Highland girls harriers clam 5th place at sectional meet, Bulldogs boys finish 10th
Opportunity was present for the Highland girls cross country team on Saturday to close their season with a top two finish in their final meet of the 2020 season.
The Lady Bulldogs gave it their all but a talented trio of Mahomet-Seymour, Chatham-Glenwood, and Mississippi Valley Conference rival Mascoutah proved a little too much to get past as HHS was forced to settle for fifth place at the IHSA Class 2A Olney Sectional at Olney Central College.
Highland, with 149, points finished behind sectional champ Chatham Glenwood (44 points), second place Mahomet-Seymour (134 points), third place Mascoutah (135 points) and fourth place Mount Zion (144 points).
“I had some pretty high expectations for the girls and we had a strong last two weeks of practice,” HIghland coach Doug Bradley said. “I felt really good about their chances of competing for a sectional title. I thought the right race plan was in place and then the first gun sounded. From there on out it was a struggle. I feel for them. There is no state meet to seek redemption in. It just ends here.”
Senior Grace Meyer paced Highland with an 18th place finish as she ran time of 20:08.58. Sophomore Liv Heinzmann and senior Julia Loeh followed in 28th and 29th place as they ran a 10:29.07 and a 20:30.54, respectively.
Fellow senior Jessica Borror gutted out a 20:44.06 time to finish in 35th place overall. Freshman Tarryn Keeney placed 39th with a time of 20:49.65. Junior Faith Brindley came in 58th place (21:29.69) and senior Paige Schaible closed out the Lady Bulldogs finishers, placing 70th overall (22:09.23).
Waterloo, Troy, Lincoln, Rochester, and Charleston rounded out to the 10 finishers in the team standings.
“The finish is bittersweet,”Bradey said. “It would be wonderful to continue on to the state meet and try to put a great race together, but in 2020 that reality hit home today. We finished fifth in a sectional and that is where the door closes on the season.”
Highland boys finish 10th, Rosen shines
It was a decidedly tougher day for the Highland boys runners, as the Bulldogs settled finished 10th in the sectional with a team score of 270 points.
Mascoutah won the title with 72 points followed by second place Chatham Glenwood (84 points), third place Marion (97 points), fourth place Mahomet-Seymour (146 points), and fifth place Olney (156 points).
Rochester, Carbondale, Springfield, and Champaign Central, along with HHS, filled out the top 10 finishers in the team competition of the meet.
Senior Easton Rosen led the way for the Bulldogs with a run of 16:33.25 to place 14th overall.
“Easton Rosen ran his last race with a lot of heart,” Bradley said. “He said he felt really good for a 1.5 miles and then felt like he had no more gas in the tank. He really managed that pain well. He lost some places over that last half mile, but he minimized the damage with a whole lot of fight.
“He would’ve qualified for state today as an individual for the first time ever. He has certainly earned it. He’s been terrific for four years and will go down as one of the fastest kids I’ve ever coached. It’s going to be really tough to replace him.”
Other key runners, look back on season
Sophomore Mason Steinbeck finished 50th with a time of a 17:27. 83. Ethan Smith, another sophomore, ran a 17:38.13 to place 59th. Senior Josh Loeh came in 63rd place, running a time of 17:44.41. Sophomore Cole Basden placed 84th overall (18:16. 90). Freshman Dallas Mancinas placed 93rd (18:32.49).
Junior Cameron Pace rounded out the top finishers for HHS, placing 98th with a time of 19:52.02.
“The boys had a tenth place finish for the second year in a row,” Bradley said. “That finish is one that they should be very proud of accomplishing. Last year’s team graduated three really important seniors and it was going to take some significant improvements to get their replacements to run anywhere near those departing seniors’ times. Yet, it happened with a lot of hard work and progress.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 1:19 AM.