A Chance to Move On

Illinois is one of the strongest states in the country for high school cross country and the Wildcats get the chance to face the best in our IHSA Regional. That means the team needs to be at their best to advance on to Sectionals.

The girls were first, the team knew going in with a well-executed race they had the chance to advance. Unfortunately, that race was not meant to be. Bridget Kemp and Brooke Rochacz were aggressive from the start and got themselves in to a strong position. Freshman, Brooke Rochacz, continued with her impressive season. She made a strong move just before half-way to assert herself as the team’s top runner. Bridget hung within a few strides of Brooke through 2.25 miles, when she made a strong move and moved back into a position to be the Wildcats top runner. Bridget and Brooke both finished strong, Brooke with a 25 second personal best and both secured a spot to Sectionals. Ella Ruland was next in, Ella made a strong move with just under a mile to go, but ran out of race to continue to catch people. Lydia Velazquez brought a strong race in her final race as a Wildcat, just off her lifetime best. Lydia ran strong when it mattered most. Senior, Cyan Bradley rounded out the scoring for the team with a sprint finish at the end. Sophie Salkas and Emily Fannin both missed a few days of running this week dealing with some minor injuries, but those set backs didn’t stop them both from lining up and giving their best effort at Regionals. The season may have come to the end for the team to compete for a team score, but Bridget and Brooke will be great representatives at next week’s Sectionals.

The boys were on the line next. The reality of cross country is set backs come during the season. Bronchitis and the flu has made its way through the varsity line up the last few weeks. Luke Adair missed 4 weeks of racing, made his return at SPC last week and was starting to gain confidence coming back. Ubaldo Rodriguez missed last week, but did everything he could to bounce back for Regionals. Both Luke and Ubaldo got out strong and into a good position. Luke continued to press the pace and found himself in a great spot at 2 miles. He finished strong and earned a spot to compete next week at Sectionals. Ubaldo unfortunately faded in the final mile, but his effort is something to be proud of. Adrian Castillo was next in, running his second fastest 3 mile time ever, only 1 second behind what he ran at Granite City Sectionals last year (and that lighting fast track). Running your best races at the end of the year, speaks to Adrian as an athlete. Micah Ruland was next in, not feeling his best on the day, he made a powerful move just after the mile and found Adrian so they could work together. The young guns rounded out the race. Joey Des Garennes was next in, running a 10 second best, a great sign for the freshman. Dominik Barrios was next in running a 2 second personal best. Rounding out the race for the team was Ty Vitanovec, despite a calf strain at the 2 mile Ty fought with everything he had to limp his way into the finish. The boys missed qualifying by a few spots, but will be represented by Luke Adair at next week’s Sectional.

To the seniors who ran their last race, the team (and coaches) are so proud of the way you represented what it means to be a Wildcat the last four years. And we know we will see the same effort from our athletes who have a chance to qualify for the IHSA State Finals next weekend.