2013
Varsity Team State Rankings and quotes
Pre-Season Ranked #9 in the State by dyestatil.com
Coach – Neal Garrison
2012 Finish – 11th 2A State
Key Runners – Forrest Smoes SR (11th, 14:48), Ethan
Russell SR (86th, 15:43), Alex Keeble SO (126th, 16:01),
James Williams SO (127th, 16:02), Jackson Powell JR (173rd,
16:37), Curt Kuperferschmid SR, Jake Keller SO, Jack Hyde SO, Joey Magyar
SO, Gabe Pommier FR.
Outlook – Jonathan Schaap has graduated but there
is still a good core remaining from last year’s state team. Forrest
Smoes finished 11th last year and could be in the top
5 this fall. The secret on this team could be sophomore Alex Keeble.
He was the fifth man at state last year. His improvement has been dramatic.
He ran 15:31 last month at Det at Dark. He could challenge Ethan Russell
for the second spot. There will be a gap between Smoes and the pack. That
gap needs to be near 40 seconds, then the pack needs to be within 20 seconds
of each other.
“I would love to see them be in the top 3 in most of our meets.
They won many of them last year, but we realistically know that it will be
significantly harder to win any invites this season. We hope to win Regional
if we aren't placed into one that is too tough,” said Neal Garrison.
Forrest Smoes – SR – Mahomet-Seymour
HS
He will be one of the top runners in 2A. Last year at the state
meet, Smoes ran 14:48 to finish 11th. He did not have the best
of outdoor seasons where he ran 9:43 for 3200 Meters. He had a good summer
of training and should be back towards the front this fall.
Forrest is a pleasure to coach. He is a young man of great character.
While he is talented, I believe much of his success has been a direct result
of his determination and exceptional work ethic. I am lucky to have him on
our team again this year,” his coach Neal Garrison said.
“He is a great leader for the team. He cares a lot about his teammates. He
tries to set a high standard for his teammates in workouts. He is a top notch
student/athlete. I pray that God blesses him again this year in cross country
as he deserves it.”
Pre-Season Ranked #9 in the State by Il.MileSplit.com
Head
Coach/coach: Neal
Garrison
Last
year’s final season finish:state-11th (291pts.)
Key
returners: Forrest
Smoes (Sr.)-11th, Ethan Russell (Sr.)- 86th, Alex Keeble (So.)- 126th, James
Williams (Sr.)- 127th,
and Jackson Powell (Jr.)-173rd.
Projected
top 7: Smoes,
Russell, Williams, Keeble, Powell, Trevor Hanlon, and William Wolf (Jr.).
Newcomers: Gabe Pommier, Ben Craw,
Myles Jones, and Brian Butcher
Season
outlook from Coach Garrison: “We
are returning a solid team, but losing two of our top four runners from the
11th place State team (including our 10th place finisher). We are hopeful
that our returning runners will develop enough to qualify for state again
and get into the top 10. The boys won some meets last season and we
hope to be among the top teams at each meet. We realistically know that
winning some of the meets we won last year might be more challenging for
us this year. Depending on what Regional we are placed into, we hope
to win that again. We don’t have a required summer training program.
In fact, I don’t show up a single day in the summer.”
Pre-Season Ranked #9 in the State by ITCCCA
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Week 1 Ranked #8 in the State by dyestatil.com
Week 1 Ranked #10 in the State by ITCCCA
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Week 2 Ranked #3 in the State by dyestatil.com
Week 2 Ranked #1 in the Sectional by dyestatil.com
Week 2 Ranked #10 in the State by ITCCCA
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Week 3 Ranked #2 in the State by dyestatil.com
Notes - #1 Illiana Christian dominated their own invitational on Saturday
despite the fact they kept two of their runners in the lower level races.
Led by the 1-2 finish by Nick Fiene and Tony Wondaal, the Vikings placed
five in the first nine to win scoring 24 points.
The noise this week in 2A Boys was not that run but the race that #2 Mahomet-Seymour
ran last Saturday in Peoria. The Bulldogs placed tenth in the Richard Spring
Invitational defeating several 3A top 25 teams. Alex Keeble ran 15:05 to
finish 19th to lead his team. Their split was at 52 seconds. I know it is
not “kosher” to compare two separate meets but here is the deal. Illiana
Christian’s team time at FTTF was 77:55. Mahomet’s team time this last weekend
was 77:49. There were only two teams that ran both Peoria meets, Dixon and
Normal University. Both teams improved by 1-2 seconds per runner from FTTF
to Spring. Even though it is a minimal improvement, it shows the difference
of speed between the two races. In my eyes, it puts these teams pretty equal.
I said at the beginning of the year that this team championship is up for
grabs. I stand by that.
Week 3 Ranked #1 in the Sectional by dyestatil.com
Week 3 Ranked #3 in the State by ITCCCA
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Week 4 Ranked #2 in the State by dyestatil.com
#2 Mahomet-Seymour has been running tight splits the last
couple weeks. Saturday at the East Peoria Invitational, Alex Keeble broke
up that pack when he stayed with 1A front runner Nick Hess (St. Thomas More,
Champaign) until Hess moved in the last mile to win by five seconds. The Bulldogs
won the team championship with 45 points, 47 ahead of second place Normal
Community. Their split on five was sixty-four seconds, only twenty five second
from 2-5.
Week 4 Ranked #1 in the Sectional by dyestatil.com
Week 4 Ranked #2 in the State by ITCCCA
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Week 5 Ranked #2 in the State by dyestatil.com
Week 5 Ranked #1 in the Sectional by dyestatil.com
Week 5 Ranked #2 in the State by ITCCCA
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Week 6 Ranked #2 in the State by dyestatil.com
Week 6 Ranked #1 in the Sectional by dyestatil.com
Week 6 Ranked #2 in the State by ITCCCA
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Week 7 Ranked #2 in the State by dyestatil.com
Week 7 Ranked #1 in the Sectional by dyestatil.com
Champaign Centennial Regional
Ranked Teams Boys: Mahomet-Seymour (2), Taylorville (19), Champaign
Central (21)
Outlook – Mattoon
will be challenged by Mahomet-Seymour for the Girls Regional title. Champaign
Central and Charleston will be the next teams in line. Megan Shafer and Whitney
Mainifior (Mattoon HS), Lauren Whitehouse (Mahomet-Seymour HS) and Hannah
Wright (Central HS, Champaign) will battle in the individual race.<>
Mahomet-Seymour should capture the Boys Regional team title. Taylorville
and Champaign Central will challenge for the next spot. Johnny Leverenz (Danville
HS) should be the individual favorite in this regional.
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Final Ranked #2 in the State by dyestatil.com
Final Ranked #1 in the Sectional by dyestatil.com
Final Ranked #2 in the State by ITCCCA
Champaign Centennial Regional
#2 Mahomet-Seymour placed five runners in the first ten. That was more
than enough win the regional championship 25-83 over #21 Champaign Central.
Their split off of second place finisher Alex Keeble was 48 seconds. Their
split on 2-5 was 27 seconds.
Johnny Leverenz (Danville HS) showed that he will contend for the state championship.
He cruised to the regional win (15:00) and a 29 second margin over Keeble.
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