Health & Fitness
St. Peter Girls Pull Off A Miracle At State, Runner Up In Class 1A Final
Incredible determination and teamwork power the team into 2nd place with a diminished squad.
Last weekend at the biggest meet of the season it was 8th grader Sarah Woodford's turn to lead the St. Peter girls cross country team to victory. Following close behind Woodford's All State 14th place finish in 12:36, the rest of the team ran their way to a 2nd place finish at the IESA Girls Class 1A Cross Country Championship Meet in Normal, IL on Saturday. Woodford led the way in a total team triumph, and even though one of the team's top 5 runners from the sectional was unable to run at the state meet the girls once again showed toughness and tenacity under pressure to come through under circumstances that would cause many to throw in the towel.
Even though success can't be attributed to just one runner, 8th grader Anna Burke's performance was perhaps the most pivotal as she finished in 63rd place in a time of 13:20 nearly beating her previous week's finishing time by almost 2 minutes (last week she ran a 15:13). It was just what the team needed to propel them into the top 3. Burke was the 4th runner to cross the line for St. Peter.
8th grader Torianna Turk, last week's sectional champion finished 33rd with a time of 12:57 followed closely by Rachel Tork (8th grade) in 35th place with a time of 13:00. After Burke in 63rd, 8th grader Therese Hein wrapped up St. Peter's scoring in 67th place in a time of 13:22. St. Peter's 6th and 7th runners were 7th grader Megan Cahill (104th place in 13:40) and 8th grader Abageal Phelan (188th place in 14:50).
The girls sealed their 2nd place team standing with Sarah Woodford's strong 14th place finish followed by the rest of team finishing within 25 seconds of each other, scoring minimal points and closing out their scoring in a close pack much the same way they've done all season long. Every point made a difference as 3rd place Champaign St. Matthew finished only one point behind the St. Peter girls.
The team from Springfield Christ The King dominated the meet finishing with only 121 points to become the 2013 Class 1A IESA Girls Champion. St. Peter finished with 171 points for 2nd followed by 3rd place Champaign St. Matthew with 172 points. The IESA's pre-meet press release which predicted that all three teams would contend for the championship came true in classic fashion. The Class 1A results also had the unique distinction of three parochial Catholic schools taking the top 3 spots.
Also in action on Saturday was St. Peter 8th grader Sam McEnery who finished in 45th place in his race with a personal best time of 11:53.
This was the second year in a row that the St. Peter girls placed in the top 3 at the IESA State Meet with the 2012 squad placing 3rd. 8th grader Rachel Tork was the only returning St. Peter runner from the 2012 team.
The entire St. Peter Cross Country team finishes their season next Tuesday in Hampshire at the Tri-County Conference Championship Meet. There the 5/6th grade team will once again attempt to outmatch the strong team from St. Mary Sycamore and defend their 2012 Conference title.
