Northup, Menke lead cross country teams at Liberty Invitational; Schools hold first county invitational cross country meet

Lindsay Beach (left) continued her strong running last week, helping Illini West in two cross country meets, finishing in the top 20 at Nauvoo and Liberty.

Illini West and West Hancock each had a runner finish in the top 10 at a cross country meet in Liberty.

Natalie Northup placed sixth in the girls' race for Illini West in a time of 20-minutes, 44-seconds, 45 seconds faster than last year's time. Lindsay Beach also medaled with a 16th place finish in a time of 22:33.

Bali Campbell was 43rd (26:11) and Morgan Merritt was 51st in a time of 27:44.

The team had four runners so did not have enough for a team score.

Nick Menke of West Hancock finished in eighth place in the boys' race.

Craig Corzatt was the top finisher for Illini West in 25th in a time of 18:59, 16 seconds faster than last year's time. Alex Gold was 41st (19:55), Jon Tobias was 51st (20:41), and John Brewer was 58th in a time of 21:43.

Illini West coach Rodney Norris pulled Zack Boyer from the race due to shin splints.

Hancock County Invitational

The Central/Southeastern, Illini West and West Hancock cross country teams ran the Hancock County Invitational Cross Country Meet Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Nauvoo State Park.

The original course idea was to use the trails around the lake. Rain earlier in the day forced the use of an alternate route that bypassed the trails.

“Many of the runners wished we could have ran the original course, but we had to think about their safety,” said Norris. “The original course is a very challenging course that winds through the trails around the lake and would have given the runners a complete challenge.”

The alternate course was 2.9 miles long and was a mixture of grass, trails and hills.

Illini West was the only school able to field a complete girls' team so they won by default. Central/Southeastern had three runners. West Hancock does not have girls' team.

Illini West had all five girls take the top five sports in the race. Northup was first overall with a time of 21:23. The top runner for Central/Southeastern was Anna Foote, who placed 6th with a time of 27:22.

Illini West won the team title in the boys race with 41 points, West Hancock finished in second place with 41 points, and Central/Southeastern was third with 41.5 points.

The boys race was won by Eli Hibbert from Central/Southeastern with a time of 18:03.

“This was a very good time considering the type of course and the wet conditions of the course,” said Norris.

Menke led West Hancock team in second place in a time of 18:51. Corzatt led Illini West with a fourth place finish and a time of 19:42.

Complete race results are below.

Girls team

1. Illini West, 15 points.

Individual results

1. Natalie Northup, IW, 21:23; 2. Lindsay Beach, IW, 24:09; 3. Tiffany Mohr, IW, 24:09; 4. Bali Campbell, IW, 26:18; 5. Morgan Merritt, IW, 26:37; 6. Anna Foote, CSE, 27:22; 7. Hannah Dorothy, IW, 28:16; 8. Ellie Toolie, CSE, 28:18; 9. Katie Buss, CSE, 28:29

Boys

1. Illini West, 38.5 points; 2. West Hancock, 41 points; 3. Central/Southeastern, 41.5 points

Individual results

1. Eli Hibbert, CSE, 18:03; 2. Nick Menke, WH, 18:51; 3. Chris Haas, WH, 19:18; 4. Craig Corzatt, IW, 19:42; 5. Zack Boyer, IW, 19:56; 6. Matt Nall, CSE, 19:56; 7. Alex Gold, IW, 20:06; 8. Scott Simon, WH, 20:27; 9. (tie) Jon Tobias, IW & Logan Eidson, CSE, 20:58; 11. Zane Higgens, CSE, 21:05; 12. Kevin Crozier, WH, 21:16; 13. John Brewer, IW, 21:55; 14. Michael Quigley, CSE, 21:57; 15. Martin Renner, CSE, 22:33; 16. James Stice, WH, 22:36; 17. Spencer Rhea, CSE, 22:38.