Harrison Thomas cruises to victory at the First To The Finish Kick off at SIU-E (Dan Chamness photo)
This past Saturday was the first weekend competition of the 2015 season and limited action from around the state made a little bit of a buzz.
Two of Illinois top female runners Anna Sophia Keller (Jr., Effingham St. Anthony) and Maryjeanne Gilbert (Sr., Peoria Notre Dame) got their seasons underway from different venues. The two standout distance runners have never competed against one another despite being hailed as legends in central Illinois.
Keller had issues over the past eight to nine months with a sore hip. The slow climb back to regular training didn't start until approximately a month ago when Keller was in Florida on vacation. Well at the First To The Finish Kickoff (formerly Metro East Lutheran Invite) Keller showed by she is the bosstress of this event. Keller got out well and sent the rest of the field searching for second place and beyond. The end result was a third consecutive meet record in a row for Keller in 18:03 for 5k.
The team title saw Rochester pull off an upset over 2A #20 Decatur (St. Teresa) 58-79. Rochester and Decatur St. Teresa are both competing in 2A for the first time this season. The Rockets put four runners in the top 15 and that seemed to seal the deal.
The start of the varsity girls Normal West Wildcat Invite (Steve Destri photo credit)
Gilbert won season opener at the Normal West Wildcat Invitational. Gilbert's race was a bit more thrilling than what ASK did at Edwardsville in that she went in 5:38, but could not shake the Minooka trio of Mackenzie Callahan, Emily Shelton, and Ashley Tutt who crossed in 5:43. Gilbert stretch the field at 2m and it appeared as if she was just on auto pilot. Gilbert won setting a meet record 17:30 and three seconds ahead of Callahan. Shelton and Tutt clocked 17:36 and 17:39 respectively.
3A #4 Minooka won with 30 points in the six team field. Dunlap took second place with 49 points.
The boys side of the ledger was less pronounced but it could be that several emerging talents are on the horizon. Watch out for Harrison Thomas (Sr., Carterville). He ran his fastest ever 5k in winning the FTTF Kickoff in 16:17. Salem won the team title with 96 points.
Minooka boys breezed past the hosts 40-73 at the Normal West Invite. Peoria Notre Dame went 1-2 individually on the strength of Patrick Brunch and Victor Fortin who ran 15:40 and 15:44.
The Aurora City meet was cancelled due to weather.
Other meet action from Saturday:
| 8/29 | Whitney Young Hokum Karem | --, IL | ||
| 8/29 | STM Saber Corn Classic | --, IL | ||
| 8/29 | Normal West Invitational | Normal, IL | ||
| 8/29 | First to the Finish Kick Off Classic | Edwardsville, IL |