PHOTOS: Deerfield High School Cross Country Teams Compete at IHSA State Finals

Photos and article submitted to Patch by Mimi Noonan.

For the second year in a row, the Deerfield High School boys and girls cross country teams competed at the State Finals at Detweiler Park in Peoria. Qualifying as a team is an enormous accomplishment in our competitive state, last year was the first time the Deerfield girl’s team had ever made the cut. The Deerfield boys team ended a 34-year drought by qualifying as a team in 2012, and they qualified last year as well. Considering the torrential rain and muddy conditions at the Regional competition last weekend, these team’s commitment to making a trip to the state meet a yearly tradition is obvious.

The weather was perfect for racing, and many records were broken in the most competitive state meet in a number of years. This year’s girls team was lead by sophomore Kelley Osborn, who finished 29th overall in 18:12 over the 3 mile course. She was followed by sophomore Izzy Kanter (19:39), sophomore Molly Segall (19:42), senior Jordyn Jensen (20:22), junior Jessica Fisher (20:33), senior Payton Sassano (20:47), and senior Jesse Holloway (21:02). The team finished 22nd out of the 25 stellar teams who made it to the finals this year.

The boys team was lead by sophomore Matthew Gold (15:47), followed by senior Davey Bickmore (15:50), junior Robby Winter 16:03, sophomore Henry Shore (16:12), sophomore Ben Wolfe (16:14), and juniors Justin Lew (16:25) and Brett Schneider (16:26). The boy’s team finished 14th overall. The team has a new coaching staff this year, after Jeremy Kauffman and Kip Gasper’s retirement last year. Head coach Tim Brodeur had some huge shoes to fill and he stepped up with the help of assistant coaches Scott Friedlander and Tim Larson.

Both teams have a lot of young talent with the girls top seven graduating two seniors (Jordyn Jensen and Payton Sassano) and the boys just one (Davey Bickmore). This bodes well for a traditional presence of Deerfield High School on the line at Detweiler Park if the remaining teammates continue to train focused on this goal.