O’Fallon girls, boys cross country teams advance to sectional competition

The O’Fallon girls cross country team finished in second place at the IHSA Granite City meet Oct. 24 and will participate in the Normal Sectional meet Oct. 31.

Once again, the team was led by junior Peyton Schieppe, who placed second overall, finishing at just over 17 minutes, setting a new school record. The team ran perhaps their most complete race of the season and Schieppe was followed by junior Julia Monson in seventh place, freshman Ella Peterson in 11th place, senior Sophie Moffett in 24th place and sophomore Hannah Zura in 26th place.

Maddy Vorce and Catherine Gould also ran for the Panthers earning their best times of the season. The team is looking forward to finishing the season strong and competing well at the sectional meet.

OTHS boys place 3rd at regional meet

O’Fallon’s boys cross country team enjoyed a banner performance at the IHSA Granite City Regional on Oct 24.

Each OTHS athlete was near or below his all-time best time, as the Panthers placed third behind Edwardsville and Pekin while qualifying for the IHSA Normal Sectional on Oct. 31

In spite of several lineup changes during the week, each racer stepped up and competed at a top level. Six of the seven Panthers set a personal best. Dylan Ybarra ran the second fastest OTHS freshman time in the history of the course (15:52).

Eli Greenstreet, meanwhile, ran the third fastest OTHS freshman time in the history of the course (15:57), and Ethan Nieroda ran the eighth fastest OTHS sophomore time in the history of the course (16:07).

Blake Westrater did not know he was racing until the morning of the meet and still ran his all-time best time. Seniors Jack Peterson and Nico Parker also turned in solid performances. The athletes are looking forward to the sectional meet this weekend.

This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 8:50 AM.