Scenes from the Suburban Parochial League Championship Cross Country Meet

Visitation and Immaculate Conception grade schools go way back as cross-town rivals in sports. But in 2007, the two schools combined forces for cross country.

Last weekend (Sept. 29), the team had many accomplishments at the Suburban Parochial League Cross Country Championships in Lombard. The league consists of 26 schools from the western suburbs, with runners in grades five through eight.

The Cross-Town Crew, Visitation/IC, had a very successful 2012 season leading up to the championships. The annual pasta party celebration to end the regular season included all 49 team members, their families, head coach Mary Clare Sullivan and assistants Quentin Sullivan and Mark Montgomery. Legendary Coach Joe Newton and Coach/master runner Charlie Kern were honorary guests. Coach Newton lent words of wisdom and motivation on the eve of the SPL Championship meet.

At the Championship Sept. 29, Grace Moriarty won the fifth-grade girls race, tying a league record by finishing the mile in 6:18. As a team, the eighth-grade boys took first in the championship meet, after coming in first place at every meet during the season.

The seventh-grade boys came in second place at the championship—and at every meet. The fifth-grade boys earned sixth place as a team, and the combined scores of the fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade boys put them in second place overall for the season.

The girls’ team had many successes throughout the season, including a number of personal records at the championship meet.

The program has been a big success—promoting sportsmanship, teamwork and friendship among kids who otherwise compete against one other in other sports.