(TERRE HAUTE, Ind.) — The Little Illini Conference cross country championship meet was held Tuesday at the iconic Laverne Gibson Cross Country Course here. While the boys meet looked a lot like last year, the girls welcomed back an old regular at the top of their leaderboard. That’s the tease – here is a recap:

Boys Race
Last year, Olney’s champions were dubbed the “Kiddie Corps” with four freshman and one sophomore leading the way for the Tigers. They are a little older now, yes, but faster, too, and they needed to be to hold off determined Paris for the title. Olney took three of the top four spots in the race to finish with 31 points. Paris was next with 41, followed by Newton (80 points),  Robinson (101), Lawrenceville (116), Casey-Westfield (156) and Mt. Carmel (180).

Olney sophomore Quaid Berger won the race again this year with a time that was 38 seconds faster than one year ago. The fifth-ranked runner in the state in Class 2A, according to Illinois Running News, Berger grabbed the lead near the start and never gave it up, covering the three-mile course in a time of 14:48.60. Teammate Judah Dicks, a sophomore, finished second in 15:44.30, a move up from fourth one year ago.

Berger took note of the improvement Paris has made. “Paris has definitely gotten better since last year,” he said. “Last year was a pretty dominant win for us, but this year it was a lot closer race.”

Harrison Hayes of Paris (ranked 18th in the state in class 1A) took third in a time of 15:57.50, followed by Olney’s Tristin Butler (another sophomore who timed in at 16:06.65) and Nathan Fonner of Paris (16:35.27).

Other top runners for their respective LIC teams included: sixth-place Brayden Morrison of Lawrenceville (16:37.10), seventh-place Hayden Borgic of Newton (16:37.71), ninth-place Steven Hendrixson of Marshall (16:45.06), 10th-place Jason Tingley of Robinson (16:49.28), 27th-place Wade Winnett of Casey-Westfield (19:05.36, and 34th-place Wyatt Rooney of Mt. Carmel (19:47.01.

The top 10 finishers were named to the all-conference team.

Girls Race
Marshall had won three of four LIC girls titles between 2019-2022, but missed the mark the last two years. Last year, Lion runners did finish 1-2 in the race, but Olney had the better depth to win the meet.

This year, Marshall finished 1-2-3 but was also stronger down the line to return to the top of the LIC, finishing with 29 points to Olney’s 47. Newton claimed third (54 points), followed by Casey-Westfield (110) and Robinson (111).

“Every meet that we have, week in and week out, is practice for the end of the year. It’s a dress rehearsal,” said Marshall coach Ryan Arthur. “Today was the first day that any of it mattered and my three, four and five ran really well.”

Molly Farrell and Madeline Fox repeated their 1-2 finish from last year. Farrell, ranked ninth in Class 1A, won in a time of 18:33.46, with Fox clocking in at 18:52.05. Grace Thompson’s third place finish (19:41.14) was a key, and the 12th and 13th-place finishes by Addie Nave and Myah Boyd, respectively, put the Lions over the top.

Farrell said she and and Fox were both coaching a bit on the course. “We were pacing one of our freshman through the first two miles, and the last mile was the workout. It was all out the last mile,” she said. “I felt really good through the whole thing. I am happy with what the team did.”

Other top finishers for LIC schools included Isabella Stevens of Olney (fourth place with a time of 19:38.33), Layna Marshall of Newton (fifth place, 19:41.46) Kaley Clark of Casey-Westfield (eighth place, 20:35.90), Hellie Barrett of Paris (ninth place, 20:51.92), Terynn Loftis of Robinson (16th place, 22:18.49).

Marshall is ranked seventh in Class 1A, according to Illinois Running News. Newton is 20th.

Like the boys, the top 10 finishers in the girls race are named to the All-Conference team.

BOYS MEET

Team Results:
1. Olney (Richland County) 31; 2. Paris 41; 3. Newton 80; 4. Robinson 101; 5. Lawrenceville 116; 6. Casey (C.-Westfield) 156; 7. Mt. Carmel 180.

Individual results:
1. Quaid Berger (Olney – Richland County) 14:48.60; 2. Judah Dicks (Olney – Richland County) 15:44.30; 3. Harrison Hays (Paris) 15:57.50; 4. Tristin Butler (Olney – Richland County) 16:06.65; 5. Nathan Fonner (Paris) 16:35.27; 6. Braydan Morrison (Lawrenceville) 16:37.10; 7. Hayden Borgic (Newton) 16:37.71; 8. Grayson Craffets (Paris) 16:43.97; 9. Steven Hendrixson (Marshall) 16:45.06; 10. Jason Tingley (Robinson) 16:49.28; 11. Landon Livingston (Olney – Richland County) 17:02.25; 12. Tanner Whitaker (Newton) 17:38.19; 13. Gage White (Paris) 17:42.40; 14. Jorden Guillen (Paris) 17:48.84; 15. Thomas Weber (Marshall) 17:51.77; 16. Austin Kuenstler (Olney – Richland County) 17:54.53; 17. Austin Carter (Robinson) 18:09.64; 18. Kaden Pasero (Robinson) 18:16.62; 19. Christian Perez (Paris) 18:17.67; 20. Holden Barthlemy (Newton) 18:20.48; 21. Walter Eberwein (Lawrenceville) 18:47.24; 22. Nathaniel Zwilling (Olney – Richland County) 18:49.73; 23. Johnnie Brant (Newton) 18:51.94; 24. Kinser Holloway (Paris) 18:55.78; 25. Alec Bower (Newton) 18:59.37; 26. Aiden Crawford (Lawrenceville) 19:04.84; 27. Wade Winnett (Casey – C.-Westfield) 19:05.36; 28. Rylie Large (Casey – C.-Westfield) 19:12.91; 29. Bricyn Cassagne (Marshall) 19:23.55; 30. Krosby Goebel (Robinson) 19:24.61; 31. Wade Ochs (Newton) 19:28.60; 32. Julian Perez (Paris) 19:29.92; 33. Daniel Kiser (Lawrenceville) 19:39.08; 34. Wyatt Rooney (Mt. Carmel) 19:47.01; 35. Eli Richardson (Casey – C.-Westfield) 20:04.28; 36. Kendall Probst (Newton) 20:08.50; 37. Tj Singh (Mt. Carmel) 20:38.31; 38. Nikolas Antes (Robinson) 20:38.53; 39. Jacob Weber (Marshall) 20:50.79; 40. Kaleb Perie (Casey – C.-Westfield) 20:57.17; 41. Zeke Meier (Mt. Carmel) 21:08.06; 42. Oliver Fehrenbacher (Olney – Richland County) 21:36.14; 43. Isaiah Fuller (Lawrenceville) 21:41.29; 44. Anthony Lorenzen (Paris) 22:10.75; 45. Brayden Clark (Casey – C.-Westfield) 23:11.75; 46. Kadin Melahn (Mt. Carmel) 23:28.55; 47. Conner McGinnis (Mt. Carmel) 23:55.52; 48. Isaiah Glenn (Mt. Carmel) 23:58.97; 49. Alex Hancock (Casey – C.-Westfield) 23:59.31; 50. Braxton Pethtel (Robinson) 27:56.96; 51. Elias Knapp (Mt. Carmel) 29:38.45.

GIRLS MEET

Team results:
1. Marshall 29; 2. Olney (Richland County) 47; 3. Newton 54; 4. Casey (C.-Westfield) 110; 5. Robinson 111.

Individual Results:
1. Molly Farrell (Marshall) 18:33.46; 2. Madeleine Fox (Marshall) 18:52.05; 3. Grace Thompson (Marshall) 19:14.41; 4. Isabella Stevens (Olney – Richland County) 19:38.33; 5. Layna Marshall (Newton) 19:41.46; 6. Josie Ginder (Olney – Richland County) 19:57.88; 7. Heather Bergbower (Newton) 20:31.24; 8. Kayla Clark (Casey – C.-Westfield) 20:35.90; 9. Hellie Barrett (Paris) 20:51.92; 10. Avery Geier (Newton) 21:01.28; 11. Briley Kocher (Olney – Richland County) 21:26.15; 12. Addie Nave (Marshall) 21:33.54; 13. Myah Boyd (Marshall) 21:34.57; 14. Mallory Kocher (Olney – Richland County) 21:49.41; 15. Karlee Piercefield (Olney – Richland County) 21:58.64; 16. Terynn Loftis (Robinson) 22:18.49; 17. Lexi Brooke (Lawrenceville) 22:33.57; 18. Nora Street (Newton) 22:51.17; 19. Finley Hering (Lawrenceville) 22:52.11; 20. Kimberly Bierman (Newton) 22:52.96; 21. Josie Vogt (Newton) 22:56.11; 22. Laurel Buchanan (Lawrenceville) 22:58.27; 23. Kyleigh Cazel (Olney – Richland County) 23:08.84; 24. Karmyn Coffman (Robinson) 23:58.23; 25. Ellie Buchanan (Lawrenceville) 24:16.13; 26. Lily Stevens (Olney – Richland County) 24:27.12; 27. Kaitlyn McKinney (Casey – C.-Westfield) 25:07.00; 28. Zoie Randall (Mt. Carmel) 25:14.42; 29. Amelia Washburn (Casey – C.-Westfield) 25:19.22; 30. Kira Williams (Robinson) 25:20.99; 31. Audri Green (Robinson) 25:21.04; 32. Shay Bennett (Newton) 25:24.29; 33. Lily Wyrick (Paris) 25:51.96; 34. Milaina Kramme (Robinson) 25:55.37; 35. Lily Yager (Newton) 25:59.97; 36. Alison Wyrick (Paris) 26:00.37; 37. Alivia Bierman (Newton) 26:03.24; 38. Sara Banos (Paris) 26:13.75; 39. Addison McLaughlin (Olney – Richland County) 26:22.49; 40. Olivia Henderson (Casey – C.-Westfield) 27:45.21; 41. Dani Fisher (Mt. Carmel) 28:07.90; 42. Savannah Lyman (Casey – C.-Westfield) 30:13.01.

The weather was sunny throughout both races, with a temperature of 80 degrees at the start of the girls race, cooling to 77 by the start of the boys race. Winds were light.

Results courtesy: Midwest Timing
This story has been edited.