Freeburg has its eyes on state as cross country postseason begins
With the start of the IHSA cross country postseason now only two days away, Freeburg coach Carl Florczyk has a realistic outlook in regards to the hopes of the Midgets boys team.
After losing some of his depth from a team that was the Class 1A state runnerup a year ago, Florczyk is hoping to “sneak up” on some teams at Detweiller Park in Peoria in two weeks. But first, the Midgets have to get there.
“I never seem to sleep very well this time of year. With all the time these kids put in during the summer with their training, you just want them to be healthy for the postseason. Right now, though — knock on wood — we’re healthy,” Florczyk said. “We want to run well at the regional and sectional the next two weeks and do it injury free.
“If we are able to do that then we’ll go to Peoria and see what happens. At Detweiller who knows what can happen. If we run like we can, I would think could be in the top 10 in both the boys and girls divisions.”
Led by all-state runners Charlie Parrish and Breanna Chandler, the Midgets begin their postseason journey on Saturday at the New Athens Regional. Parrish, who was 13th in the state finals and Chandler, who placed 25th in the girls division, are just two of the top Class 1A hopes heading into the postseason.
The New Athens Regional is just one of several involving local athletes which will take place on Saturday. While many of the local Class 1A schools are competing at New Athens, others will run at the Carterville Regional.
In Class 2A, metro east powers Mascoutah, Triad and Waterloo will headline the local teams at the Highland Regional In Class 3A, perennial state powers Edwardsville and O’Fallon are competing at the Belleville West Regional along with the other Southwestern Conference teams. All regionals begin at 10 a.m. with the girls race and the boys race will follow.
Illinois High School Association sectionals will take place on Oct. 28 with the top boys and girls cross country runners in the state advancing to Detweiller Park for the state finals Nov. 4.
This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Freeburg has its eyes on state as cross country postseason begins."