Geneva Cross Country Sucessfull At State Meet

Saturday brought to an end the 2012 Geneva Boys and Girls Cross Country season.  There have been may highs and lows during the season but the state meet is always a great note to end on. The Illinois State meet is held at Peoria's Detweiler Park each year and always a fabulous event for both the runners and spectators.  This year was no exception with the perfect course and weather conditions combining to produce very fast races.

Michael Bianchina ended his high school career in bittersweet fashion.  On the high side he qualified for the state meet for the third year in a row by posting a personal best time in the sectional and finishing third.  Considering he fractured his leg in the spring and was unable to compete for most of the season this was quite an accomplishment. Unfortunately Michael was unable to improve on his time in the meet from last year.  Even so he should be proud of his qualification and the way to come back from serious injury.

On the girls side, they finished off another great season.  Not only did they qualify for the state meet as a team, all seven girls (five competitors and two alternates) posted personal record times.  Leading the team was Freshman McKenzie Altmayer coming in 36th place.  She was followed by Sophomore Brooke Nusser (42nd), Junior Kathryn Adelman (56th), Junior Sydney Geils (75th) and Sophomore Marin Leone (112th).  These performances lifted the girls to a sixth place finish and their combined time was the the third fastest time in school history.  This is an incredible accomplishment considering there was not a Senior in the bunch.  Next year is shaping up as another championship season for the girls!

The community should be proud of these fine student athletes and tradition of excellence they represent.