Ryan Todd places third at State meet
BY AARON OTTIS
SPORTS EDITOR
PEORIA – Ryan Todd cemented his place in Jersey Community High School’s history Saturday.

Last week at the Centralia Sectional, Todd and teammate Jeff Wooldridge became the first boys ever to qualify for the IHSA State meet.

Todd added to the lore Saturday at Detweiller Park by finishing in third place overall in Class AA. That finish made him the fastest cross country runner in the history of the JCHS program which began around 1958.

His time of 15:05 makes him the fastest Class AA runner south of Interstate 80, and since he is only a junior, marks him as the guy to beat in 2009.

Todd said he knew before that race that getting out of the box fast could lead to a good finish.

“That was key to my strategy for the race,” Todd said. “It was probably the most important thing for me to do.”

Both Todd and Wooldridge broke to the front of the pack, and remained on the outside during the first corner. Todd then moved to position himself with the race leaders, giving himself a chance to finish in the top 25.

“That first mile, pretty much everybody was clumped together,” Todd said. “After that, the top six runners or so started breaking away from the main group.”

Todd remained in contact with that front group, and the handful of runners traded positions over the next mile. But he knew that he had to make a move if he was going to finish in a better position.

“We went through the woods, and we went through that back stretch that they call the triangle, that is when I knew I had to move up,” Todd said. “I was in about eighth place and I knew I had to move. I pushed myself up to about fourth and just wanted to hold on for the last half-mile.”

Todd actually went so far as to overtake the leader and run out front for about 10 seconds after the second-mile mark.

“I had decided that I was going to really start pushing it at the two-mile mark,” Todd said. “I didn’t slow down, I kept pushing, but the guys that I passed sped up after I started pushing the group. I talked to Tim Hird (Rock Island, the eventual champion), and he said that I made him nervous whenever I passed him on that part.”

Coming down the final stretch, Todd made one last move to take third place. He broke away from Mark Phillips (West Chicago) and gave himself a nice cushion to secure the third place medal.

“To tell you the truth, I am still in shock with how well I did,” Todd said. “I am proud to represent the school in such a way, and proud to represent myself in such a way. (The historical significance) is starting to sink in, and it feels pretty good.”

Wooldridge, though, struggled with an asthma attack late in the race, which forced him to drop off pace and out of an All-State finish. He finished 62nd at 16:02.

“I was happy with my position after the start,” Wooldridge said. “I was hoping to stay towards the front, then make a move at the two-mile mark to finish in the top-25. It just didn’t work out that way.”

The asthma kicked in just when Wooldridge wanted to make his move.

“The cold was the big factor,” he explained. “It was almost too cold for me. The race was just bad after that. I fell apart.”

Wooldridge finished the race, but collapsed in the chute and was moved to medical tent for about 20 minutes before being released.