Highland cross country teams cap busy week at Pre-Mississippi Valley Conference meet

In a mid-week meet at Granite City, the Highland boys and girls cross country teams were shuffled a bit to give healthy runners that did not run in the Granite City Invitational on Sept. 5 a chance to run Wednesday at Granite City’s Wilson Park that included Mascoutah, Triad, Father McGivney, and the host Warriors.

On the girls side, the day was a tough one as the Lady Bulldogs failed to place a team score while laboring in hot and humid race conditions., Highland coach Doug Bradley said.

“I ran all of the healthy kids that did not race (Sept. 5) at Granite. So, we ran mostly our second seven runners. Paige Schaible, one of our senior captains, helped out by running her second race of the week at Granite. I had hoped that she would give us a score for the girls team of five but then we had one pull out due to an injury so we did not end up with a team score,” Bradley said.

Jessica Borror turned in a solid outing as she ran a 21:25 on the 3 mile course.

“In the girls race Jessica Borror ran her first race of the season and the three-time state qualifier had a solid day,“ Bradley said. “She’s been battling some leg issues over the past two weeks so it was pretty exciting to see her out there racing again. She was a bit rusty but I was really pleased with her effort today.”

Schaible finished just behind Borror with a strong time of 22:05.

“Paige Schaible had a real good performance when you consider her race was about 15 degrees cooler with less humidity,” Bradley said. “I thought she ran relaxed and that was exactly what I was hoping for to do.”

Chloe Marti and Brooklyn Lackey ran their first races of the season and clocked the course at 25:12 and 32:05, respectively.

In the boys division of the race, senior newcomer Andrew Snyder led the way for the Bulldogs, running a time of 20:37.

“He was over a minute faster than he ran at Alhambra a week and a half earlier,” Bradley said. “That’s a positive sign for him and the team.”

Kole Fisk followed Snyder with a solid performance, as he finished the course with a time of 21:04. Braden Wakeley clocked the course 21:04.

“Braden Wakeley continued his steady improvement,” Bradley said. “His growth as a runner has him on track to being a regular varsity competitor next season when the team graduates four seniors.”

Ethan Hollenkamp (22:16), Justin Wakeley (22:28), and Aiden Conrad (27:10) rounded out the Bulldogs finishers.

Highland teams compete at Pre-MVC meet

On a damp and dreary Saturday morning at Triad High School, the Highland boys and girls cross country teams tested their mettle in the Pre-Mississippi Valley Conference Meet.

It was a trying day for both of the Bulldogs harrier squads as each team lost several members for the week due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak that has impacted Highland High School.

Against that backdrop, both teams turned in strong showings.

The Bulldogs boys finished in third place with 82 points behind first place Triad (33 points) and second place Civic Memorial (64 points).

“The boys, given all the adversity, had a good day,” Bradley said. “Beating two conference teams bodes well for the guys whenever the full team gets put back together.”

Easton Rosen led the way for HHS, finishing second overall with a time of 17:13.

“Easton Rosen was once again our No. 1 runner,” Bradley said. “He finished second to the same guy (Waterloo’s Joe Schwarz) that got him (Sept. 5) at Granite City. I thought he ran smart.”

Additional key performers for Bulldogs boys

Cole Basden followed Rosen with a 14th place finish (18:23).

“Cole Basden had a nice run and finished as our No. 2 runner,” Bradley said. “He’s been practicing harder and faster and we’re seeing the results on race day.”

Josh Loeh finished right behind Basden in 15th place (18:28) followed by Kyle Molitor in 24th place (19.56), Kole Fisk (33rd place, 21:38), Vance Brindley (36th place), Andrew Snyder (37th place), Justin Wakeley (39th place), Kaden Loyet (45th place) and Conrad (46th place).

Both Molitor’s and Fisk’s times were personal records for them.

“There were seven boys on the shelf due to quarantines and illness,” Bradley said. “It was nice to see the other boys go to work to try to fill their shoes.”

HHS girls finish 2nd at meet

In the girls division, the Lady Bulldogs finished second to Waterloo with 45 points. Waterloo won the race with 44 points, Triad was third with 47 points, Civic Memorial took fourth place with 74 points and Jerseyville was fifth.

“The girls ran some pretty decent times,” Bradley said. “It’s always disappointing to lose, but Waterloo was simply better today and I’m confident we can put a better performance out there when the conference is really on the line.”

Grace Meyer (fourth place, 20:25), Liv Heinzmann (seventh place, 20:43), and Faith Brindley (13th place, 21:01) paced the Lady Bulldogs’ effort for the day.

“She’s not thrilled with the outcome, but that’s the competitor in her coming out,” Bradley said of Meyer. “She knows she has gears she hasn’t used this season. It will happen (for her).”

“Liv Heinzmann ran a personal record for this course,” Bradley added. “She is getting better and better and the confidence is coming along.”

Other outputs for Highland girls

Borror finished 13th with a time of 23:02 while Schaible rounded out the top 20 with a 15th place finish (23:26).

Maddie Dortch (25th place, 24:31), Danielle Little (28th place, 25:51), and Marti (29th place, 26:06) rounded out the scoring for Highland.

“Not having Julia Loeh was a big deal for the outcome of today’s race, but the other girls stepped up and tried to keep their winning streak intact,” Bradley said.

This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 1:19 AM.