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Our Most Successful Season Ever
October 18, 2015
Yorkville Middle School's cross country team has been a member of the IESA since 2009. In that time, we have had at least one team make State every year except that first year. This season and 2011 were the only two years where both teams did not make it to State. This year was also one of only two years where we did not earn any individual or team awards at the State meet. So why was it our most successful season?
The Girls Season
The girls team did not qualify for the State meet for the first time since 2009. However, the teams that beat the girls at the Sectional race finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at State. The girls averaged 12:43 in what was certainly not their best race of the year. However, had the girls qualified for State and improved the same amount that the boys did they would have been a top ten team. Given their past performance, however, and the fact that they had beaten Minooka and Kaneland at different points this season, they may have even been in the running for a trophy. The girls should not feel that this season was a disappointment, especially since there has never been a Sectional in the history of class 3A of the IESA that generated three trophy-winning teams. The girls have a young team, and Hailey Simmons improved her P.R. by 11 seconds at Sectionals and 22 seconds at State while nearly beating our seventh grade girls State record. Hailey and Helena are going to come back strong next year and should be in the running for All-State as eighth graders. Alexis, Isabella, Jinnaea, Nikki, and Sara will hopefully be back and support our team for another chance at State. We will have to see who else steps up next season to make our girls team even better. Jazmin, Sam, Mady, and the rest of our eighth graders will hopefully go on to continue cross country in high school on a team that is currently ranked in the top ten in the nation.
The Boys Season
This is the first time I have seen so many tears from our team. Our boys also finished fifth in State in 2013, but this year felt different. These boys felt like they could win a State trophy, and if it were any other year they would have. As the results were being announced the boys let their excitement build as many teams were announced that we had pegged as our competition. By the time we reached the final five teams, Chatham Glenwood, Mt. Zion, Plank, and Woodridge Jefferson had already been announced and the boys thought a top-four finish, and a State trophy, was in the bag. The fifth-place finish was a blow, but the boys need to know they had the fastest team ever in Yorkville Middle School history. Their team average of 11:11 eclipsed the 11:15 average of 2013’s fifth-place team. Our eighth graders are going to go on to do great things at the high school level. Austin Hunter and Tyler Jensen both had P.R.’s. If you take out the P.R.’s from Fox Trot, which was a slightly short course and may have taken 10 seconds off everyone’s times, everyone would have earned a P.R. at State. Ivan Wescott’s time of 10:58 was the first sub-11 time by a seventh grader at State for Yorkville, and he was the third seventh grader to finish the race. Austin Popplewell’s 11:17 is the third-fastest time we have ever had by a seventh grader. Ivan and Austin should come back strong next year, and we have a whole crop of seventh grade boys who never lost a meet this year and will be hungry to earn a trophy next season.
We hope everyone enjoyed this cross country season and will continue running. We will have information soon about staying in shape over the winter, but for now we hope everyone can take a week or two off from running and look back on a great season.
Anonymous on October 19, 2015
Good job this year, guys! You worked so hard! Phenomenal season, absolutely phenomenal!
Michelle Brucher on October 18, 2015
Just Awesome!
Matt on October 18, 2015
Great job by all the runners on the team this year! My daughter had an awesome time running this year and looks forward to next year.
