A-J girls’, boys’ cross country teams compete at two events
The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School girls’ and boys’ cross country team competed in two recent events.
Murphysboro Invitational
A-J freshman Jadyn Gerardi won the Murphysboro Cross Country Invitational hosted by the Red Devils Wednesday, Aug. 30.
A-J cross country head coach Matt Denny said five all-state girls ran at the event.
“Jadyn and our girls dominated everybody. If I can keep her healthy, she will have a good season,” Denny said.
A-J won the 13-team meet with a 37. The closest was 2nd place Carterville with 81.
Gerardi had a winning time of 18:51.
Other A-J finishers included: Raegan Jones, 8th, 20:36; Reese Jones, 10th, 21:01; Liz Hammer, 12th, 21:09; Kinley Leek, 13th, 21:25 and Maggie Gooden, 15th, 21:41.
The A-J boys finished in 9th place with 224. Benton won the 18-team boys’ event with a score of 33.
A-J finishers for the boys included: Lucas Hoehner, 37th, 18:49; Ryder Ottolini, 39th, 18:56; Tillman Dallas, 41st, 19:03; Blake Abernathy, 43rd, 19:15; Eric Chen, 68th, 20:55; Ben Margraff, 76th, 21:29; and Logan Abernathy, 91st, 23:53.
Run the Hill Invitational
The A-J cross country teams hosted four teams from the region for the Run the Hill Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2. The 2.92 mile event was run at the Trail of Tears State Forest in Union County.
The A-J girls’ varsity team finished in first place with a score of 27. Carterville finished just behind in second with 28 and Vienna placed third with 86. West Frankfort finished with 101.
A-J sophomores Aleah Box and Raegan Jones finished in the top five best times, with Box finishing in third with a time of 20:42:25 and Jones in fifth with 20:58:70.
The times for other A-J runners included Liz Hammer in sixth with 21:45:65, Bree Hazelrigg in seventh with 21:55:09, Maggie Gooden in 11th with 22:30:08, Kinley Leek in 12th with 22:51:11, and Alexandria Keller in 37th with 31:36:29.
The A-J boys’ varsity team finished third out of five teams with a score of 81. Herrin finished in first with 28, with Carterville in second with 64.
A-J senior Lucas Hoehner finished with the best time for the Wildcats, coming in second with a time of 17:21:29.
The times for other A-J runners included Ryder Ottolini in 11th with a time of 19:00:50, Tillman Dallas in 16th with 19:31:19, Eric Chen in 30th with 21:16:89, Ben Margraff in 39th with 23:11:87, and Logan Abernathy in 47th with 24:34:30.
The A-J cross country team is scheduled to travel to Peoria for a meet on Saturday, Sept. 9.