Scheele, Nofziger and Sims finish strong for Bulldogs

BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

The Bulldogs ran in packs on Saturday, which led to a sixth-place team finish in the 16-school Lee Halberg Lanphier Invitational in Springfield.

Kyle Nofziger and Joseph Scheele set the pace for the Bulldogs, running identical 3-mile times of 17 minutes and 4 seconds. They placed 15th and 16th, respectively.

“Joseph Scheele and Kyle Nofziger worked together to place high enough to earn a medal,” M-S coach Neal Garrison said. “They are really working as a smaller team within a team during practice and meets to help our overall team.”

Teammates Joe Taylor and Nick Mies also finished side-by-side, each covering the distance in 18:11. They were 54th and 55th, respectively, in the 116-runner field.

Garrison praised Mies for a gutsy performance.

“Nick Mies took a hard spill, but got up to finish the race,” Garrison said. “Nick showed great courage to do this.  Nick paired up with Joe Taylor to finish together.”

Other Bulldogs in the varsity race were Josh Wilcoski (66th in 18:32), Taylor Fan (92nd in 19:40) and Karsten Waisath (99th in 20:16).

Meet champion Mundelein had 43 points. M-S took sixth with 197 points.

“I was pleased with how the boys ran,” Garrison said. “They did what they needed to do at this meet to make steps towards reaching their full potential by the end of the season. 

“They ran controlled and also worked on some aspects of hill running that will benefit them in the future.”

Five of the varsity’s top seven are sophomores. The other two (Taylor and Mies) are juniors.

M-S has participated in the Lanphier meet since 2004.The times posted by Nofziger and Scheele shared the spot for the school’s 16th-best on the course.

In the 118-runner junior varsity race, M-S ended with two top 25 placers.

Caleb Dowers was 14th in 18:53 and Peter Slezak was 23rd (19:50).

Garrison said they each had noteworthy efforts.

“Caleb had one of the best races for our team for the day,” Garrison said. “He improved 1 minute and 23 seconds from last week.  This was the most of anyone on the team. 

“Peter also had a large improvement of 26 seconds from last week.“

Others who helped M-S finish fifth in the 11-team JV race with 166 points were David Wilcoski (34th in 20:26), John Tender (71st in 21:54) and Jonah Singer (75th in 22:01).

JV team champion Chatham Glenwood totaled 20 points.

In a 2-mile race for freshmen, three M-S athletes turned in top 10 performances.

Hayden Grotelueschen was fourth in 11:25, Gage Williams was seventh in 12:21 and Ben Wallace was ninth in 12:28.

“In the freshman race we only had four runners so we didn’t have a team score,” Garrison said. “Hayden Grotelueschen led our team with a fourth-place finish to earn a medal.

“He ran a lifetime best of 11:25 on a very challenging course “

Wallace’s time was also a lifetime personal-best.

The Bulldogs’ other freshman competitor was Alex Carpenter, who was 35th in 16:06.

For those who ran the 3-mile races, Dowers and Fan each posted career-best times.

M-S returns to action on Saturday at the Richard Spring Invitational, also at Detweiler Park, in Peoria.

Mahomet-Seymour Girl’ cross-country

Competing with a lineup of six freshmen or sophomores on the varsity unit, M-S placed eighth on Saturday in the 47-school First to Finish Invitational at Detweiler Park, in Peoria.

All seven Bulldog runners ended in the top half of the 417-runner field.

Elizabeth Sims was 17th, running the 3-mile course in 18 minutes, 58 seconds.

Teammates trailing her were Grace Lietz (63rd in 22:04.3), Klein Powell (68th in 20:08), Ella Scott (73rd in 20:10.2), Chloe Allen (139th in 21:13.5), Emily Bednar (149th in 21:42.2) and Olivia Bunting (204th in 22:04.8).

A junior, Bunting is the only non-freshman or sophomore among the team’s top seven runners.

Coach Kristin Allen was satisfied with the squad’s placement, saying it was good “considering five of the top eight finishing teams all finished in the top 10 at state last year. This is why we go to this race.

“Our numbers 2, 3, and 4 packed it up well today and Sims did an amazing job leading us.”

Scott is the one freshman among the top seven.

“Ella Scott ran No. 4 with a personal-best time and helped the gap between 2-4,” Allen said. 

“Grace Lietz stepped up today as well running No. 2, right in front of Klein Powell, who is also running consistently well. 

“Good things for the future.”

Allen is optimistic about the remainder of her lineup.

“We have some growing to do with numbers 5-7 but have a ton of potential for later on in the season with these positions,” she added.

Six Bulldogs participated in an open 3-mile race, which had more than 500 competitors.

Callie Jansen was 68th (21:45.2), Shaelin Ruzich was 80th (21:58.9), Ella Wolters was 249th (23:46.4), Gretchen Scheele was 394th (24:45.3), Alyssa Christensen was 437th (25:07.9) and Hannah Hofbauer was 489th (25:52.3).

M-S returns to action on Saturday at the Richard Spring Invitational, also at Detweiler Park, in Peoria.