Powell Latimer
powell.latimer@register-news.com
GRANITE CITY —
Adam Hurst and Jenna Wilemon took home medalist honors and top-30 finishes for the Mt. Vernon Township High School cross country teams at the Granite City Invitational on Saturday.
For the boys squad, Hurst led a three-runner contingent for the Rams as coach Clint Turner split up his squad to rest runners.
Hurst finished 30th overall out of 159 runners in the varsity race with a time of 16:36. Clayton Tinsley came in 64th with a time of 17:31, and Trace Turner came in 93rd with a time of 18:21.
In the girls varsity race, Wilemon paced the Rams with an 18th-place finish and a time of 19:36.97 to earn medalist honors.
As a team, the Rams finished 15th out of 20 teams from Class A, AA, and AAA with a score of 427. Springfield won the meet with a team score of 73.
A trio of sophomores and one freshman brought up the rest of the scoring for the Rams. Rachel Rexing finished 77th with a time of 21:58, Alli Schobel finished 92nd with a time of 22:33, Rebecca Rexing finished 108th with a time of 23:12, and first-year runner Kelsey Shannon finished 132 with a time of 25:03.
“Everybody improved from last year’s times here at Granite City,” coach Connie Harrie-Blair said. “Jenna had a big improvement from her time last year.”
In the boys freshman-sophomore race, MVTHS’ Jake Wilson finished eighth with a 17:18 time. Colin Young finished 29th with a time of 18:03, and Karson Hahn finished 49th with a time of 18:54.
“We ran good,” boys coach Clint Turner said. “We did really well. That’s what we're working towards, hoping to improve.”
In the girls jv race, Kara Bachelor placed 69th with a time of 24:42. Zoe Mattingly finished 75th with a time of 24:59. Natalie Rodriguez finished 108th with a time of 33:12.
