For the third consecutive year, the Triad Middle School boys cross country team claimed the SIJHSAA state championship.
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On Saturday Oct. 15, the Triad boys’ team finished with a total of 34 points, giving them the state title once again. Triad beat second place Waterloo, who finished with 96 points, by 62 points to win the crown. Collinsville finished third with 141 points respectively.
This is the first time in SIJHSAA cross country state history that a team has won back-to-back to back state titles. Drake Bleier and Jefferson Bushur have been part of all three state champion teams.
Jefferson "Ross" Bushur was the individual state champion for the boys. He ran the 1.86-mile course in 9:37.0 seconds, breaking the old state course record by 13 seconds. With the win, Bushur became the first boys cross-country state champion in Triad Middle School history.
Drake Bleier placed fifth with a time of 10:31.2, Tyler Guthrie was ninth with a 10:42.3, Luke Perry was 10th with a 10:45.7, Caleb Bagwell finished 17th overall with a 10:54.4, Elliott McAtee was 27th with a 11:10.6 and Carson Dempsey placed 32nd overall finishing in 11:18.1. A total of 204 boys ran in the meet.
The Triad Middle School girls cross country team finished second with a total of 39 points. They beat third place Highland who finished with 154 points but barely lost to the state champion O'Fallon Carriel girls’ team who finished with 31 points.
Sydney Hartoin was the girls’ individual state champion running a time of 11:41.2 on the 1.86-mile course. With the win, Hartoin too became the first girls cross-country state champion in Triad Middle School history.
Alyssa Kowalski came in third overall with a time of 11:46.0, Anna Keller was 10th with a 12:11.3, Haley Jackson placed 12th with a 12:16.2, Samantha Hartoin was 13th with a 12:20.4, Kailey Peterson was 14th finishing in 12:23.8 and Claire Shaft placed 41st overall with a time of 13:01.1. A total of 193 girls raced in the meet.
This marked the second straight year the boys finished first as a team in every race they competed in throughout the season.
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