Lick Creek, St. Bruno face off, record split in cross country action

Lick Creek and St. Bruno (Du Quoin) split in recent cross country action.

Murphysboro Invitational

On Wednesday, Aug. 31, over 100 runners gathered at Riverside Park in Murphysboro for the Murphysboro Invitational Cross Country meet. 

The 2015 state champion St. Bruno was on hand to show their cross country prowess. Almost 20 schools both large and small from Southern Illinois attended.

The meet came down to a repeat of last year’s state championship with St. Bruno and Lick Creek battling for first place. St. Bruno prevailed by defeating Lick Creek by one point. 

Both teams battled last year in the Southern Illinois Junior High School state championship at Salem with 189 runners participating.

The following athletes and their finish went as follows: Kyleigh Matuszewich (4th), Brodie Denny (5th), Julia Hall (6th), Hannah Miller (7th) and Jaden Foster (19th). Lick Creek had five players in the top 20. The depth got Lick Creek a solid second place finish.

In the Junior Varsity meet the Lick Creek athletes did well with 2nd grader Jadyn Geradi placing 5th, Kayla Matuszewich, 9th, Kaitlyn Matuszewich, 14th and Meranda Wright, 19th.

Pinckneyville 204 Tiger Invitational

The rivalry continued at the Pinckneyville 204 Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 3 at the Pinckneyville Fairgrounds. There was a large contingent of teams (22) from Southern Illinois. Lick Creek was looking for revenge after the narrow loss to St. Bruno in Murphysboro. 

The Varsity girls race was a 1.65 mile run. The Lady Eagles came ready as they finished with six runners in the top 20. 

The results were: Marie Prindiville, Immaculate Conception, with a 10:23 time (1st), followed by Ansley Bailey at 10:39, Massac County (2nd), Laney Beltz, St. Bruno at 10:49 (3rd), Brodie Denny, Lick Creek at 10:52 (4th), Olivia Phillips, St. Bruno at 10:59 (5th), Julia Hall, Lick Creek at 11:04 (6th), Kyleigh Matuszewich, Lick Creek at 11:07 (7th), Hannah Miller, Lick Creek at 11:08 (8th), Brooklynn Belford, Massac County at 11:08 (9th), Kenzie Rushing, St. Bruno at 11:14 (10th), Addison Denny finishing 14th with a time of 11:46 and second grade phenom Jadyn Gerardi finishing in 18th place with a time of 12:02. Jade Foster finished the meet with a time of 12:30 ahead of 46 runners from 20 schools.

This time the Lick Creek Lady Eagles won first place with 39 points over St. Bruno who placed second with 50 points. Massac County was in third place with 110 points and Smithon took fourth place with a team score of 136.

St. Bruno and Lick Creek will challenge each other in a few weeks at the state meet in Salem. Both teams are gearing up for another hotly contested cross county meet as both teams will train hard for a shot at the state championship.

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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