No tricks, all treats for SIRR in near sweep at Althoff

Posted By: dkinnard
November 1, 2020 @ 6:00 am
Benton, Carmi-White County, CORL, Cross Country, Du Quoin, Hamilton County, Massac County, Pinckneyville, Slider

Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

SWANSEA — When trying to figure out how to proceed with a season during the pandemic, the Southern Illinois River to River schools decided to almost exclusively schedule inside the conference during the regular season.

Turns out, that was great preparation for the postseason as SIRR schools swept the Althoff 1A Sectional team titles, Massac County’s Ansley Bailey was the medalist on the girls side, while SIRR runners finished 2-5 on the boys side.

Massac County’s Ansley Bailey celebrates as she heads toward the finish line at Althoff 1A Sectional.

Once again, the races were flighted to limit the number of runners competing together. Bailey bolted to the lead right off the start and closed out her career in style. The SIU commit won by 41 seconds with a time of 18:39.

The Du Quoin Lady Indians won the Althoff Girls 1A Sectional championship.

Du Quoin, Benton and Hamilton County battled for the team title. The Lady Indians put five in the top 28 to take the tile. Olivia Phillips third place finish led the way for Du Quoin with Jacqueline Crain (9th) and Kallie Oestreicher (14th) each winning their heats and moving up in the standings.

Hamilton County edged Benton for third. Pincknevyille finished fourth, and Freeburg was fifth.

Wesclin’s Justin Mumford heads toward the finish line at the Althoff 1A Sectional.

On the boys side, Wesclin’s Justin Mumford set a blistering pace, and cruised to a 37 second victory with a time of 15:19. Benton freshman Gavin Genisio also broke 16:00 to finish second, just ahead of teammate Reece Johnson. Pinckneyville freshman Issac Teel edged Du Quoin’s Landen Swiney for fourth. Carmi-White County senior Ty Barbre was sixth followed by Christ Our Rock Lutheran’s Zach McKowen.

The Benton Rangers won the Althoff Boys 1A Sectional championship.

Benton and Pinckneyville battled for the team title. The Rangers put five in the top 25 to win the title. The Panthers wound up second followed by Freeburg and Althoff. Du Quoin won a tiebreaker with Wesclin for fifth.

With no state meet due to the pandemic, this marked the end of the cross country season and fall sports competitions.

Finals Results:
Girls Team
Du Quoin 53
Hamilton Co. 88
Benton 90
Pinckneyville 123
Freeburg 128
Breese Central 145
Mater Dei 166
Althoff Catholic 169
Red Bud 262
Nashville 272
Murphysboro 286
Carterville 288
Anna-Jonesboro 308
West Frankfort 377
Fairfield 464

Girls Individuals
1) Ansley Bailey, Massac Co. 18:39
2) Kristen Ess, Breese Central 19:20
3) Olivia Phillips, Du Quoin 19:38
4) Julia O’Neill, Althoff 19:52
5) Mia Wills, Benton 19:56
6) Sarah McKowen, CORL 20:06
7) Hailey Wallace, Benton 20:15
8) Eris Nelson, Althoff 20:24
9) Jacqueline Crain, Du Quoin 20:24
10)Maddie Karcher, Hamilton Co. 20:26

Boys Team
Benton 63
Pinckneyville 78
Freeburg 101
Althoff Catholic 160
Du Quoin 163*
Wesclin 163
Steeleville 179
Mater Dei 187
Christ Our Rock Lutheran 200
Anna-Jonesboro 244
Vienna 263
Nashville 307
Fairfield 309
Hamilton Co. 338
*Won tiebreaker

Boys Individuals
1) Justin Mumford, Wesclin 15:19
2) Gavin Genisio, Benton 15:56
3) Reece Johnson, Benton 16:02
4) Issac Teel, Pinckneyville 16:10
5) Landen Swiney, Du Quoin 16:11
6) Ty Barbre, Carmi-White Co. 16:20
7) Zach McKowen, CORL 16:34
8) Jack Hiller, Althoff 16:44
9) Gavin Hill, Wesclin 16:45
10)Tommy Marron, Mater Dei 16:47

Full race results are here.