OHS Cross Country Runners Advance to Sectionals and State

Lydia Luechtefeld, Staff Writer

The Okawville High School Cross Country Team recently competed at their regional meet in Benton, IL on October 23. The boys and girls teams were allowed 7 runners each, with the top 5 runners on each team contributing to the team score. The runners from the girl’s team included Chloe Tepe, Cynthia Snyder, Megan Rennegarbe, Lydia Luechtefeld, Adysen Harre, Sarah Cook, and Sidney Charles. The runners on the boy’s team were Dominic Perry, Grant Schleifer, Joseph Jansen, Hayden Shubert, Evan Perry, Nolan Frantz, and Thor Gavin.

The top 7 teams from the boys’ race and the top 7 teams from the girls’ race were able to advance on to the sectional meet. The Okawville girls’ team received 8th place, falling just behind Breese (Central) by 21 points; the boys’ team landed at 11th place. This was not the end of Okawville’s season; however, the top 5 individuals, who were not on one of the advancing teams, were able to go on to the sectional meet as well. The 3 Okawville runners who accomplished this were Grant Schleifer, Chloe Tepe, and Lydia Luechtefeld. The sectional meet then took place the following Saturday.

Grant Schleifer, Chloe Tepe, and Lydia Luechtefeld competed at Wesclin High School for their sectional meet on October 30. Chloe Tepe came in with a time of 21:39 and received 45th place. Lydia Luechtefeld got 38th place with a time of 21:18. Grant Schleifer, with his time of 16:39, received 8th place and will be moving to the state meet in Peoria, IL. This meet will take place on November 6. Good luck, Grant at the state meet, and congrats to all of the cross country runners on a great season!