Two area team championships and numerous area runners finishing just seconds off the winning pace highlighted Saturday’s full lineup of sectional cross country action. Here’s how the region’s top runners fared ahead of next weekend’s state meet:

Boys’ cross-country

Class 2A Richland County Sectional

Mahomet-Seymour is competing as a team for the first time since 2021. The Bulldogs finished the competition at Olney Central College ranked second overall, just eight ranking points behind Highland. Henry McMurry led the team to fourth place individually with a time of 15 minutes, 22.75 seconds. Auguste Gaudio And Kaleb Kasper were not far behind, respectively 17th (15:52.86) and 23rd (16:00.69). Central Champaign Caleb Mathias led all area runners with a second-place finish in 15:02.22, less than five seconds behind first, leading the Maroons to an 11th-place finish. Jacob Riley was Central’s second runner in 34th place (16:14.34). Urbana took 16th place, with Mohammed Amrani placing 31st (16:08.57).

Class 1A Cumberland Sectional

Regional teams took the top four spots at Lake Land College to qualify for state. La Salette followed its regional title with a sectional championship, winning by a comfortable 55 placement points. John Brauner led the winning effort in fifth (15:38.9), and Marco Cruz was 20th (16:14.2). Cerro Gordo/Bement’s Will Fusion and that of Sullivan John Iacobazzi were the best in the sector, third and fourth respectively, with times of 15:22.0 and 15:32.7. St. Joseph-Ogden and Uni High tied for second in the team competition. Jack Fisher led the Spartans in sixth place (15:42.6), and Ross Kimme led the Illineks to 13th place (15:59.6). that of Monticello River derby placed eighth in 15:52.8, Tuscola’s David Hornaday finished 11th (15:57.1), Villa Grove’s Kurt Zimmermann took 15th place (16:01.8) and Heritage’s Clark Roland was 19th (16:13.2).

Class 1A Elmwood Sectional

After her dominant regional championship, Clinton finished sixth in sections at Maple Lane Country Club and will head to state. Cayden Bostic was the Maroons’ top finisher in 16th place with a time of 15:54.67. Right behind was Prairie Central’s Griffin Tredennick in 24th (16:11.04).

Lisle Class 1A Sectional

Drew McTaggart was the only Watseka Warrior, as well as the region’s only runner, in the Lisle Community Park field, and he distinguished himself with an 18th place finish in 17:07.1.

In girls’ cross country

Class 2A Richland County Sectional

Mahomet-Seymour’s fourth-place finish and Centennial’s sixth-place finish qualified both teams for state. As she seemingly has done all season, Farah Scott was the Chargers’ fastest zone runner, fifth individually at 18 minutes, 29.06 seconds. The Bulldogs were in the lead Emilie Anand in 12th grade (18:47.99) and Cécile Smith in 19th (18:59.72). from Urbana Marley Yau also stood out in the region, crossing the finish line in 25th position with a time of 19:18.66. Unity took fourth as a team, led by Camden Fairbanks in 16th (16:03.0).

Class 1A Cumberland Sectional

Reigning All-Area Runner of the Year Kate Foltz of Tuscola almost caught up with St. Anthony’s Isabelle Kellerlast year’s 1A champion who is dominating the competition to begin her high school career. Foltz’s runner-up time of 16:36.7 was just 1.7 seconds behind Keller, setting up a top-of-the-pack battle at State. Speaking of state championships, Unity looks poised to win a fourth straight title after winning the sectional by 47 placement points. Emilie Decker (fifth, 17:41.5), Mackenzie’s book (ninth, 18:23.3) and Ashlyn Denney (14th, 19:22.4) all finished in the top 20 for the Rockets. Other area teams advancing to state are St. Joseph-Ogden in third, Paxton-Buckley-Loda in sixth and Monticello in seventh. Savannah Franzen led the Spartans in seventh place (18:01.0), with Grace Bressner taking 10th (18:27.0) and Tessa Walker placing 15th (19:26.8). The Panthers were in the lead Audrey McCoy in 18th (19:34.7) and Kyla Franckey in 20th (19:43.0). The fisherman Ellie Emberson finished 12th in 19:05.4, Oakwood/Salt Fork’s Callie Richardson finished 13th (19:09.5) and Uni High’s Clara KnutsonThis one was 17th (19:34.7).

Class 1A Elmwood Sectional

Aubrey Peterson Clinton was just five seconds away from winning an individual sectional title, with her time of 17:55.37 earning her second place and the Maroons an eighth place team finish.