Wendell, Todd and Pace win classes at EAWR
BY AARON OTTIS
SPORTS EDITOR
WOOD RIVER – The Jersey Community High School cross country team took advantage of a unique racing format Saturday at the East Alton-Wood River High Cross Country Invitational held at Belk Park.

The meet is the only race all season that splits runners into four divisions by class. Jersey jumped at the chance to collect some hardware. The Panthers squad had three representatives at the top of the podium, and had over half the team medal. Ryan Todd won the Junior Division, while Troy Pace was first in the Sophomore Division and freshman Kathleen Wendell also won.

It wasn’t the first time that Wendell has finished first for the Lady Panthers – she has been Jersey’s top finisher in every race this season -- but it was the first high school race that Wendell has ever won. She completed the course in 21:14, some 20 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor.

Ryan Todd finished his race with a ‘thud’ as he collapsed shortly after crossing the finish line. Todd, who only recently broke into the sub-16 minute range for three miles, had set his mind on running under 15 minutes at Wood River. He won his race in 15 minutes, 51 seconds.

“It didn’t go as well as I had planned,” Todd said. “I didn’t really have anybody around me to give me any sort of push. I passed every one within the first mile. After that, I was on my own. The course was pretty rough, and the humidity made it tough to breathe.”

Still, Todd completed the course 68 seconds faster than the nearest runner.

Sophomore Troy Pace, who has been a solid No. 3 runner for the Panthers squad, beat his field by 30 seconds to win at 16 minutes, 29 seconds.

Jersey’s fastest individual performance came from Jeff Wooldridge, who won second place in the Senior Division. Wooldridge finished the course in 15:35. He ran almost all of the race neck-and-neck with Collinsville’s Josh Lewis, but was beat out in the final 150 meters. Lewis stumbled coming down a short embankment before the final turn, and Wooldridge moved quickly to his outside. Lewis then forced Wooldridge to take a wide turn, and took advantage of the extra stride that Wooldridge needed to catch up after the corner.

“It was really hot by the time the Senior race started,” Wooldridge said. “I didn’t feel too bad until we got into the race. I just thought I could get him at the end. When he came down the hill and kind of fell, I though I had him. I moved up next to him, but he just had a better kick than me.”

Greta Meisner was fifth for the girls in the Sophomore race. Her time was 21:46, and Kaite Boucher had a strong showing in the Senior race with her fourth place finish at 22:42. Sarah Allen took sixth place.

Dan Wendell finished sixth in the Sophomore race, and Xane Peters was eighth in the Freshman run.

The Jersey teams will travel to Mascoutah for the Mississippi Valley Conference race Thursday.

Coach Larry Foster, who said last week that he was impressed with how the girls had been closing the gap between the first and fifth runner, is hoping his team will have a good race.

“Hopefully, everyone will PR, to begin with,” Foster said. “I’d like to see the girls run as a pack during the early stages of the race, maintain and finish just as well as they can. For us to do well in the team standings, we need our fourth and fifth runner to finish as close as possible to our top three.”

If recent races are any indication, it is fair to expect Kathleen Wendell as the top Jersey runner, with Meisner close behind. Boucher is the likely No. 3, and she should finish within a minute of Wendell. It’s up to Sarah Allen, Veronica Coyte-Webster and Ann Bridgewater for the Nos. 4 and 5 spots. All three have been improving steadily during the last few weeks.

On the boy’s side, Wooldridge and Todd are expecting to battle each other for MVC champ. Pace should be the third Panthers runner to cross the finish line. The team is counting on Erick Requadt, Dan Wendell, Xane Peters and Brendan Kimble to round out the score.

“It all depends on our four and five guys,” Coach Harold Landon said Tuesday. “I think that we have the top two runners in the conference, and Troy should also be All-Conference. The team place all depends on where those four and five runners are. Wendell has been bringing his times down. I would really like to see him break 19 minutes. The other three are going to be battling it out for that final spot.”