The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams traveled to Proviso West High School to compete in the conference tournament Oct. 14. The girls’ team finished in second place at the freshman, JV, and varsity levels, and the boys’ team finished first at all four levels for the first time in program history.
The girls’ varsity team finished behind number-one-ranked York. Despite the fierce competition, five of seven runners finished in the top 20. Junior Alayna Todnem, sophomore Lily Eddington, and junior Ava Gilley earned all-conference honors after finishing in fifth, sixth, and seventh place.
“I think our team had a good race but it wasn’t our best. We had a couple of runners out but we should continue to improve over the next couple of weeks,” Eddington said.
In the boys’ varsity race, the Trojans dominated, beating LT by 19 points. All seven runners finished in the top 20 and were led by sophomore Phillip Cupial, who set a PR and finished the race in second place overall. Junior Grant Schroder, senior Ryan Eddington, sophomore Will Surratt, and senior Isaac Moss also earned all-conference honors after finishing in fifth, sixth, ninth, and fifteenth place.
“I was focused the whole race and my coaches kept me motivated,” Cupial said. “That performance meant a lot to me but now we have to shift our focus to regionals.”
The girls’ team finished with 15 all-conference athletes and the boys’ team finished with 24, adding to their already impressive seasons. Both teams will begin the postseason Oct. 21, traveling to LT for Regionals.
