The SLUH XC team was divided among two different meets last weekend, with the top 14 runners travelling all the way to Palatine, Ill. to compete in one of the most stacked meets in the whole state. The rest of the runners got to show off their skills at Fox’s Ed White Invitational at Arnold City Park. 

Despite racing their V3 squad in the Varsity race at the Fox meet, the Jr. Bills were able to secure a second place team finish, losing only to Parkway Central. SLUH had three medalists in the varsity division with their pack being led by Lucas Rammacher who ran 18:08 and finished in 17th place. He was closely followed by Cody Cox (18:10; 18th) and Brendan Jones (18:17; 24th). Senior Flynn O'Connell (18:22; 27th) and freshman Gus Talleur (18:23; 29th) completed the top five scorers for Jr. Bills. Junior Nicholas Purschke (45th) and senior Tad Gray (57th) rounded out the varsity runners on the day. All the members of the varsity team that ran at Fox were able to set a new personal record or season best. 

“I think we ran really well as a pack and were able to push each other all the way to the finish,” said Rammacher. “I was able to stay really mentally tough throughout the race and move up all the way until the end.”

This year’s JV event was split into two different races because of Covid, with the first allowing 10 individuals from each team to compete and the second allowing everyone else to race.  SLUH won the first JV race by an astounding 120-plus point margin, medaling seven runners. In third place Gabe Sullivan finished first for SLUH closely followed by Tyler Barks (4th), Charlie Gray (5th), Alex Mittendorf (6th) and Gavin Lawhorn (9th), all running between 18:37 and 19:03. 

“I feel like they competed very well and worked very well together to move up as a pack,” said head coach Joe Porter. “It really shows just how deep our team is this year and how even when you take our fourth seven we can still win by over 120 points and take down some really good JV teams in the area.”

The second JV race was a much closer battle but the Jr. Bills were still able to come out on top, beating Webster's top JV team by five points. SLUH was able to medal 12 runners in this division, placing six runners in the top 10. Overall on the day SLUH had a total of 46 personal records, nine season bests, and 22 medalists. 

While other athletes were performing at the Ed White Invitational, the top 14 Jr. Bills traveled with coaches Porter and Gilmore to take on top competition at the Palatine Cross Country Invitational. After running the course on Friday, the team prepared for the Saturday morning races on a flat but winding course.

In the varsity race, Sean Kellogg (15:46; 33rd) and Grant Brawley (15:52; 43rd) had impressive races, with each earning a large PR (personal record) or SB (season best). Close behind, Baker Pashea (52nd) also managed to put up an impressive time and keep his race under 16 minutes. Justin Glass (16:06; 69th) and Joe LaBarge (16:12; 75th) closed out the scoring five, and junior Wyatt Seal (16:26) finished close behind and posted an impressive 14-second PR.

Overall, the varsity team finished 9th of 29 teams at the ultra-competitive meet against 23 top-ranked Illinois teams. Although not its best finish, the 9th place finish is Jr. Bills’ fifth best varsity placement since they started attending the meet in 2010.

“I thought the team ran really well, worked on getting out well, and pushed the middle mile,” senior Grant Brawley remarked. “I’m very confident with where the team is at this point in the season.”

In the JV division SLUH demonstrated its unprecedented depth and dominance over many top Illinois teams. Its second place finish is the highest JV finish that the SLUH cross country team has seen at the meet and a statement about SLUH’s incredible JV team.

Tim Greiner (16:26) led off the scoring running just behind the top pack and posted an elite 5th place finish against a field of strong runners. Sophomores Mason Scargall (16:30; 9th) and Charlie Murray (16:39; 15th) crossed the finish line close behind. Will Riggan and Francis Alford rounded out the scoring five both with strong races, finishing just outside the top 20. 

“It was nice to travel with the team again and race against some different competition,” Tim Greiner noted summarizing the meet. “The race conditions were ideal to run fast times, and as a team coming out of that meet with lots of PRs and new racing experience, it was definitely a win in my eyes.”