GRANITE CITY – On a warm, very muggy first day of September, the Southwestern Cross Country Birds participated in the Granite City Invitational. Southwestern head coach Gary Bowker said he was pleased with how his team fared with the “Big Boys” gathered at Wilson Park.
The 3.0-mile course was flat, but the competition was fierce, Coach Bowker said.
“Large schools from as far away as Chatham Glenwood, Missouri schools from St. Louis, SWC powers Edwardsville, Belleville, Granite City, Alton, and East St. Louis were just a few of the teams who gathered at Wilson Park,” Bowker said.
In the girls’ race, Laina Wilderman placed 97th in a field of 186. Her time was a commendable 22:25, Bowker said. She was followed by Mackenzie Conlee, who turned in a time of 26:40 while placing 165th. Andrea Gwillim was four places back, crossing the finish line at 27:30. Next came Allison Brown (29:14), Emma Brandon (30:34), and Allie Helling (31:40).
In the boys’ race, Caden Bohn placed 79th in a field of 215. Bohn toured the course in a time of 17:38, averaging 5:50 per mile in the heat and humidity. Derek Watson ran a very steady race from start to finish, coming in 168th with a time of 19:53, Bowker said. Sam Edwards, a freshman from Bunker Hill, completed his first high school cross country race in a solid time of 21:19.
