Schools
Plainfield South, East Place in the Top 22 in State Cross Country Final
Coaches already anticipating better things next year because only two of their top runners are graduating this year.
Shortly after their performances Class 3A state cross country championship, Plainfield South and Plainfield East high schools talked of making it an annual event.
placed 20th and took 22nd Saturday afternoon in Peoria' Detweiller Park.
“We have five out of our top seven back next year with state-race experience,” Plainfield South coach Jason Crowe said. “We want to start making this an annual tradition for Plainfield South cross country.”
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“Everybody but Niko (Petrusich) and Nick (Quiroz) are back next year,” Plainfield East coach Rich Gatz said of the Bengals’ two seniors. “We have five of the seven guys back. It’s a good young team coming back. We’re excited about it.”
Gatz was also excited to see Petrusich lead the Bengals in the state race.
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Petrusich, a four-year runner, took 90th place in 15:31 in his second and last state appearance.
“How about Niko today?” Gatz said. “It was great to see him finish his career this way. He ran real well today, he led us and I’m going to miss Nick and Niko. I’ve had those guys since freshmen year.”
Freshman Joe Suarez, who was the Bengals’ top runner most of the season, took 105th in 15:36. He was the second freshman to finish the race.
“This was awesome,” Gatz said. “There was no stress today. We told them to have fun and enjoy the experience. We didn’t have any team goals except continue to run as a pack. Our Nos. 1 through 5 finished 29 second apart. Our top five guys all ran under 16 minutes. I’m happy with that.”
“We had a good team pack, they worked together and our top five guys all finished under 16 minutes,” Plainfield South coach Jason Crowe said.
Senior Tyler Ryan was the first Cougar in the chute, taking 61st in 15:21. It was also his second and last state performance.
He is one of just two seniors who raced Saturday for the Cougars.
“Sophomore Dan Lathrop has a bright future ahead of him and sophomore Misael Tobias ran well today,” Crowe said.
In the girls race, Plainfield Central’s Grace Lawrence took 104th in 18:34. The senior ran her best time of the year in her first and last state race.
