Highland girls, boys cross country teams qualify for IHSA sectional competition
On Saturday, the Highland girls and boys cross country teams did what they needed to do to keep their campaign going in the postseason.
Hosting the IHSA Class 2A regional at Alhambra Firemen’s Park on Oct. 24, Highland’s girls cross country team qualified for this weekend’s Class 2A Olney Sectional and the Highland boys team qualified in the boys division.
In the girls 3-mile race, HHS narrowly lost the regional on a tiebreaker despite finishing deadlocked at 58 points, as the Lady Bulldogs settled for second place.
“The girls didn’t run well and the margin for error was rather narrow going in,” Highland coach Doug Bradley said. “Mascoutah even had a runner drop out in the 4/5 race and that looked like it might be the difference maker, but they had two girls run outstanding last miles as they ran down both Paige Schaible and then Madalyn McCall to seal the victory in the 6/7 race.”
Grace Meyer, Liv Heinzmann, and Julia Loeh led the Lady Bulldogs with top-10 finishes, placing second, ninth, and 10th, respectively.
Meyer ran her best race to date at Alhambra, clocking the course in 18:59.
“Grace Meyer had a strong race,” Bradley said. “I believe it’s her best ever time at Alhambra and her first time in the 18s this year. She’s been practicing well and that translated into a great race.”
Heinzmann ran a ninth place time of 19:54 and Loeh turned in a 10th place time of 20:02.
“Liv Heinzmann and Julia Loeh are usually either in front of Grace or within 0:20 of her,” Bradley said. “Today, that number was at 0:55 and that turned out to be a big deal. That’s a gap we aren’t used to having. Part of it was because Grace ran so well but the other two should’ve been ripe for a (personal record) too. “
Faith Brindley finished 17th with a time of 20:26. McCall ran a 20:44, placing 20th, Jessica Borror placed 24th (21:17) and Schaible finished in 26th place (21:24).
Bradley said he felt, with one more top-10 finisher, the Lady Bulldogs could have won the regional.
“The bottom line is that if any of our top five girls beat one more competitor we win the regional plaque,” Bradley said. “It’s tough. I hope it motivates them to race better on Saturday in Olney.”
The Lady Bulldogs second place regional finish qualified them for sectionals for the 13th straight season.
Highland boys place 5th
Highland’s boys group finished in fifth place to qualify for sectionals for the second straight season.
Easton Rosen once again led the way for the Bulldogs boys harriers as he barely missed a top-5 finish, finishing sixth overall with a time of 16:14.
“Easton ran smart and at about 200 meters past the 2-mile mark, the two guys he was with, Joe Schwartz of Waterloo and Lance Miller of Mascoutah, made moves and he didn’t have the extra gear at that point,” Bradley said. “He went into defensive mode and was able to hold off a late charge from a Mt. Vernon runner to keep his place. It was a gutty last mile for him.”
Other key performers on the boys side
Mason Steinbeck (24th, 17:23), Ethan Smith (30th, 17:27), and Cole Basden (32nd, 17:29) rounded out the top four finishers for HHS.
“Mason Steinbeck and Cole Basden ran really strong races,” Bradley said. “Mason pushed hard earlier and Cole hung on him. The two put some stress on a pack of Triad runners running just ahead of them. The outcomes were exactly part of the team script.”
Josh Loeh finished in 38th place (17:49), Dallas Mancinas placed 39th (18:00), and Cameron Pace took 42nd place (18:06).
“Josh Loeh and Dallas Mancinas labored through their 4/5 race,” Bradley said. Their middle miles ballooned somewhat but both fought hard over the last mile.”
Next up for both teams
Highland’s boys and girls teams will travel to Olney Central College on Saturday, Oct. 31, for the IHSA Class 2A Olney Sectional.
The girls races will start at 9 a.m. and the boys races will begin at 11 a.m.
This story was originally published October 25, 2020 at 12:59 AM.