Local programs shine at State cross country meets, earning several medals & trophies

PEORIA, Ill. (WAND) - Numerous schools and runners from across central Illinois made the most of their visit to Detweiller Park for the IHSA State cross country championships.

Three programs were able to earn trophies for their team performances, with Glenwood girls taking the 2A state title, Shelbyville girls placing as runners-up in 1A, and Mahomet-Seymour boys earning runners-up in 2A.

In the 1A girls' race, Shelbyville placed three racers in the top-55 out of over 250 runners, led by Tessa Bowers who posted a time of 16:20.78 to earn 4th place overall. Individually, St. Anthony's Isabella Keller placed 2nd in the race with a time of 16:06.58 to cap off her season. Also representing central Illinois proudly were Tuscola's Kate Foltz and Maroa-Forsyth's Klaire Eighner each earning top-10 finishes. St. Joseph-Ogden as a team also finished strongly earning 6th overall.

On the boys' side in 1A, three programs finished inside the top-10 as a team, led by St. Joseph-Ogden (7th), Clinton (8th), and Tolono Unity (10th). Several area racers performed well individually, with Tuscola's Blake McLeese posting a time of 14:46.45 to take 3rd place. Not far behind and finishing 5th was Pleasant Plains' Elijah Teefey. Also finishing in under 15 minutes were Cayden Bostic from Clinton (12th) and Eli Anderson of Monticello (13th).

Glenwood girls' had three racers finish inside the top-10 to comfortably secure the top prize in 2A. Ashlyn Chopra earned 3rd place individually with a time of 17.12.49, closely followed by Sophie Rentmeister for 4th place, and Ali Londrigan for 7th. Rochester and Mahomet-Seymour each scored to earn 6th and 8th place respectively as programs. Sacred Heart-Griffin's Paityn Brady had an impressive race, coming in 5th place overall.

The boys from Mahomet-Seymour had a strong showing in the 2A race where they claimed the runners-up trophy. Henry McMurry completed the course in 14:41.34, leading his team with a 16th place finish. Two other runners, Tate Bode and Augustus Gaudio crossed the line inside the top-40. Taylorville's Liam Bettis was the top performer from Taylorville, ending his day in 7th.