St. Peter 7/8th Team Wins Conference, Sarah Woodford Conference Champion

Late October can bring challenging weather to those competing in an outdoor cross country race but Mother Nature held her fury at bay as the St. Peter 7/8th grade Cross Country team closed the door on a successful 2013 season with a dominant win at the Tri-County Conference Championship meet Tuesday evening. As the sun set in Syller Park in Hampshire, the St. Peter runners placed six in the top 10 beating 2nd place St. Catherine of West Dundee by a score of 27-66. The 7/8th grade girls individual conference champion was none other than IESA All State runner Sarah Woodford (8th grade) who led the way for the St. Peter girls who finished in the top 7 spots for the girls. All 8 St. Peter girls finished in the top 10 of the girls race earning All Conference awards. Eighth grader Sam McEnery led the St. Peter boys with a 2nd place finish. The boys placed 4 runners in the top 10 including McEnery.

The talented 5/6th grade team from St. Mary Sycamore who placed runners in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place proved too much for the St. Peter runners as they beat the Rockets by a score of 25-51. St. Catherine's 5/6th graders were a close 3rd with 66 points. It was a strong effort by St. Peter as many runners recorded personal best times and placed three runners in the top 10 including team leader 6th grader Aden Morvice who finished in 6th place overall. Six St. Peter runners earned the top 10 All Conference designation. This was St. Mary's first Tri-County Conference title ever and the first time that St. Peter placed second at the conference championship meet in over 8 years.

The following St. Peter athletes earned All Conference individual awards Tuesday night. 7/8th grade girls: 1st place Sarah Woodford (8th grade), 2nd place Toriana Turk (8th grade), 3rd place Rachel Tork (8th grade), 4th place Caroline Zimmer (7th grade), 5th place Therese Hein (8th grade), 6th place Megan Cahill (7th grade), 7th place Anna Burke (8th grade) and 9th place Abageal Phelan (8th grade). 7/8th grade boys: 2nd place Sam McEnery (8th grade), 6th place Will Klaus (7th grade), 7th place Joe Mullaghy (7th grade) and 8th place Lukas Metzger (8th grade). 5/6th grade girls: 5th place Isabelle Koester (6th grade) and 6th place Mary Tork (5th grade). 5/6th grade boys: 5th place Aden Morvice (6th grade), 7th place Ben Robertson (5th grade), 9th place Sam Barton (6th grade) and 10th place Aaron Beck (6th grade).

The meet wrapped up St. Peter's successful 2013 cross country season which saw the girls team place 2nd in the IESA Class 1A State Cross Country Championship Meet and the 7/8th grade team dominate the Tri-County Conference with four consecutive conference wins.