S, led by meet runner-up Abdel Abdo (13 minutes and 11 seconds).
Teammates pushing him were Elijah Beyer (third in 13:17.44), Kiptyn Fan (fourth in 13:17.83), Greyson Grotelueschen (fifth in 13:18) and Henry Welch (sixth in 13:37). The top five were separated by 26 seconds.
Other team leaders were Caleb Atteberry (ninth in 14:04), Gavin Vanskike (11th in 14:11.19), Graham Smolich (12th in 14:11.75), Luke Nickrent (14th in 14:18) and Eric Webber (15th in 14:28).
“As coaches watched this race unfold, we knew that we had something special with this group,” Martin said. “We could tell that they knew that they were running as a team and not individuals.
“Within this group are many dynamics: seventh-graders Abdel Abdo and Greyson Grotelueschen, who had strong sixth-grade seasons, learning from some strong team leadership last year, eighth-grader Elijah Beyer who is in his first year with us, eighth-grader Kip Fan who found great success as a sprinter during last year’s track season and eighth-grader Henry Welch, who has shown some of the strongest improvement of any runner in our program since his sixth-grade season.”
Abdel has developed into a student of the sport.
“Abdel is a very smart runner who spent a lot of his time last year asking questions and learning,” Martin said. “It wasn’t uncommon to find Abdel on the backstretch with a coach as he cheered on his teammates, all the while listening and learning from the coaching staff.
“He is using what he learned last season to his advantage this season.”
M-S will return to action on Friday (Sept. 1) in the Chrisman Cowchip Classic.
