Cross Country

(PEORIA) — Personal bests. Program bests. Little Illini Conference cross country runners saved their best performances for the biggest stage at the IHSA state championship meet here on Saturday.

Marshall’s girls team recorded a program-best ninth-place finish in the Class 1A meet that kicked off the daylong event. Seven other runners recorded either season or career best times over the three-mile layout at Detweiller Park. A total of six races were run, a boys and girls race for each of three class divisions.

The Lady Lions, the only full LIC team to qualify for the finals, finished ninth with 323 points. Winnebago won the state title in overwhelming fashion, with 150 points and all five runners finishing in the top 50. Shelbyville finished in second place with 210 points, followed by El Paso-Gridley  (211),  Anna-Jonesboro (213) Elmwood (243), St. Joseph-Ogden (252) Eureka (293), and Delavan (319) . After Marshall came Tolono Unity, rounding out the Top 10 with 352 points.

Molly Farrell led Marshall with an eighth-place finish (in a time of 16:55.23), the second-best individual finish of the day by an LIC athlete. Farrell’s teammate, Madeline Fox, finished 16th in a time of 17:22.55. Other Marshall finishers were: Grace Thompson (in 58th place in a time of 18:33.59), Myah Boyd (183rd place, 20:46.78), and Addie Nave (197th, 21:00.95).

Also in the 1A girls race, Layna Marshall of Newton finished in 69th placed in a time of 18:45.71. In the 2A girls final, Olney’s Isabella Stevens wound up 82nd in a time of 18:50.64.

The best-of-day individual honor belonged to Quaid Berger of Olney, who placed fifth in the Class 2A boys race in a time of 14:18.72. All five of those finishers were packed into a 10-second sequence in a wild race to the wire. His Tiger teammate, Judah Dicks, was 44th with a time of 15:11.07.

In the boys 1A race, Harrison Hays of Paris took 30th place in a time of 15:17.63, with teammate Nathan Fonner placing 102nd with a time of 16:03.00.

Career-best times were recorded by Berger, Boyd, Dicks, Hays, and Stevens. Season-best performances were made by Farrell and Fox.