On Saturday, November 9 at Detweiler Park in Peoria, IL, Normal West runners Renee Warren, Amanda Warren and Julie Bach, along with Zeke Rice, for the boys team, competed in the highly anticipated and competitive IHSA state race.
It was a rainy and muddy course for the Wildcat runners, but there were zero signs of them slowing down.
In fact, all Wildcat runners had personal bests.
In Zeke Rice’s final race as a Wildcat, he ran a 15:13 and placed in the top 100 in a very competitive 3A field.
“My last race was great and was icing on the cake for just a solid year of running,” Rice exclaimed.
For the ladies, Junior Renee Warren led with an impressive 31st place finish and a time of 17:35.20.
“One thing we know for sure is she left it all on the course, so [we are] super proud of her super gutsy race,” Head Coach Chad Aubin said.
Junior Julie Bach also cracked the top 100 with a personal record of 18:04.70.
“It felt good to end on a high note. I’ve had a season full of ups and downs, but being able to go to state and get a season-best felt really motivating. [It] should be a great track season,” Bach added.
Junior Amanda Warren was another qualifying Wildcat, clocked an impressive PR time, herself, at 18:19.20.
“Getting a PR at state was just the cherry on top of a great season. It’s nice to know that all the hard work that you put in throughout the year pays off in the end, but I couldn’t have done it without my amazing team and coaches,” Amanda noted.
Even more impressive than these three junior runners PRing at state was that this was Normal West’s first year with the challenge of being in Class 3A, the highest class in IHSA rankings.
“Running in 3A has been a completely different experience than 2A. There’s more depth of talent and that means more competition. Moving up and running through the pack is a huge focus for all of our coaches and runners,” Warren added.
Having three of the four Wildcat runners not only place in the top 100 runners of the meet but also to get their own PRs goes to show how this “gutsy,” “freaky,” “locked in,” an “adaptable” team has carried themselves to perform at a high level all season throughout their trials and tribulations.
Many of these fast cats will continue running in the spring for Track and Field, where they hope to continue their dominance.
