The annual Sparta Cross Country Invitational held Saturday near the municipal pool, turned out to be a showdown between the host Bulldogs and Freeburg.
Sparta took first place in the boys race, beating Freeburg by 27 points, while the Freeburg girls, ranked first in the state, took first place beating Sparta by 28 points.
Sparta won the boys race, despite being without top runner Wade Reeves. Reeves took the race off due to a minor injury.
It was Sparta’s depth that proved to be the difference as the Bulldogs placed three runners in the top 12 and three more in the top 19.
For Sparta, Jon Hill placed third in 17:23, followed by Trevor Morgan seventh (17:39) and Wes Bradshaw ninth (17:43). Adam White (13th) and Chris Theobald (15th) rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs.
In the girls race, Freeburg behind the Busch twins placed five runners in the top 10.
Sparta battled it out to claim second place as they had all five runners place in the top 16.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Aleigh Eggemeyer led the way, placing fourth in 20:00. Melyssa Bradshaw (11th), Kristina Wilson (12th), Jackie Robinson (13th) and Kortney Stefani (16th) rounded out the team’s scoring.
Team results for the boys were Sparta (47), Freeburg (74), Marissa-Coulterville (82), Pinckneyville (111), Waterloo (132), New Athens (157), Chester (168), Steeleville (207), Gibault (217), Breese Central (269), and Okawville (303).
Team results for the girls were Freeburg (23), Sparta (51), Waterloo (60), Pinckneyville (120), Okawville (165), Chester (168), Marissa-Coulterville (173), Breese Central (177), and Gibault (206).