Normal West cross country has finished up its regular season and will now look to the post-season to carry over their successes.
Wildcat Cross Country has shown much growth from the start of the season until now.
Head Coach Chad Aubin, in his ninth year as coach at West, is optimistic and excited to see what his runners could do in their regional meet in Minooka tomorrow, October 26.
“At the beginning of each season, you have an idea of where your athletes could get to (…). I think we blew [the Big 12 Conference championships] out of the water, and I think both teams are maybe running a little bit better, and overall more successfully than what I had thought,” Aubin states about the growth.
The team is in stride and hoping for an impressive and memorable state-run.
The Wildcats will travel to Minooka High School for their Regional invite tomorrow, Saturday, October 26.
Following the Regional, whoever qualifies will go to the Sectional invite here in Normal at Maxwell Park on November 2.
From there, the qualified state runners will head to Detweiller Park in Peoria on November 9.
For the boy’s team, the runners that are most expected to get to the state meet in Peoria are Senior Zeke Rice who’s been dominant the whole year for the Wildcats, medaling in a lot of meets this season.
“It’s a good sign … because you know you’re one of the best runners in the state,” Aubin adds.
Zeke has shown leadership throughout the year being a positive
role model and teaching underclassmen through workouts and practices while also being an elite runner.
Normal West Girls Cross Country has been succeeding all year, as well, despite falling short of qualifying for state as a team by only one spot during last year’s sectional meet.
This year the team is led by Juniors Julie Bach, Renee Warren, Amanda Warren, and Makayla Jackson as well as Sophomore Abigail Jackson, who are all currently making a push for state.
The girl’s team this year has seemed to get the “injury bug,” battling through the injuries, and being able to get the runners in tip-top shape has been key for their successes this year.
The girl’s team also ran in the big mid-season Detweiller invite which saw both Warrens, as well as Bach medal in a highly competitive race.
The girls were also named the Big 12 Conference champions this season.
Aubin attributes both team’s successes and drives to senior leadership from Johnnie Behrends, Zeke Rice, and Stella Pabst.
“We’re probably the ‘freakiest’ team in the state,” Zeke Rice said about the atmosphere on race day.
Coach Aubin confirmed these comments saying, “If ‘freaky’ means the readiness to win and compete and do well, then we’re definitely the ‘freakiest’ team in the state.”
The Wildcats will have their regional meet in Minooka on Saturday, October 26th at 10 am.
