Normal Illinois – cold & and windy (20 mph) Temp (35ish when you factor in the wind
All athlete’s had to run in the same conditions (cold and wind) No complaints from the Maroons!!
I would like to thank all the wonderful parents that come out and cheered on the Maroons. It was a two hour drive and you came out and supported the boys and girls cross-country teams. It was some parents first time ever experiencing a cross-country meet for the Maroons. Thanks again, however one thing to remember, ‘hat, gloves, coat, and a second pair of shoes.’ Think of football or soccer, because you’re outside the entire time. Thanks to those very special parents that have made it to every meet.
I had one parent ask a very important question at the cross-country meet. What is coach T, Jill and Sarah, not doing that the other teams are doing because they are so good, ‘Yorkville and Manooka. Excellent Question ( First off you have to have a great coach and coaching staff -we have that – You have to have athlete’s that will listen and put in the hard work over the summer.’Summer Training Miles.’ -and lastly, many athlete’s participating in the sport. Many of the top programs have 100 athlete’s out for that sport on the boys and girls teams. Our team have a total of 20 to 25 runners on the team. Coach T wouldn’t change anything, because it’s a close family oriented atmosphere and you know every individual personally. It just makes the team train harder going up against the bigger schools. Last week was a great example for the guys. They weren’t given a chance to qualify to the sectional championships, but they did!!
The girls ran very well today!! Things that you cannot control are injuries and illness. The lady Maroons ran as a pack today. I can’t explain it, but it was the intensity of the competition. I also saw a Kiliegh Burgh sighting the first two miles. What the What? Flash back of the old Kiliegh -(Summer Miles)???? Grace Vinzant and Maddie Lodico leading the Maroon pack while front runners Lylia and Emily lead the Maroon charge. The lady Maroons ran great as a team!! Factoring in athlete’s with some type of cold or illness, “they ran their little hearts out. Lylia had to have passed 20 runners the last 500 meters of the race finishing 13th place and qualifying for state meet next week. Who says 13 is a bad number? Not today!! Also Emily Lopez just missed qualifying for the state meet by 8 seconds. All season long Emily had been between 5 and 25 seconds from teammate Lylia, however on this day it was not the case. Life is not fair and sometimes you just can’t control the situations such as battling a cold. Last week at the Regional meet Emily was 60 seconds back of teammate Lylia and that didn’t happened this entire season. You can’t do anything when the flu bug strikes, ‘Running with a fever when you most likely shouldn’t have been on the field to begin with and doing it for your teammates and yourself was an awesome effort!
Great Job Maroons
Top Maroon Finisher: Lylia Gomez, 13th Place (18:41)
Emily Lopez 30th Place (19:16)
Grace Vinzant – 67th Place (Time 20:23
Madison Lodico – 74th Place (Time 20:34)
Eryn Robertson – 77th Place (Time 20:37)
Lilana Flores – 80th place (20:45)
Kiliegh Burge – 84th Place (Time 20:52)
