Ivan Westcott and Austin Popplewell have quickly become an elite duo in the state
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Oswego East HS; Oswego IL
Coming into the weekend action at Oswego East, Yorkville head coach Chris Muth was very positive about his program's state of affairs. "The boys have been working hard and will do some special things this season if given the chance," he said. "The girls are still coming around and when you have been on top [of the mountain] as long as we have, you have to keep working," he added.
In this social distance world, it is essential to pay attention and follow the rules. The teams were separated from the start and wearing masks prior to the start of the first race.
As with a trend of schools hosting meets on their campus, the meet directors and/or coaches had to be creative with space. In this case, Oswego East has plenty of it on their sprawling rural campus which by the way on this occasion did not provide any protection from the wind.
The boys went first and it was an opportunity to watch the varsity race from a birds-eye view.
From the gun and as expected, the talented senior pair
Ivan Westcott and
Austin Popplewell of Yorkville bolted away from the flock. They toured the zig-zagged course complete with several 90
° turns before hitting the first mile in approximately 4:55. They were nearly ten seconds on the rest of the field and unless a strange twist occurred, they were safe.
Not much change in the second mile as Wescott and Popplewell worked in unison, passing through in 10:18. Yorkville also held a commanding lead against the Owls with the first five runners in order. Another senior Colin Kachlic was running on an island and appeared fine with it.
The final stretch was all the Foxes as they trotted to victory courtesy of Westcott 15:38 and Popplewell 15:41. Kachlic also dipped under 16:00 at 15:57.
TEAM SCORES |
PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
1 | Yorkville High School | 15 | 1+2+3+4+5 (7+10) | 0:41 1-5 Split | 15:58 Avg | |
2 | Oswego East High School | 46 | 6+8+9+11+12 (13+14) | 0:57 1-5 Split | 16:47 Avg | |
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The girls affair was very similar to the boys as the Lady Foxes of Yorkville stormed ahead early to establish control of the race. Senior star Helena Kleronomos opened a sizable lead on the pursuer from Oswego East Naylah Allen. As Kleronomos navigated herself through a tricky and wind strung course, Allen stayed close.
The first mile by Kleronomos was 5:56 and she seemed very relaxed. The second mile did not change much as the positions remained the same as Kleronomos crossed the second mile in 12:16- 12 seconds in front of Allen. Behind Allen was a flurry of Foxes, six of them spread apart by about 45 seconds.
Kleronomos would come home for her second victory of the season in 18:37- 17 seconds ahead of Allen who had six Foxes on her tail. Overall, it was a solid day of cross country action.
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TEAM SCORES |
PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
1 | Yorkville High School | 15 | 1+2+3+4+5 (7+10) | 0:41 1-5 Split | 15:58 Avg | |
2 | Oswego East High School | 46 | 6+8+9+11+12 (13+14) | 0:57 1-5 Split | 16:47 Avg | |
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