In its most anticipated event so far, Charleston cross country placed eighth and third in the 3-mile CHS Cross Country Invitational on Saturday morning.
The girls’ teams started off the event, which was dominated by a strong Mt. Zion team, who had four of five runners in the top ten. Neli Crawford for Centennial High School looked strong at the 1-mile marker with a commanding lead over the rest of the pack, but it was Lauren Hooks for Mt. Zion who took the race, clocking in at 19:54.
Charleston girls placed eighth overall, with its top runner, freshman Megan Diss, placing 40th.
“I’m a little surprised,” Diss said. “I thought I would do better.”
Girls’ coach Brad Oakley attributed the low placement to lack of experience — four girls have never run cross country before — and injuries which kept seniors Meggie Ambrose and Adrienne Mowan from competing Saturday.
“We just want to take everything one day at a time,” Oakley said.
In the boys’ meet, Charleston placed third behind Mahomet-Seymour and Danville.
Junior Aaron Smith finished second behind a Danville runner and senior Matt McElwee placed fourth.
“This is what we were building up for,” McElwee said. “I was pleasantly surprised. It’s always nice to set goals, then meet or exceed them.”
Boys’ coach Derrick Landrus said the team is looking better and are still looking forward to sectionals.
“This is still practice for us, but we’re definitely not taking it easy,” Landrus said. “We’re still working very hard.”
Danville boys’ coach Paul Marana said the team had been “bitten by the injury bug,” but still worked hard throughout the week leading up to today’s meet.
“All we’ve done is mileage,” Marana said. “We did one speed workout, but no short stuff.”
Charleston will travel to Springfield next week for the Springfield Lanphier Tour on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Tags: Braves, Bulldogs, Charleston High School, CHS Invitational, cross country, Danville High School, Mahomet-Seymour, Mt. Zion, Trojans, Vikings
