MSJHS boys win IESA Class 3A sectional title, Auggie Gaudio finishes first

By Fred Kroner

By the time the M-S boys toed the starting line for the Thursday (Oct. 15) IESA Class 3A sectional cross-country meet at 13 Acres Park, they had extra motivation supplied by the dominating performance of the school’s girls’ team.

“The boys’ team knew that they were up for a great race after watching what the girls’ team accomplished,” M-S head coach Lisa Martin said. “We have trained as one team all season, so it was no surprise that both teams were prepared and ready to race.

“Our boys team followed suit and got out to a strong start.”

Seventh-grader Auggie Gaudio was the individual champion, beating the runner-up to the finish line by 18 seconds.

Gaudio’s 2-mile time was 11 minutes and 28 seconds.

The other six M-S entries finished in succession, capturing the third through eighth positions.

Eighth-grader Lukas Nykaza was third (11:49.4), eighth-grader Ty Clark was fourth (11.49.9), eighth-grader Sean Dady-Draher was fifth (11:58), seventh-grader Justus Vrona was sixth (12:01), seventh-grader Ethan Peterka was seventh (12:06) and eighth-grader Ethan Ramirez was eighth (12:09).

The split between the top five runners was 33 seconds. The top seven were separated by 41 seconds.

The performance came on a day when the Bulldogs were short-handed.

“With (eighth-grade) teammate Blake Dillman out with an injury, it was up to our boys’ lineup to absorb that open position and stay strong, which is what they did,” Martin said. “Just like the girls’ team, we had a lot of runners on the sidelines that could have been a part of this racing team.”

M-S outdistanced Champaign Edison for the team title.

The Bulldogs had a composite score of 19 points. Runner-up Edison had 59 points and was followed by Urbana (79) and Champaign Franklin (99).

In a year when 143 junior high students participated in cross-country at M-S, Martin said the competitiveness within the team is what helped to elevate the program to the heights it reached in the postseason.

“The coaches are thankful for those who served as alternates and practice partners this season for our sectional team,” Martin said. “This group would have been on the line in most other seasons and on most other teams. But this year our depth was immense.

“Reese Gallier (eighth-grader), Isabel Lietz (seventh-grader), Phoebe Truax (eighth-grader), Hannah Martin (sixth-grader), Lindsay Gowler (eighth-grader), Gabby Reeves (eighth-grader), Emma Frazier (eighth-grader), Kaden Jackson (eighth-grader), Henry McMurry (seventh-grader), Parker Wilkins (seventh-grader), Tucker Loven (seventh-grader), Landon Busch (sixth-grader) and Camden Wood (seventh-grader) served important roles in the success of this postseason team while running varsity all season leading up to and during (the sectional) meet.

“Coaches recognize our alternates as having some of the most difficult roles on a team. These runners are prepared to race, but often know they won’t get the opportunity to. With this comes some sacrifice and selflessness. I have no doubt that if there was a race playing host to our alternate runners, we would have found that the Bulldogs would have persevered. We are just so appreciative of the depth that this team has.”

Martin said the credit for the success can be traced to the efforts of the squad members.

“So, what was the secret this season,” she asked rhetorically. “I wish the coaches could take all of the credit.

“However, with only practicing two days a week and a lot of (COVID-19) rules, we have to acknowledge the grit and determination of our runners. They were relentless this year, many making time to run on their remote days on their own. These athletes are resilient. It almost feels like the more challenges they faced, the more aggressive they got with setting and reaching goals.”

The coach doesn’t see a drop-off in the years to come.   

“The future looks bright, as well,” Martin said. “While we are graduating a lot of eighth-graders that are irreplaceable for many reasons, we are confident our young runners are ready to take the lead and continue our tradition of success.

“I am pretty confident that you will see many of our runners continue to hit the trails as they adjust to not having cross-country practice anymore this season. Why? Because they know the power of running and being on a team that supports each other and grows together.”