Highland girls cross country team captures 3rd straight MVC championship
When the Mississippi Valley Conference Championship Meet rolls around in mid-October, the Highland girls cross country team literally puts its best feet forward.
That again was the case Oct. 13 when the Lady Bulldogs ventured to Mascoutah for the MVC Championship Meet at Mascoutah High School.
Led by top-10 finishes from Julia Loeh, Grace Meyer, and Jessica Borror, the Lady Bulldogs rolled to their third straight MVC championship with a first place total of 43 points.
Highland’s dominant performance left coach Doug Bradley feeling exhilarated.
“The girls became MVC champs for the third year in a row!,” Bradley said. “It’s the 15th MVC championship for the girls program overall. It’s the fifth MVC title for the program since 2013. Injuries and lack of depth were huge stories in 2014, 2016, and 2017. These past three years have seen at least five girls make all-conference every year. It’s a pretty impressive run. “
Loeh paced the Lady Bulldogs with a fourth place finish as she clocked the course in a time of 19:45.
“Her first year, I believe she was 29th at the MVC meet. She has had a second, third, and fourth finish since then, “ Bradley said. “She’s such a gritty kid. It’s fun seeing her have success.”
Other HHS runners impress at MVC meet
Meyer came in seventh place thanks to solid time of 20:11.
“Grace Meyer struggled to get comfortable and still gutted out a 7th place finish,” Bradley said. “She, too, made a push toward the end but stronger sprinters pushed her a couple of places back. She’s had three top-10 finishes over her four years of racing at the MVC meet.”
Borror, who has been pushing through injuries since early in the season, turned in her best performance to date, finishing in ninth place with a time of 20:21.
“Jessica Borror had her best race of the year,” Bradley said. “She’s been battling injuries since early September and it was really exciting to see her put together a top-10 finish. Her ninth place was actually her third top-10 finish.”
Faith Brindley and Liv Heinmann rounded out the top finishers for the Lady Bulldogs. Brindley ran a 20:41 to place 11th and Heinzmann willed herself to a 20:49 time for 12th place. Bradley lauded Brindley’s and Heinzmann’s clutch contributions.
“Faith Brindley and Liv Heinzmann did the yeoman work to push the team score down into the forties,” Bradley said.
“The fact that they grinded out a medal winning-performances is a credit to them and a big boost to the team.”
Mascoutah was second with 47 points. Triad was third with 69 points, Waterloo was fourth with 76 points, Civic Memorial was fifth with 106 points and Jerseyville finished sixth.
Highland boys runners finish 4th
While the HHS girls had an outstanding day, things did not go as well as hoped for the Highland boys runners.
The Bulldogs boys team gave it their best effort but were only able to place fourth in the field with 107 points.
Easton Rosen was the Bulldogs only top 12 finisher as he finished 12th with a time of 16:54.
“Easton Rosen got off to a fantastic start but couldn’t find the motor to respond to move by eventual race champion Joe Schwartz of Waterloo,” Bradley said. “Once he lost his fire a pretty big swell of MVC competitors took advantage and pushed him back to 12th. He is easily one of the top three runners in the race on most days but today wasn’t one of them.”
Other performers for HHS, next up for teams
Behind Rosen, four Bulldogs finished in a close pack as Cole Basden placed 21st (17Z:54), Ethan Smith placed 23rd (17:55), Dallas Mancinas came in 24th (17:55), and Mason Steinbeck placed 27th with a time of 18:04.
“The rest of the guys ran in a tight pack and the next four scorers crossed the finish line within 0:10 of each other,” Bradley said. “That group included Cole Basden, Ethan Smith, Dallas Mancinas, and Mason Steinbeck. They are really battling and showing progress. Hopefully they can do that for at least two more races. “
Josh Loeh finished 30th (18:25) and Kyle Molitor placed 36th (19:38) to round out the Bulldogs finishers.
Rosen, Meyer lead Highland at Granite City regional tuneup
Rosen led the way for the Highland boys cross country team and Meyer led the charge for the HHS girls at the Granite City regional tuneup Oct. 17 in Granite City.
Rosen had arguably his best outing of the season as he led the Bulldogs boys with a time of 15:17 and ran a 5:12-per-mile pace during the race.
Steinbeck (17:16), Smith (17:33), and Josh Loeh (17:50) rounded out the top four finishers for HHS on the day.
On the girls side, Meyer continued her strong season leading the Lady Bulldogs with a time of 19:28. Julia Loeh (19:32), Heinzmann (19:42), and Tarryn Keeney (20:17) followed Meyer as top finishers for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Highland teams will host the IHSA Class 2A regional meet Saturday, Oct. 24, at Fireman’s Park in Alhambra.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 6:03 PM.