Highland girls take 3rd place in Granite City Invite, boys place 11th in field
Only a week after starting the season in strong fashion with a win at home, the Highland girls cross country team followed up with a solid outing in its first road meet of the season Saturday.
The Lady Bulldogs, behind top 12 finishes from seniors Julia Loeh and Grace Meyer, claimed a third place finish at the Granite City Invite with 109 points.
O’Fallon won the race with 58 points and Edwardsville placed second with 61 points in the 19 team event.
The race was a strange but fun event for the Bulldogs according to coach Doug Bradley.
“Here is the format: Teams only from COVID Region #11,” Bradley said. “Only varsity races held in all three classes. The 1A races were first. Then, the 2A races were next. Finally the day ended with the 3A teams. The results were all compiled into the same race as if they were all running against each other. The awards went to the top three teams and 30 individuals in each race.”
Loeh finished fourth overall with a time of 19:16.23 and Meyer was 11th with a time of 19:56.60. Loeh’s finish was good enough for to win the Class 2A race.
“She gave away several meters early on to Waterloo’s No. 1 runner Angelynn Kanyuck and had to really claw her way to the front,” Bradley said. “She sprinted past Kanyuck within the shadows of the finish chute. It was one perfect finish! Her fourth place overall finish is a really nice card to draw. The three girls from the 3A race that beat her are really good.”
Sophomore Liv Heinzmann and junior Faith Brindley finished in 21st and 22nd place, respectively, with times of 20:22.39 and 20:23.02.
Freshman Tarryn Keeney placed 53rd in her first varsity meet and senior Paige Schaible finished 55th.
Bradley was pleased overall with the Lady Bulldogs effort but also noted there are some things the team can improve on.
“The girls were a mixed bag. I saw some good things and I saw some things that are going to have to be improved. This is an experienced and talented group and they struggled with some things that they shouldn’t have,” Bradley said. “It’s a start though. They’ve always rebounded well throughout their careers. I would expect nothing less than for them to double down on their work and intensity.”
Boys team has bright spots
Highland’s boys had a slightly tougher time with the three-mile race but still managed a somewhat decent day, finishing 11th with 302 points in the 23-team field.
Senior Easton Rosen led the Bulldogs, placing 10th as he clocked the course in 16:15.05.
“Easton Rosen just narrowly missed winning the 2A race,” Bradley said. “He ran a 5:34 first and second mile and had to blaze a 5:07 last mile to get close to eventual winner Joe Schwartz of Waterloo. The pack he was in let Schwartz go and it was too much to overcome. That 5:07 last mile should give him some confidence going forward. It’s nice to know that you can come back and run a 5 minute mile if the situation calls for it.”
Josh Loeh finished 35th (17.13.03), while freshman Dallas Mancinas finished 73rd (18:04.76).
“Dallas Mancinas has been nursing a leg issue all week so we weren’t sure what to expect,” Bradley said. “An 18:04 here at Granite as a freshman is a pretty good start for his high school career.”
Sophomore Cole Basden finished in 76th place (18.09.42).
“Cole Basden took close to two minutes off his time from last year,” Bradley said. “He’s on the right path, too.”
Other key performers for HHS
Cameron Pace (107th), Kyle Molitor (120th) and Isaac Irving (121st) rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs boys. Bradley said the boys felt they should have had a better day but struggles with adjusting to a more tactical race hurt HHS.
“The boys should be happy with their efforts, but each and every one will tell you they are faster than what they ran today,” Bradley said. “Just like at a conference race, this race got tactical. I hadn’t prepared them for that. Four of our boys were actually slower at the two mile this year than they were last year. I feel like I let them down.”
Both Highland teams return to Granite City at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, with for a tri-meet against Father McGivney and Granite City.