Runners battle heat, run for place at Mattoon Invite

That's because Mattoon's course runs a bit slower than most courses and Mother Nature played a role on Thursday with the temperature in the low 90's and a heat index around 97 degrees. So for many of the runners, the goal was to see where they finished compared to their time.

Teutopolis won the team race for the girls with 74 points and Olney's Cameron Hough finished in first place in a time of 20:04.91. Robinson won the team race for the boys with 74 points and Robinson's Negus Bogard won the race in a time of 16:18.02.

The Mattoon girls finished in fourth place with 88 points which was only one point behind Mount Zion for third. The Green Wave had three top-15 finishers as Quincy Collings finished in sixth place in 20:50.61, Kylie Haacke was ninth in 21:08.67 and Mickenze Schofield was 15th in 22:03.86.

"It was a good finish and the girls ran really competitive. They've been putting in a lot work just like they have all year. We would like for it to be a little cooler just like all of the other teams but I think we are dropping times," Mattoon coach Troy Haacke said. "Chaselyn (Himes) dropped about another 45 seconds today and she's coming along and that's helping our team score."

Sage Owen added a 32nd place finish for Mattoon in 23:58.17 and Himes finished in 34th in 24:03.53 to round out the Green Wave's scoring. Haacke said he paid attention to where the girls finished more than their times.

"The heat is a big factor and this course is harder than a lot of courses so times aren't what you judge here, it's about 40 seconds slower, so you run for place and compete," Haacke said. "Thanks to all of the teams that came out and endured the weather."

Collings said she was happy with her sixth-place finish.

"It was really hot but I am happy with how I raced in the heat and we had a busy day also," Collings said. "I kind of wanted to stay with the lead pack, that was the goal. I wasn't going for time really, it was more for place and I wanted to stay with the lead pack. We were really packed together for the first two miles and the third mile we spread out. I liked where I placed and I think I placed pretty high and where I should've."

Charleston finished in eighth place 198 points. Gracie Spoonhour was Charleston's top finisher as she crossed in 21st place in 22:59.37. Lilly Long was 35th in 24:08.24 and Sophie Kattenbracker was 46th in 25:16.33.

Charleston was without a couple runners because of injury and girls' coach John McInerney said it was a nice race for a few of the girls.

"We had a couple of surprises. Gracie had a real nice, solid run and it was almost all freshmen behind her to go along with Anna Sipes. Aftyn Oliver is a girl who has been our ninth or 10th girl and she was our fifth today and ran beautifully," McInerney said. "The girls ahead of her did a nice job. Lilly bounced back after a tough day in Decatur (last week) and Sophie, she's figuring it out. Gracie and Anna ran good upperclass type races and the other girls were solid."

Sipes was 59th in 26:02.46 and Oliver was 61st in 26:55.28.

Cumberland finished in ninth place with 211 points. Jasmyn Dittamore led Cumberland with an eighth-place finish in 21:05.48. Eve Brown was 43rd in 24:57.78.

"I feel pretty good about my finish. It was hot out there. The plan was to go slower after the first mile and then go from there but that didn't work out," Dittamore said. "It was pretty windy out there, too. I wish I could've done better. (I stuck with the pack) and used that as a wind block."

The Cumberland boys finished in fourth place with 156 points. Kort McClellan led the team with an eighth-place finish in 17:27.35. Blake Sutherland was 12th in 18:00.43. Rayce Zike was 31st in 18:41.27.

McClellan said it was a decent finish for him especially since he was going against some good Class 2A competition.

"It was a hot day and everyone was hot and it was a good race. It's nice to run against 2A kids and it's good to have the competition," McClellan said. "We have a race on Saturday that's a lot bigger than this one so this was an all-out, no strategy race and then prepare for Saturday. The competition always breeds excellence so that's good and I am glad to run against these guys."

Charleston finished in seventh place with 161 points. Austin Ames led Charleston with a third-place finish in 16:37.92 but he wasn't exactly pleased with how he finished individual.

"I am pretty disappointed. I thought I could go out and win it without too much competition. I don't really have any excuses. I've trained in the heat," Ames said. "Peoria was a good finish and last week I ran on my least favorite course and I was only two seconds slower there than Peoria. Today I guess it just wasn't there. I didn't mentally prepare enough and that's what this sport is all about."

Charleston coach Greg Rogers liked the way Ames ran at the meet.

"Austin ran tough today and he was saying the same that we've been training hard," Rogers said. "He will be ready to go. Once cooler temperatures come and once we back off training a bit, he will be ready to go."

Josh Hoh added another top-10 finish for Charleston as he finished in 10th place in 17:46.03. Finn O'Neal was 25th in 18:26.53 and Noah Oakley was 45th in 19:09.57.

"I liked the way Josh finished and Finn ran well. I am seeing some of the freshmen doing well and I am proud of them," Ames said. "I think they did great in this heat and I think we are doing better than I expected us to."

Rogers liked the performance out of the team and likes how they have been training lately.

"We've been training tough and getting in good workouts and good mileage so today, it was just one of those meets where we are trying to train through it and run hard and we've been training in this heat so we were ready for it today," Rogers said. "The guys were positive heading into the race and they all ran tough considering the heat because it will wear on you. I think they did really well with staying tough and battling."

The Trojans were without Maxx Schmidt, who had to miss the game because he is a member of the soccer team and the Trojans hosted Mattoon on Thursday. Rogers saw a couple of the younger runners step up to help the Trojans place where they did.

"We've got a couple of freshmen in particular, Mason Reeley and Trenton King, who are really working hard and they want to step up and fill that role. They are seeing results from it," Rogers said. "With Maxx being out, it takes everyone to pull it together. Just having one team member out isn't the end of the world because we have others stepping up and filling that role."

King finished in 87th place in 20:37.62 and Reeley was 90th in 20:42.13.

The Mattoon boys' team finished in 10th place with 264 points. Freshman Sam Ferrar finished in 32nd place to lead the Green Wave with a time of 18:44.81. John Meyer was 49th in 19:17.63. Haacke said he saw improvement out of the boys' team even with the hot conditions.

"The boys are getting better all of the time. A different person is taking the lead each time. They all showed up today and I am watching them out there today and they are learning," Haacke said. "It's a young group and they are learning how to run, learning how to compete and how to push the limits and they are getting faster all of the time."

Casey-Westfield finished in 14th place with 358 points. Cort Ross led the Warriors with a fifth-place finish in 16:56.79. Ross was happy with where he finished in the meet.

"I didn't go all out today because of the heat and I have a couple of big meets next week and I am going to go hard there, so I was happy," Ross said. "The plan was first mile and second mile hang back and the final mile go for places. I was just going for top 10 today."

Ross Petty led Tri-County with a 56th place finish in 19:28.49.