Highland boys, girls cross country teams have strong showings at invite
A week after a disappointing second place finish in the Pre-MVC Invite at Triad, the Highland girls cross country team returned home and put together a strong wire-to-wire effort.
The Lady Bulldogs placed three runners in the top 10 finishers and rolled to a first place finish to claim the Highland Invite on Saturday at Fireman’s Park in Alhambra.
Highland coach Doug Bradley was pleased with the effort of both his teams on a glorious, crisp morning.
“A glorious day for running,” Bradley said. “The weather, the course, the fans, and kids all delivered their very best to the occasion. With that as the backdrop our kids really ran well. Eight of 11 girls running at least their second race of the season had their best times of the year. Nine of 10 boys did the same.”
Highland edged out Roxana for first place with 33 points, while the Shells finished second with 35 points and archrival Triad placed third with 52 points.
Senior Grace Meyer led the way for the Lady Bulldogs as she finished first overall in the girls division with a time of 19:23.6.
“Grace Meyer, for the second time in Alhambra this season, was the first to cross the finish line,” Bradley said. “She took over the race before the mile mark and controlled it the rest of the way. “
Junior Faith Brindley took third place with a time of 19:45.4 and senior Julia Loeh turned in a strong fourth place finish, clocking the course in 20.01.2, giving HHS three top five finishers in the 3-mile race.
“Faith Brindley had her best day of the season topping the Alhambra time that she ran in the regionals last year,” Bradley said. “Julia Loeh, running on a gimpy ankle, put together a solid race to help lead the team to victory. “
Seniors Paige Schaible and Jessica Borror finished the race 12th (20:50.8) and 13th place (20:50.9), respectively, and junior Madalyn McCall ran a 22:01.6 to finish in 17th place overall.
Highland boys team finished 3rd at event
While the Highland girls had a banner day, the boys ran hard but came up a little bit short of the winners circle in their race.
The Bulldogs boys harriers finished third with 62 points behind first place rival Triad (27 points), and just one point behind second place Jerseyville (61 points). Roxana placed fourth with 72 points.
HHS senior standout Easton Rosen continued his strong running as he won the boys race clocking the course in 16:07.7 to finish in first place. Rosen averaged 5:22.6 per mile in his winning effort.
“Easton Rosen won the day with a perfectly executed race,” Bradley said. “He hit the 2-mile mark and unleashed a blistering next half mile to open things up and got his first cross country win in a non-flighted race. “
Senior Josh Loeh and sophomore Mason Steibneck also fared well, finishing in 12th place (17:54.3) and 13th place (18:06.3), respectively.
Highland boys persevere despite COVID-19 quarantines
Sophomore Ethan Smith and senior Kole Fisk rounded out the top finishers for the Bulldogs. Smith finished 16th with a time of 18:29.7 and Fisk placed 20th in a time of 20:10.3.
“The boys were without eight runners today due to (COVID-19) quarantines,” Bradley said. “As a team, 13 of our 18 boys have missed multiple practices and meets at some point during the season due to quarantines.
“I am really impressed by their ability to overcome such adversity. These kids are making the best of their opportunity to run.
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 9:30 AM.