The Riverside-Brookfield High School boys and girls cross country teams dominated the action during Saturday’s regional meet at Sundown Meadows.
The girls team notched second place with 29 points, trailing only regional champion Nazareth which tallied 27 points. RBHS senior Mailin Struck, finished the race in 17:11.7 to place first in the individuals results.
“I thought I had a good race,” Struck said. “I was very happy. I’m really looking forward to sectionals and hopefully state.”
Other girls who ran well for the Bulldogs included Sarah Melone who finished the race in 19:07.6. Clare Bollnow garnered a sixth-place finish (19:57.2), while Meaghan Dorsey and Deanna Keen finished in ninth place (20:43.5), and 11th place (21:41.0) respectively. Amy Wagner placed 14th with a time of 22:13.5, followed closely by sophomore April Flores (22:28.5).
“We had some really good races,” RBHS coach Kristi Sterling said. “[Struck and Melone] had a really good showing, and that’s the kind of fuel we need to motivate us to run even better at sectionals. There will be a lot of pressure [at the sectional], but I’m going to try to keep the girls calm and make sure they focus on the things that are in their control, like getting enough sleep and eating well.”
Struck knew that there wasn’t a lot of pressure heading into the regional race, but the Bulldogs must remain consistent in their preparations for the sectional race particularly with aspirations of qualifying for the state meet on the line.
“I won’t have to change much with my eating because I already eat as healthy as I can,” Struck said. “We change our training a bit and do a little bit less than we do in the other weeks. Other than that I don’t like to change much before a big race because then you know exactly what you have to do to perform well.”
Boys team wins regional; Curtin claims second
The RBHS boys team claimed their regional title by scoring 29 points. The Bulldogs placed four runners in the Top 10, even without senior Spencer Purcell (recovering from an ankle injury) and freshman Matt Armenta (out with a cold).
“The boys had a nice race, and I was really happy that they ran strong,” RBHS head coach Larry Forberg said. “They had a very strong showing despite the fact that we didn’t run our full five. The guys that did run had really nice races.”
Dan Curtin finished second in the individual results with a time of 16:15.1. Kevin Faje (16:29.2), Matt Sagan (16:47.9), and Kyle Georgopolous (17:05.9) placed fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively. Wayne Morrelly clocked a time of 17:33.5 for 13th place, while Ian Clark placed 18th (18:02.6) and senior Dominic Carabez finished 21st at 18:09.3.
“I thought that I tried my best, but it wasn’t my best run of the season so far,” Faje said. “I’m going to eat well and focus my mind for this Saturday, and let my body recover so I can have my best performance in sectionals.”
