After back-to-back, out-of-state Saturday races in Indiana, senior Ben Wuggazer and his Lyons Township boys cross country teammates feel closer to their goals.
“We should be on track to at least contend for a top 10 at the [Class 3A] state meet,” Wuggazer responded. “If our teams puts it together come race day, I think we could see well above that.”
The Lions were jubilant about finishing second at the Culver Academies Invitational Sept. 18 to Indiana power Carmel 70-82 in the open division.
At the Nike XC Town Twilight race in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday, the Lions were 19th in the championship division (487 points) and fourth among Illinois teams.
LTHS entered that race on the Nike Cross Regionals course ranked No. 17 in 3A by ILXCTF.com. The Lions were fourth at state in 2023 with two all-state seniors.
“The team ran its best race all year at Culver but at Terre Haute we did not meet our personal expectations,” O’Halloran responded. “The team could definitely be in the top 10 (at state) but we just need to keep working towards our goals and not getting discouraged with Terre Haute.”
Both races were 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). At Culver, Wuggazer (5th, 16:10.9) and O’Halloran (9th, 16:25.8) both were top 10 and led a 43-second 1-5 split with seniors Tate Pavelka (20th, 16:45.1) and Charles Ciesla (23rd, 16:52.3) and junior Tyler Gantt (25th, 16:53.6), followed closely by junior Patrick Collins (27th, 16:55.3).
“Our top five guys packed up a little bit in the first part of the race,” Wuggazer responded. “We’ve also had two guys step up (Gantt and Collins) that can help fill in our No. 5-6 spots.”
In Terre Haute, Wuggazer (45th, 15:47.1), O’Halloran (73rd, 16:02.08), Gantt (129th, 16:24.59), Pavelka (147th, 16:30.64) and Collins (161st, 16:37.27) were the Lions’ top five finishers.
Another encouraging race came Sept. 14 at Peoria’s Detweiller Park, annual site of the state meet.
Wuggazer (12th, 15:04.40), Ciesla (39th, 15:34.70) and O’Halloran (42nd, 15:36.10) were top-50 medalists and the Lions (332) were sixth in the 3A race at the First to the Finish Invite even with Pavelka having to drop out.
“The team is most pleased about our (1-5) split right now, which is just under a minute. We still want to get it down to around 30-40 seconds,” O’Halloran said.
LTHS girls cross country
Junior Mya Coglianese entered her second Lyons Township girls cross country season hoping to break 19:00 for 3.0 miles.
The chance came earlier than expected at the Palatine Invitational Sept. 28. With the finish line clock in her sights, Coglianese ran 18:58.61 to finish a team-best 57th.
“I saw it at the 18:50s and I just had to go. I just really wanted to get there,” Coglianese said. “It felt really good. It felt like I could have gone faster, which was really good. I was really proud of that and how far I’ve come since last year.”
Coglianese is among many Lions making significant strides in their first varsity seasons. Injured junior Jenna Lally is the only returnee from last year’s state lineup.
“We’re just going to keep getting better,” LTHS coach Eric Simon said. “They’re all in new roles this year, experience wise, leadership wise, being in varsity races at big meets. None of them have done that before.”
Coglianese and junior Annika McDonnell are the Lions’ 1-2 finishers most meets.
At Palatine, McDonnell (107th, 19:44.32), junior Grace Rhoten (124th, 20:01.69), sophomore Amelia Ludden (135th, 20:09.04) and freshman Lucinda Martinez (138th, 20:14.54) completed the top five for the Lions (22nd, 561 points).
At Saturday’s St. Charles North Invitational, Coglianese (15th, 19:26.47 for 3.0 miles) earned a top-25 medal. With McDonnell on a college visit, junior Addie Powers (31st, 20:17.96) contributed her best race and sophomore Amelia Ludden (33rd, 20:21.61) and freshman Lucinda Martinez (40th, 20:37.65) also were top 50. The Lions (176 points) were seventh.
At the First to the finish Invitational at Peoria’s Detweiller Park Sept. 14, Coglianese (43rd, 19:15.4) and McDonnell (50th, 19:29.70) were top-50 medalists. McDonnell got the last medal by .3.
“It’s definitely scary because the girls we had last year were really good,” said McDonnell in Peoria. “We don’t really know what this year is going to be like, but it also is exciting to experience it with my best friends and kind of go through that together. There’s no expectations either. It’s fun to build and see progress every week.”
The Lions are unranked but are among roughly 10 teams that should contend for the seven state-qualifying spots at the Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional Nov. 2.
“If we can keep getting better and using these experiences each week, we’ll see what happens,” Simon said.
“We’ve progressed a lot, especially since last year,” Coglianese said. “I think we can do it. I believe in us.”
