2020 Meet Summaries
Charleston Invitational:
Mahomet-Seymour
placed 1st in the
Varsity race out of 13
teams. The race
was run in 4 flighted
races and times
compiled to determine
team scores.
Taylor
Fan was the
#3-#4
runner race
meet champion.
Hayden
Grotelueschen
was the #5-#6
runner race
meet champion.
John
Tender was the
#5-#6
runner race
meet runner
up.
Joe
Taylor was the
#7-#8 runner
race meet
champion.
Karsten
Waisath
was the
#7-#8 runner
race meet
runner up.
Karsten
Waisath's time
was fast
enough to earn
him a medal in
the Varsity
race, but
a
maximum of 7
medals were
given per
team.
Our
team's top 7 runners for
this invitational
Kyle Nofziger (junior), Taylor
Fan (junior),
Hayden Grotelueschen
(sophomore), John Tender
(junior), Jonah Singer
(junior), Ben Wallace
(sophomore), and Joe Taylor
(senior).
Our
open team's top 6
runners for this
invitational
Gage
Williams
(sophomore), Matthew
Sims (senior), Gabe
Difanis (sophomore),
Caleb Dowers
(senior), Finn
Randolph (freshman),
and Avery Seaman
(junior)
Our
runners
won the open
race with a
perfect score
of 15
points.
They really
represented our
program well
and showed how
much depth our
team has this
year. I
was incredibly
proud of
their working
together as a
group to
accomplish
this
feat.
Caleb Dowers showed
great
leadership in
keeping the
pack together
in
the early
stages of
the
race.
Gage Williams
and Matthew
Sims had a
friendly
sprint to
the end to
determine the
individual
winner of the
race.
Gage
Williams was
the open race
meet champion.
Matthew
Sims was the
open race meet
runner up.
Gage
Williams,
Matthew Sims,
Gabe Difanis,
and
Caleb Dowers
times would
have been fast
enough to earn
them a medal
in the Varsity
race.
The times
listed in
the meet
results were
about a minute
off their
actual times.
Our
team held a
2nd open race
for this
invitational.
Justin
Straub, Gabe
Wisnasky,
Grant Smysor,
and Preston
Wilkins
showed great
mental
strength to
stay
disciplined
throughout
the
race.
Justin
Straub
won
our open race.
His time would
have been fast
enough to earn
him
a medal in the
Varsity
race.
Gabe
Wisnasky was our
open race
runner up.
Our
medal winners
Kyle
Nofziger - 3rd
Taylor
Fan - 4th
Hayden
Grotelueschen
- 10th
John Tender -
15th
Jonah
Singer - 18th
Ben
Wallace - 23rd
Joe
Taylor - 30th
The following
runners showed great
improvement from their 2019
Charleston Invitational
times to their 2020
Charleston Invitational
times.
Joe Taylor improved 17
seconds.
Gage Williams
improved 27
seconds.
Hayden Grotelueschen
improved
33
seconds.
Karsten
Waisath improved
38
seconds.
Gabe
Difanis improved
1 minute.
Kyle
Nofziger improved
1 minute and 3
seconds.
Caleb
Dowers
improved 1
minute
and 43
seconds.
Ben
Wallace
improved 1
minute and 43
seconds.
John
Tender
improved 4
minutes and 3
seconds.
The following
runners had lifetime
personal 3 mile best times.
Gabe
Wisnasky - best by 12
seconds
Karsten
Waisath - best by 27
seconds
Ben
Wallace - best by 31
seconds
Taylor
Fan - best by 1
minute and 6
seconds.
John
Tender
- best by
2
minutes and 15
seconds.
Finn
Randolph
Matthew
Sims
Grant
Smysor
Justin Straub
Preston
Wilkins
The
following runners
earned a spot
on our team's
most
improved over
a career list
by improving
more than 3
minutes from
their first
race to their
fastest 3 mile
race.
Taylor
Fan - #48 with
a career
improvement of
3 minutes and
14 seconds.
John
Tender - #27
with a career
improvement
of 4 minutes
and 3 seconds.
This
is one of our
most
impressive
awards our
team has since
improvement
is the goal
for all
runners no
matter their
ability.
We have
only had about
60 runners accomplish
this feat in
20
years.
It shows just
how much hard
work that John
and Taylor
put in during
the past 2
years.
Our team has
run in this
invitational
since
2005. We
have had
a large number
of strong
runners from
our program
run well on
this
course.
We have compiled
a list of the
top times for
each
grade for our
Mahomet
runners.
The
following runners earned
a spot in our Fastest
Times at the Charleston
Invitational list.
Freshmen
Fastest Times List
Finn Randolph
- 41st
Sophomores
Fastest Times List
Hayden
Grotelueschen - 18th
Ben
Wallace - 26th
Gage
Williams - 35th
Gabe
Difanis
- 37th
Juniors
Fastest Times List
Kyle
Nofziger - 9th
Taylor
Fan - 25th
John
Tender - 35th
Jonah
Singer - 36th
Karsten
Waisath - 46th
Justin
Straub - 50th
Seniors
Fastest Times List
Joe
Taylor - 31st
Matthew
Sims
- 39th
Caleb
Dowers - 42nd
Fastest Times
at the Charleston Invitational list
2020 Charleston Invitational Results
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SJO Spartan Classic:
Mahomet-Seymour placed
1st in the Varsity race
our of 4 teams. The
runners raced well against
3 of the best single A
teams in the State
(SJO,
Monticello,
and Unity).
The
Spartan
Classic
has been run
since
1972. It
is known
for bringing
the top teams
in t he area
together.
It typically
has more like
20-30
area
teams.
This year SJO
was forced to
cut it to 4
teams. I
do believe
these are some
of the
strongest
teams in the
area.
Our team has
competed in
the Spartan
classic for 33
years. This
is only the
2nd time our
team has won
the Spartan
Classic.
We last won it
in 1996 when
our team
placed 4th in
State
in single
A.
Kyle
Nofziger
helped lead
our team and
was the meet
champion of
the varsity
race. In
33 years,
Mahomet has
only had 3
meet champions
in the Spartan
Classic in the
varsity
race.
Kyle became our
third.
Jordan Johnson
won it in 2000
and Neil
Mathis won it
in 1984.
Both
Jordan and
Neil have been
inducted into
our
Mahomet-Seymour
high school
boys cross
country hall
of fame.
Kyle
Nofziger,
Taylor Fan,
Joseph
Scheele, Jonah
Singer, Joe
Taylor, Ben
Wallace,
and Matthew
Sims were our
top seven finishers
in the varsity
race.
Karsten Waisath,
Gage Williams,
and Hayden
Grotelueschen
were
also part of
our varsity
team.
Our
runners did an
exceptional
job in the
open race
winning it
with having 5
of the top 6
finishers
in the open
race.
Gabe
Difanis
and
Caleb Dowers
took control
of the
race and
pushed the
entire
field.
Eventually
they pulled
away and
pushed each
other to
lifetime
bests. Gabe
Difanis won
the open race.
Caleb
Dowers was
runner-up in
the open
race.
Our open
team
was Gabe Difanis,
Caleb Dowers,
Justin Straub,
Gabe Wisnasky,
Grant Smysor,
and Avery
Seaman.
Justin
Straub
in his first
high school
season ran
third for our
team running
with great
intensity.
Gabe Wisnasky
ran
with such
confidence breaking
1 minutes and
29 seconds off
his lifetime 3
mile
best. Freshman,
Grant Smysor
had an
unbelievable
race cutting 1
minute and 23
seconds off
his lifetime
best.
Grant really
showed us that
he was
fearless
against the
older runners
in
the
field.
The open team
looked so
strong and got
all sorts of
compliments
from the
competition on
their strong
showing.
The
following runners had
season personal
3 mile best times.
Joseph
Scheele
ran his season
best.
Ben
Wallace
improved 22
seconds.
Kyle
Nofziger improved
25 seconds.
Taylor
Fan improved 26
seconds.
Caleb
Dowers improved 43
seconds.
Jonah
Singer improved
49 seconds.
Gage
Williams
improved
50 seconds.
Karsten
Waisath
improved 52
seconds.
Gabe
Difanis
improved 53
seconds.
Matthew
Sims improved
58 seconds.
Joe
Taylor
improved 1
minute and 5
seconds.
Grant
Smysor
improved
1 minute and
23 seconds.
Gabe
Wisnasky
improved 1 minute
and 29
seconds.
The
following runners
had lifetime
personal 3
mile bests
times.
Joe
Taylor
improved 10
seconds.
Caleb
Dowers
improved 15
seconds.
Kyle
Nofziger improved
18 seconds.
Ban
Wallace
improved 22
seconds.
Taylor
Fan improved
26 seconds.
Karsten
Waisath
improved 52
seconds.
Gabe
Difanis
improved 53
seconds.
Matthew
Sims
improved 58
seconds.
Grant
Smysor
improved
1 minute and
23 seconds.
Gabe
Wisnasky
improved 1
minute and 29
seconds.
The
following
runners earned
a spot on our
team's most
improved over
a career list
by improving
more than 3
minutes from
their first
race to their
fastest 3 mile
race.
Karsten
Waisath - #43
with
a career
improvement of
3 minutes and
26 seconds.
Taylor
Fan - #36 with
a career
improvement of
3 minutes and
40 seconds.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Urbana Meet
Mahomet won the triangular meet with Urbana and
Clinton.
Kyle Nofziger won the meet and his teammate Taylor Fan
placed 4th overall in the meet. Both helped lead
the team in the first flight of the race to set a good
tone for our team.
Kyle Nofziger, Taylor Fan, Hayden Grotelueschen, Joe
Taylor, Jonah Singer, Joseph Scheele, and Karsten
Waisath were our top 7 finishers for the day.
Our runners showed great depth by taking 13 of the top
20 spots in the race. it really was a team
effort.
The team was run in 9 different flights. Each of
our runners represented our team well in their own
flight. They all gave a great effort and made
our team look good by placing high in their individual
race.
Flight winners
Kyle Nofziger won the flight 1 race.
Jonah Singer won the flight 2 race.
Hayden Grotelueschen won the flight 3 race.
Karsten Waisath won the flight 4 race.
Gabe Difanis won the flight 5 race.
Caleb Dowers won the flight 6 race.
Gabe Wisnasky won the flight 7 race.
Finn Randolph won the flight 8 race.
Preston Wilkins won the flight 9 race.
Flight runner-ups
Joseph Scheele was runner-up in the flight 2 race.
Joe Taylor was runner-up in the flight 3 race.
Matthew Sims was runner-up in the flight 4 race.
Justin Straub was runner-up in the flight 5 race.
Grant Smysor was runner-up in the flight 6 race.
The following runners had season personal 3 mile
best times.
Kyle Nofziger improved 1 second.
Joe Taylor improved 4 seconds.
Caleb Dowers improved 5 seconds.
Karsten Waisath improved 6 seconds.
Gabe Difanis improved 23 seconds.
Grant Smysor improved 24 seconds.
Gabe Wisnasky improved 31 seconds.
Justin Straub improved 40 seconds.
Hayden Grotelueschen improved 46 seconds.
Finn Randolph improved 1 minute and 19 seconds.
Preston Wilkins improved 3 minutes and 4 seconds.
The following runners had lifetime personal 3 mile
best times.
Kyle Nofziger improved 1 second.
Joe Taylor improved 4 seconds.
Caleb Dowers improved 5 seconds.
Karsten Waisath improved 6 seconds.
Hayden Grotelueschen improved 7 seconds.
Gabe Difanis improved 23 seconds.
Grant Smysor improved 24 seconds.
Gabe Wisnasky improved 31 seconds.
Justin Straub improved 40 seconds.
Finn Randolph improved 1 minute and 19 seconds.
Preston Wilkins improved 3 minutes and 4 seconds.
The following runners earned a spot on our team's
most improved over a career list by improving more
than 3 minutes from their first race to their
fastest 3 mile race.
Preston Wilkins - #54 with a career improvement of 3
minutes and 4 seconds.
Karsten Waisath - #41 with a career improvement of 3
minutes and 32 seconds.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conference:
Our varsity team won the meet.
Kyle Nofziger, Joseph Scheele, Taylor Fan, Jonah Singer,
Hayden Grotelueschen, Ben Wallace, and Joe Taylor were our top 7
was the Conference Meet.
Kyle, Joseph, Taylor, Jonah, and Hayden earned All-Conference
honors.
Our open team ran very well and won the meet with a perfect
score. They placed 1st through 7th in the meet.
Justin Straub, Matthew Sims, Nick Mies, Caleb Dowers, Gage
Williams, Gabe Wisnasky, and Finn Randolph were our top 7
runners in the open race.
Justin Straub was the open race meet champion.
Matthew Sims was the open race runner-up.
Mies, Dowers, Williams, Wisnasky, and Randolph rounded out the
field with 3rd-7th place. What an amazing team effort.
Our medal winners
Kyle Nofziger - 2nd
Joseph Scheele - 3rd
Taylor Fan - 5th
Jonah Singer - 7th
Hayden Grotelueschen - 9th
The
following runners
earned a spot in our
Fastest Times at the
Conference list.
Freshmen Fastest
Times List
Finn
Randolph
- 41st
Sophomores
Fastest Times List
Hayden
Grotelueschen - 29th
Ben
Wallace - 40th
Juniors
Fastest Times List
Kyle
Nofziger - 14th
Joseph Scheele -
17th
Taylor
Fan - 25th
Jonah
Singer - 35th
Seniors
Fastest Times List
Nick
Mies - 51st
Matthew
Sims
- 51st
2020 Conference Results
The history of the
conference meet
Conference Highest individual finishes.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Monticello
Invitational:
Our
team placed
2nd in the
meet in the
varsity race.
Kyle Nofziger,
Jonah Singer,
Joseph
Scheele,
Taylor Fan,
Hayden
Grotelueschen,
Joe Taylor,
and Ben
Wallace were
our top 7.
Kyle Nofziger
was runner-up
in the varsity
race.
Our open team
won the
meet.
Matthew Sims,
Justin Straub,
Karsten
Waisath, Gabe
Difanis, Gabe
Wisnasky, Nick
Mies, and
Caleb Dowers
were our top 7
in the open
race.
Matthew Sims
was meet
champion and
Justin Straub
was
runner-up.
Along with
Karsten
Waisath they
led the entire
race.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Regional:
Our team won
the 11 team
Regional meet.
Kyle Nofziger
and Joseph
Scheele earned
All-Regional
honors by
placing in the
top 5.
They competed
against some
strong teams
and
managed
to place 2nd
and 4th
respectively.
Both earned a
medal for
their high
finish.
Kyle, Joseph,
and Taylor Fan
represented
our team in
the flight 1
of the boys
race.
Each team had
their #1, #2,
and #3 runner
race in this
flight.
Taylor Fan
finished 11th
in the flight
and 14th
overall.
They put our
team in a
great position
after this
race.
Jonah Singer
and Hayden
Grotelueschen
ran in the 2nd
flight which
consisted of
runners #4 and
#5.
Jonah and
Hayden
finished 1st
and 4th in
this
flight.
Jonah won the
flight with a
time so fast
that he
finished
higher than
most runners
in the 1st
flight.
Jonah showed
his
competitive
spirit as he
led this race
from start to
finish.
He finished
13th overall
and 3rd for
our
team.
Hayden's time
placed him
21st overall
in the meet.
Joe Taylor and
Karsten
Waisath ran in
the 3rd flight
which
consisted of
runners #6 and
#7. Joe
Taylor really
took control
of this
race. He
pushed the
pace the
entire run and
won the flight
with a time so
fast that it
beat most of
the runners
from flight 1
and 2.
He finished
15th overall
and 5th on our
team.
This was quite
a feat to do
this from the
3rd
flight.
Joe's previous
experience in
multiple State
series races
really helped
him and
our
team.
Karsten
Waisath also
represented
our team
well.
We had so much
support from
our runners
that weren't
in the top
7. They
gave up their
entire day
running from
point to point
in the race
encouraging
their
teammates.
I really think
their team
spirit and
support made
all the
difference to
our team
winning the
meet.
All season
long the depth
of our team
was able to
represent our
program well
by winning so
many open
races.
At the
regional these
same runners
continued to
give their
hearts to the
team and did
what they
could to push
our team to
the win.
The following
runners earned
a spot on our
Fastest Times
list in the
Regional Meet
Sophomores
Hayden
Grotelueschen
- 27th
Juniors
Kyle Nofziger
- 10th
Joseph Scheele
- 22nd
Jonah Singer -
44th
Taylor
Fan - 48th
Seniors
Joe Taylor -
41st
Regional
top 10 individual finishers list.
The history of our
team at the Regional.
2020 Regional Results
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sectional:
Our team
placed 4th in
the Sectional
meet.
This
traditionally
would have
qualified our
team for the
IHSA State
meet.
Due to Covid
there will be
no IHSA State
meet.
This did
qualify our
team for the
unofficial
State meet.
This year the
IHSA
restructured
the State meet
series.
They combined
5 Sectional
meets into
4. This
made them more
competitive.
Our Sectional
included more
State ranked
teams than the
other
Sectional
meets with a
total of 7
State ranked
teams.
Our runners
faced the #1
State ranked
team.
Going into the
meet our team
was ranked to
place
4th.
Rather than
settle for
accepting 4th
each runner
gave their all
to try to go
after the top
team in the
State.
The meet was
divided into 4
flights to
abide by Covid
safety
rules.
In each flight
our runners
put themselves
in position to
have a chance
of taking on
the top
team.
This took a
lot of
courage.
Our team was
predicted to
earn 145.5 in
a virtual meet
using the best
times of the
season from
all runners in
the Sectional
meet.
Our team
finished with
146
points.
They beat
State 3 State
ranked teams
in the
process.
Kyle Nofziger
placed 7th
overall.
This earned
him
All-Sectional
honors.
This is an
incredibly
hard honor to
get.
Kyle Nofziger
(11th grade),
Joseph Scheele
(11th
grade),
Jonah Singer
(11th grade),
Taylor Fan
11th grade),
Joe Taylor
(12th grade),
Hayden
Grotelueschen
(10th
grade), and
Ben Wallace
(10th grade)
represented
our team at
the Sectional
meet.
Our runners
that weren't
in the
top 7 also did
a nice job
representing
our team by
giving up
their day to
run from spot
to spot on the
course to
cheer on their
teammates.
I really
appreciated
the supportive
bond that this
year's team
had.
We have kept
lists of our
top times in
the Sectional
meet for the
past 50
years.
All of our
runners earned
a spot on the
list.
The course was
a little long
which made it
harder to earn
a spot on
these lists
this year.
The following
runners earned
a spot on our
Fastest Times
list for the
Sectional
Meet.
Sophomores
Hayden
Grotelueschen
- 30th
Ben Wallace -
33rd
Juniors
Kyle Nofziger
- 20th
Joseph Scheele
- 31st
Jonah Singer -
44th
Taylor Fan -
46th
Seniors
Joe Taylor -
48th
As the IHSA
season comes
to an end, I
am thankful
that we had a
chance to get
to practice
and run in
meets during a
pandemic.
I think it
gave the
runners and
coaches
something
positive to
look forward
to in a very
tough
time. It
provided a
time in our
days that
seemed much
more normal
and runners
could
socialize when
there were so
many more
health
restrictions
indoors.
I am super
proud of all
of our
runners.
They gave so
much to the
team and
represented
our long term
program
well.
They won some
meets and even
ended up
Conference and
Regional
champs.
The wins were
nice, but I
will remember
this team the
most for
bringing back
the special
tight team
bond and
incredible
work ethic
that has made
our program so
well respected
over the
years. I
know that our
assistant
coaches Brian
Butcher and
Andrew Walmer
were an
essential part
in bringing
this
back. I
am also
extremely
grateful to
the parents of
our runners
that always
invest so much
to make it a
great
experience for
our
team.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
State:
Our
team placed
2nd in the
State meet out
of 21
teams.
16 of the top
17 teams in
the State
showed
up. Only
the 7th ranked
Kaneland was
missing.
Our team was
ranked 11th in
one of the
rankings and
15th in
another
ranking
heading into
the State
meet.
The State meet
was run in 4
flights.
#6-7 runners
ran
first.
Our two
seniors (Joe
Taylor and
Matthew Sims)
represented
our team in
this
race.
Joe Taylor had
a great start
pushing the
pace
early.
Matthew Sims
worked his way
to the top
right away as
well.
This really
raised the
energy of our
team and that
created the
positive
energy our
team needed
for the rest
of the
day.
With Joe and
Matthew
showing how
much they were
willing to
fight for the
team really
meant
something to
their
teammates.
Those
teammates that
weren't in the
top 7 fed off
this positive
energy and ran
from spot to
spot on the
course to
encourage and
support their
racing
teammates.
We always say
the the best
team will
win. And
by this we
mean the most
supportive
team.
Our team has
really bonded
this summer
and fall like
we haven't
seen in
years.
Their bond and
love for each
other really
took our team
to an amazing
place at the
State meet.
Matthew Sims
finished 4th
in the flight
1 race running
the race of
his
life.
In the second
flight, Hayden
Grotelueschen
and Taylor Fan
ran the #4-5
runner
race.
Hayden and
Taylor
followed the
example of Joe
and Matthew by
also getting
towards the
lead of the
race right at
the
start.
This created
quite the
excitement for
the cheering
teammates and
parents.
They could see
that our
runners were
setting
themselves up
for a chance
to do well as
a team.
Hayden and
Taylor often
ran side by
side for much
of the race in
the lead
pack.
They were
beating some
of the highest
ranked teams
in the State
and looked
super
confident
while doing
it. Our
cheering
teammates kept
hearing other
teams ask who
our team was
as it
surprised them
to see our
runners up so
high. In
the end of the
flight 2 race,
Hayden placed
3rd and close
behind him
Taylor placed
7th.
Typically in a
cross country
meet you can't
see how the
race is
developing in
terms of the
team score
until the race
is over.
With the
flighted
races, we were
able to see
that our team
had already
set themselves
up for a
chance to be
one of the top
teams with our
first 4
runners.
This helped
give
confidence
to our
final 3
runners.
In the third
flight, Joseph
Scheele and
Jonah Singer
ran in the
#2-3 runner
race.
Once again
both runners
put themselves
in the top
pack from the
start.
They ran with
such
determination.
They fought
hard for their
cheering
teammates and
parents.
In the end
Joseph placed
6th in the
flight and
Jonah placed
19th.
Both of our
runners had
placed ahead
of some of the
top runners
from the best
teams in the
State.
In the final
race of the
day, Kyle
Nofziger
represented
our team
well. He
continued the
trend of our
team for the
day by going
out with the
lead pack and
fighting to
stay in it
throughout the
race. He
finished 14th
in the
flight.
After all the
results from
the four
flights were
combined
Joseph Scheele
placed 27th
and Kyle
Nofziger 18th
overall.
The top 25 are
given
All-State
honors.
Kyle earned
All-State
while Joseph
just missed it
by 4
seconds.
We had to wait
about 45
minutes for
the team
results.
We found out
the team
placed 2nd.
The runners
(both those
that were in
the top 7 and
those that
weren't)
really
represented
our team and
long term
program so
well.
They continued
to improve
throughout the
season and
finished
strong.
Without
bragging about
our team, last
year our
program was
recognized as
the best AA
team of the
past 5 years
and of the
past
decade.
This was quite
an honor for
all the alumni
runners and
alumni parents
who had
invested so
much into the
xc
program.
They had won 4
trophies at
State in the
last
decade.
This current
team took us
back to that
level in this
new
decade.
They gave our
team the 5th
top 2 finish
at State in
the past 7
years.
They
represented
the alumni
well.
I am so proud
of our
runners.
I am so
grateful to
the current
and past xc
parents for
all their
support in
helping build
this program
to a top
program in the
State. I
am
appreciative
of all the
alumni that
sacrificed so
much to build
this program
so that our
current
runners
believe they
can achieve
high results
as well.
And I know
that our
assistant
coaches Brian
Butcher and
Andrew Walmer
were a major
part in
getting our
current
runners to
place so high
this year by
bridging the
gap from the
last decade to
this decade.
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