Sparta senior Wade Reeves made school history Saturday by becoming the first boy to win a sectional title ever at Sparta.
Reeves ran a 16:25 to take first place at the Class 1A Metro-East Cross Country Sectional. Just eight seconds behind him, Sparta junior Jon Hill crossed the line to give the Bulldogs a 1-2 finish.
Sparta finished with 65 points, just 11 points behind sectional champions Olney East Richland with 54 points.
“Wade is the first boy to win a sectional title ever at Sparta, so the 1-2 finish with he and Jon Hill was awesome,” said Sparta coach Mark North. “We still feel that we have a chance at a trophy at state, we have run the times up there to do it.”
Following Sparta was Freeburg (141), Metro-East Lutheran (192), Carlinville (192), Columbia (199), Chester (215), Herrin (221), Marissa-Coulterville (246), Mt. Carmel (254), Carmi-White County (269), Roxana (285), Benton (316), Pinckneyville (365), Carterville (383), Hamilton County (387), East Alton-Wood River (430), Carrier Mills (441) and Murphysboro (468).
Only the top five teams advance to the state finals.
Also placing well for Sparta were Wes Bradshaw (13th), Trevor Morgan (18th), Adam White (31st), Tony Briscoe (37th) and Kenny Heaton (44th).
Advancing to the state finals as individuals were Drew Spargo of Columbia (third), Dylan Hartley of Benton (fourth), Justin Massey of Benton (seventh), Travis Thompson of Mt. Carmel (ninth), John Pirtle of Columbia (11th), Laramie Immel of Carmi-White County (14th) and Devon Valleroy (15th).
Behind Valleroy, Chester took seventh at the meet. Link Cushman took 19th overall followed by Kyle Landon (61st), Brent Knop (78th), Jonas Hofmann (88th), Zach Sternberg (100th) and Brian Hartman (130th).
The Meteors finished ninth as a team. Leading Marissa-Coulterville were Chazz Phelps (26th), Joey Martin (40th), Johnnie Coke (43rd), Clint Runyon (65th), Austin Place (72nd), Kevin Galle (79th) and Kenny Jenkins (98th).
Pinckneyville claimed 14th place. Leading the way for the Panthers were Zach Hall (52nd), Will Timpner (66th), Hunter Queen (77th), Luke Miller (81st), Coleman Choate (89th), Joey Burris (105th), and Tyler Wildermuth (106th).
On the girls side, the 1-2 finish by the Busch twins Kristen and Caitlin led Freeburg to run away with the team sectional title with 51 points. Lawrenceville took second with 127 points followed by Columbia (130), Nashville (148), Carlinville (169), Litchfield (191), Benton (213), Carterville (238), Roxana (265), Sparta (273), Pinckneyville (275), Mt. Carmel (285) Murphysboro (295), Breese Central (299), West Frankfort (331), Chester (345), Harrisburg (451) and Hamilton County (458).
Only the top five teams advance to the state finals.
Advancing to the state finals as individuals were Victoria Quarton of Litchfield (third), Kaitlyn Schutt of Benton (fourth), Mallory Bergbower of Webber (fifth), Tori Fulgham of Roxana (sixth), Joanna Bean of Carterville (seventh), Jenna Johnston of Benton (eighth), and Tyra Buss of Mt. Carmel (ninth).
The Lady Bulldogs finished in 10th place behind a 17th place finish by freshman Kelsi Wallace and the 22nd place showing by senior Kristina Wilson. Also for Sparta, Alexis Kohrs (48th), Meghan Gillison (91st), Samantha Markley (95th), and Sydney Wasson (115th).
Pinckneyville took 11th just two points behind Sparta with 275. The Lady Panthers were paced by Mo Ramsey (26th), Kiera Deford (45th), Paige Brocaille (62nd), Mallory Timpner (66th), Sarah Loos (76th), and Katrina Henson (79th).
Chester ended the race in 16th place with 345 points. Jillian Yankey took 20th and Laura Liefer claimed 31st to lead the Lady Jackets. Also for Chester, Emily Reid took 86th followed by Rachel Sheely (102nd), Hannah Knop (106th) and Courtney Johnson (114).
The state finals will be held at Detweiler Park in Peoria this Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.