Thorpe alone in qualifying for state meet

EAST PEORIA – The girls race at the Class 2A East Peoria cross country sectional was over for an hour and a half on Saturday when Evan Thorpe turned to his daughter, Haley.

“Aren’t you glad you don’t have to stand here worrying all this time?” Evan asked.

Haley nodded.

The muddy conditions at Illinois Central College played havoc with some of the timing chips in the girls race, causing a delay in the results being posted.

That left many runners wondering if they had qualified for state.

Thorpe had finished seventh overall in 20 minutes, 1 second, assuring her one of the seven individual spots.

“We set my goal to finish in the top 10, and I did that, so I am happy with the way today went,” Thorpe said. “The times weren’t going to be great because of how the course was, but it’s all about position.

“Now I am excited to go back down to state and do the best that I can.”

Thorpe’s teammate Megan Burger wasn’t so lucky. Burger finished in 21st in 20:40.

As it turned out, Burger was the first individual runner to miss out on qualifying.

The Duchesses, who qualified for the meet as a team, ended up only using four runners, one short of a full squad. Liz Hilliard and Tiara Sondgeroth were both unable to run due to injuries.

The Duchesses were ranked third in Class 2A by dyestatil.com coming into the season, but injuries decimated the squad.

Sterling finished 12th with 343 points. Senior Carissa Apperson had her best showing at a sectional, placing 45th in 21:19.

“I placed so much higher than I thought I would,” Apperson said. “The mud started weighing down my shoes early and I couldn’t get much grip.”

It was the final run for Apperson and teammate Mary Rose Dukelow (112th, 23:16).

“Making it here meant a lot to us with it being our senior year,” Apperson said. “I thought it was going to be more fun running in the mud, but my muscles cramped up early and that made it hurt more than anything else.”