MSJHS girls’ cross country finishes sixth at IESA state meet
By Fred Kroner
Mahomet-Seymour’s girls’ cross-country team produced its best-ever finish in a Class 4A IESA state meet, finishing sixth on Saturday (Oct. 14) at Normal Parkside.
M-S finished two spots away from securing a trophy in the 24-team meet.
The Bulldogs were led by seventh-grader Paige Jansen, who earned all-state accolades. Jansen ran 19th with a 2-mile time of 12 minutes and 25 seconds.
Shortly after the race started, it wasn’t a given that Jansen would be in position to place among the top 25 and claim all-state recognition.
“About 300 meters into the race, on a slippery, muddy downhill, Paige was tripped and spiked by an opposing runner,” M-S coach Lisa Martin said. “Paige got up, in pain, and continued to push through.
“It was physically evident that she had been injured on her calf. She faced adversity, but yet persevered, using the adrenaline to help her finish the race.
“Not sure how she did it, getting back up and fighting her way back to the front pack, but she did. Well, I do kind of know: Paige is tough and has so much grit. She still managed to tie her season record.
“As she crossed the finish line, the high school girls’ cross-country team members were there to take over and help her find first aid so coaches could welcome back her teammates. Thankful for the support of Jama Grotelueschen’s high school athletes. Their support went beyond a great cheering section. They stepped up and showed us what leadership looks like.”
The next six Bulldog runners completed the course within 28 seconds of one another.
Following Jansen were Cecily Smith (49th in 12:58), Ashley Martin (58th in 13:02), Finley Smith (69th in 13:08), Ava Cvengros (80th in 13:14), Kennedy Ashby (85th in 13:20) and Chandler Mills (96th in 13:26).
There were 222 competitors in the girls’ state race.
“Soon after (Jansen finished), eighth-grader Cecily Smith and sixth-grader Ashley Martin crossed the finish line,” Lisa Martin said. “Cecily ran a strong, very consistent race, tying her season record.
“She is such a dependable, focused runner. She is fierce on the race course and lets her running speak for itself. I have no doubt that it is because of Cecily that Ashley had such a successful sixth-grade season, finishing just a few seconds behind Cecily at the state meet.
“Ashley found herself learning how to race about two-thirds of the way through the season. As a sixth-grader, there is so much learning and Ashley took advantage of all of the eighth-graders’ leadership to push into a consistent scoring position for the Bulldogs.
“Ashley was the fourth sixth-grader to cross the finish line (at state) and ran just a second off of her season record.”
The fourth M-S runner at state, Finley Smith, wasn’t one of the team’s scoring runners a week earlier at the sectional.
“She stepped up in a big way and used her adrenaline to propel her to one of her best races,” Lisa Martin said. “Finley is the one that our middle-pack of runners look to in the race.
“Her height is an advantage and allows for our middle pack of runners to work to re-group at various points in the race. She is a solid, consistent runner and takes advantage of her ability to push through the middle of the race, when opposing runners start to show fatigue.”
Following her was seventh-grader Cvengros.
“Just six seconds behind Finley, was Ava Cvengros,” Lisa Martin continued. “Ava has also been in scoring position for us consistently this season.
“She is a strong runner and once again played a crucial role in our team’s finish position. She got stronger as the season went on and we can’t wait to see how she will step up into the eighth-grade leadership role with Paige next year.
“If you know Ava, she doesn’t look intimidating and is pretty quiet, but on the race course, she lets her running do the talking.”
Ashby – the only member of the girls’ team who had run at state previously – and sixth-grader Mills were the other two M-S runners.
“The coolest part about (state) might be that our sixth and seventh runners, Kennedy Ashby and Chandler Mills, finished within just a few seconds of our top five scoring runners,” Lisa Martin said. “If you are a data person and choose to analyze team scores, you will see that we ran seven strong.
“To explain, our seven runners came in only second to the state champs, Arlington Heights. Kennedy and Chandler ran strongly for us in the six and seven spots, pushing points back from other teams. They pushed each other to finish in strong positions.
“We will miss Kennedy next year as she was the consistent leader off of the starting line with her power and speed. Excited to see Chandler back out on the race course next year using what she learned this year to help us once again find our way to post-season competition.”
The team leaders in the 24-school meet were state champion Arlington Heights Thomas (98 points) and runner-up Batavia Rotolo (108 points) followed by Edwardsville Lincoln (138 points), Minooka (183 points), Mount Prospect Lincoln (205), M-S (207 points), Yorkville (232 points), Morton (240 points) and Arlington Heights South (264 points).
