In its first state appearance as a team since 2010, the Oak Park-River Forest boys cross country team finished 13th in Class 3A on Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
The Huskies were led by senior Irwin Loud, who finished 28th with a time of 14:53. Loud, who finished 11th as a sophomore in 2014, had pneumonia last year and collapsed short of the finish line at the sectional meet.
“It was really important (to get back to state),” said Loud, who is from Oak Park. “I just definitely wanted to come back out and be at that level just one more time and just give it my all and give it my best effort.
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“I think our team definitely did a great job, it was just a great experience to be down there with with my team and just have a great race.”
Senior Matthew Politis (15:04) finshed in 54th place, followed by junior Matthew Vietzen (15:09, 61st), junior Robert George (15:41, 139th) and senior Chance Bayles (15:47, 154th).
“It was an excellent opportunity, for a lot of those guys it was their first state meet,” Huskies coach Chris Baldwin said. “To get down there and have the opportunity to run, it was an excellent opportunity. They had been working really hard, so to make it down there is quite the experience.”
Vietzen, George and junior Peter Halloran (16:11, 192nd) will be able to build on the experience they gained this year.
“Matthew Vietzen, as a junior, to run 15:09 is a huge success,” Baldwin said. “It just puts him in the conversation of being able to go after an all-state position next year.
“Getting a whole team down there, getting them all to run — you can sort of see the progression from year to year, of what is possible.”
OPRF senior Mahal Schroeder, who had qualified individually for the Class 3A girls state meet, capped off her season by finishing 50th with a time of 17:44.
Young Tigers gain experience in 2A
The Elmwood Park boys cross country team finished 25th in Class 2A on Saturday.
Sophomore Carlos Sanchez was the top runner for the Tigers, finishing in 90th place with a time of 16:02. He was followed by Devon Schumann (16:12), Khris Vicencio (16:50), Alex Martinez (17:15), Justin Nieves (17:33), Mike Jones-Plasenci (18:06) and Mitchell Wojcik (18:15).
“It was a little intimidating being there with such impressive teams,” Schumann said. “But the experience that we were drawing from it was being able to do well for ourselves and have a good time together. It was mostly just a fun adventure for the team to get closer.”
The Tigers should have plenty of experience returning, as their top seven runners were sophomores or juniors.
Gabi Szado qualified for the girls state meet as a freshman, finishing 70th with a time of 18:49.
“She did really well, she definitely went out a little too fast and got caught up in the hype of everything,” Elmwood Park coach Patrick Sheridan said. “But she was still able to hold on and ran her best time of the year.”
Trinity finishes 23rd in 2A
Sophomore Bridget O’Bryan (19:03; 92nd) and junior Hailey Hansen (19:03; 93rd) led Trinity to 23rd place in the Class 2A state girls cross country race. They were followed by Emma Creviston (19:05; 100th), Alyssa Jimenez (20:08; 176th) and Hannah Roberts (20:32).
Patrick Kelly is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press