Newcomer Ansley Bailey putting the hurt the field which included the defending champ (T. Burmester photo)
MEET PAGE
Carterville's regional, normally held in Chester, was
hosted at John A. Logan College in Carterville. this weekend with a few
added schools from the year prior.
Metropolis (Massac County) was one of these schools and they made sure
to grab some attention.
Ansley Bailey,
the freshman from Massac County, led the way for her team from the front of the
field. Bailey and Gabby Alongi (So.) of
DuQuoin and 2016's Chester regional champion, ran together for most of the
race. When the runners came into view
with roughly a mile to go, Bailey had separated herself from Alongi and managed
to hold on to the lead, crossing the line in 19.24. Alongi finished with a time of 19:46, with
Jaylyn Bower (Sr.) of Nashville placing third in 20:41.
Rounding
out the top seven in the team scores and advancing to the sectional meet is
Marissa (7th), Metropolis - Massac County (6th), Carterville (5th), Chester (4th),
DuQuoin (3rd), Pinckneyville (2nd), and Nashville who took home the win in the
girls' race. Advancing to sectionals as
individuals are Carly Carril (Sr.) of Sparta, Taylor Dagner (Sr.) of
Steeleville, Calyn Hartmann (So.) of Red Bud, Julia Hall (Fr.) of Anna Jonesboro,
and Morgan Creamer (Fr.) of Steeleville.
The
boys looked to have a good race, having 2016's Chester regional's top three
finishers all still competing.
While it
was in fact Nashville, Carterville, and Pinckneyville leading from the gun,
similar to last year, it was a different Pinckneyville runner that was taking
charge.
Pinckneyville's
Garrett Johnson
(Sr.) and Carterville's
Austin Knight (Sr.) seemed to be going back and forth
for that lead spot for the majority of the race.
Just past two miles, Johnson looked to of
secured his place, running strong out in front.
Knight trailed slightly, with
Brandon Schnitker (Sr.) of Nashville
running in third.
Johnson won in a time
of 16:11; an impressive performance and improvement from last year where he
placed fifth.
Knight captured second
place in 16:23, while Schnitker ran 16:38.
Isaac Sinn of Sparta also showed real improvement from last year,
running a time of 16:42.
Gavin Conway (Jr.)
of Steeleville placed fifth in 17:02.
Teams placing 7th through 1st and
advancing to sectionals in the boys' race were Vienna, Carterville, DuQuoin,
Red Bud, Pinckneyville, Nashville, and Steeleville who took home the first
place plaque. Individuals also advancing
to the sectional meet are Sinn, Blake Niesporek (Sr.) of
Murphysboro, Dakota Gregory (Sr.) of Marissa, Kade Portz (So.) of Marissa, and
Eli Hamilton (Jr.) of Sparta. The
advancing teams and runners from both races will compete next Saturday in
Benton.
