There were some nervous moments following Saturday (Nov. 2)'s IHSA Class 1A Cross Country Sectional, but as it turned out there didn't need to be.
Robinson High School's boys' team qualified for the state meet for 28th time in school history, as they finished fifth to claim the last qualifying spot, but did so by a somewhat comfortable margin.
"We live to run another day," RHS head coach Tony Cork said. "The old adage of survive and advance comes into play this time of year and that's exactly what they did."
The Maroons did not run their best, as conditions were not as good as had been hoped. The course at Mid-America Motorworks in Effingham was muddy and wet, which combined with cool temperatures and strong winds, made it less than ideal running conditions.
Despite that, Robinson finished with a team total of 173 points, which was 25 points ahead of the sixth-place team - Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond - who had 198. Also earning state finals berths by finishing ahead of Robinson were Monticello (42), Urbana University High (96), St. Joseph-Ogden (158) and Tolono Unity (162). Rounding out the field were Paxton-Buckley-Loda (211), Effingham St. Anthony (252), Marshall (281), Shelbyville (327), Carlinville (328), Champaign St. Thomas More (335), Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin (337), Cumberland (355), Litchfield (378), Decatur St. Teresa (387), Auburn (443), Teutopolis (444), Lawrenceville-Red Hill (471), Mt. Carmel (481), Alton Marquette (543) and Neoga (593).
"I thought if we ran well, we'd have an outside shot at second, but probably would end up third," Cork said. "Even though we didn't run well, we still weren't far off from that. We'll get another crack at them at state and we'll see what happens."
Top finisher for RHS was Negus Bogard, as he finished fifth out of 160 runners with a time of 16:17, while Maverick Wright came in 16th with a time of 16:59. Also scoring for the Maroons were Koty Amdahl in 33rd in 17:35, Parker Middleton in 41st in 17:44 and Zach Buttolph in 91st in 18:52.
Individual champion was Paxton-Buckley-Loda's Ryder James with a time of 15:55.
Meanwhile, Robinson's girls' team finished 14th out of 21 full teams with 387 points. That placed them ahead of Cumberland (391), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (434), Effingham St. Anthony (436), Carlinville (484), Piasa Southwestern (485), Paris (498) and Tuscola (505). Top five teams that earned qualifying spots for state were Monticello (53), Tolono Unity (66), St. Joseph-Ogden (110), Champaign St. Thomas More (116) and Urbana University High (132), while completing the field were Marshall (161), Shelbyville (211), Decatur St. Teresa (261), Litchfield (290), Staunton (317), Newton (361), Auburn (372) and Teutopolis (376).
Top finisher for RHS was Leighanna Hamilton in 69th with a time of 21:51, while Madi Staley was 82nd in 22:21 and Macy Sutfin was 82rd in 22:22. Also scoring for the Lady Maroons were Stevee Walker in 106th (23:45) and Julia Gallion in 116th (24:28).
Individual champion was Staunton's Lydia Roller with a time of 17:48.
2019 IHSA Class 1A Cross Country Sectional
At Mid-America Motorworks, Effingham
Boys
Team scores - Monticello 42, Urbana University High 96, St. Joseph-Ogden 158, Tolono Unity 162, Robinson 173, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 198, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 211, Effingham St. Anthony 252, Marshall 281, Shelbyville 327, Carlinville 328, Champaign St. Thomas More 335, Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin 337, Cumberland 355, Litchfield 378, Decatur St. Teresa 387, Auburn 443, Teutopolis 444, Lawrenceville-Red Hill 471, Mt. Carmel 481, Alton Marquette 543, Neoga 593.
Top 5 individuals - 1. Ryder James (Paxton-Buckley-Loda) 15:55; 2. Henry Kraatz (Urbana University High) 16:06; 3. Luke Sokolowski (Monticello) 16:07; 4. Layton Hall (Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond) 16:10; 5. Negus Bogard (Robinson) 16:17.
Advancing individuals (from non-qualifying teams) - 1. Ryder James (Paxton-Buckley-Loda) 15:55; 4. Layton Hall (Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond) 16:10; 7. Isaac Stanford (Flora) 16:27; 9. Gabe Martinez (Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin) 16:33; 11. Brian Dust (Effingham St. Anthony) 16:44; 15. Michael Carpenter (Cumberland) 16:58; 18. Eli Mojonnier (Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin) 17:01.
Advancing teams
Monticello (42) - 3. Luke Sokolowski 16:07; 8. Josh Baysore 16:30; 10. Morgan Dixon 16:34; 12. Ed Mitchell 16:46; 13. Jackson Grambart 16:51; 37. Joey Wenke 17:40; 40. Holden Miller 17:44.
Urbana University High (96) - 2. Henry Kraatz 16:06; 6. Aryan Lalwani 16:23; 29. Nicolas Ramkumar 17:22; 31. Aniket Gargya 17:29; 34. Matty Tang 17:36; 53. Henry Laufenberg 17:53; 65. Alex Dolcos 18:11.
St. Joseph-Ogden (158) - 14. Brandon Mattsey 16:56; 24. Eric Poe 17:16; 38. Charlie Mabry 17:40; 45. Elijah Mock 17:50; 49. Logan Wolfersberger 17:52; 54. Luke Stegall 17:53; 87. Lukas Hucherson 18:49.
Team scores - Monticello 53, Tolono Unity 66, St. Joseph-Ogden 110, Champaign St. Thomas More 116, Urbana University High 132, Marshall 161, Shelbyville 211, Decatur St. Teresa 261, Litchfield 290, Staunton 317, Newton 361, Auburn 372, Teutopolis 376, Robinson 387, Cumberland 391, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 434, Effingham St. Anthony 436, Carlinville 484, Piasa Southwestern 485, Paris 498, Tuscola 505.
Top 5 individuals - 1. Lydia Roller (Staunton) 17:48; 2. Kate Ahmari (Urbana University High) 18:29; 3. Rachel Koon (Monticello) 18:41; 4. Kylie Decker (Tolono Unity) 18:53; 5. Mabry Bruhn (Monticello) 19:02.
Champaign St. Thomas More (116) - 8. Fran Hendrickson 19:18; 15. Kennedy Ramshaw 19:40; 17. Bella Ramshaw 19:45; 33. Reese Hogan 20:11; 49. Claire Monahan 21:02; 63. Sophie Dowling 21:32.
Urbana University High (132) - 2. Kate Ahmari 18:29; 29. Erin Smith 20:06; 30. Anya Kaplan-Hartnett 20:06; 35. Danbi Choi 20:18; 40. Maxine Van Der Donk 20:31; 53. Cadi Hu 21:15; 54. Erin Minor 21:18.
