LPHS cross country team ends at state
LPHS Cross Country ends season at State
The LPHS boy’s cross country team and sophomore Lila Gillisse qualified for the 2022 State championship in Terre Haute.
The boys’ team placed 19th as a whole and earned 444 points. The Slicers’ top finisher was junior Brayden Sobecki who placed 59th with a time of 16:25.3. Senior Jay Pilliai placed 81st with a time of 16:38.3. Sophomore Hunter Quadlin placed 130th with a time of 17:15.9. Junior Preston Peterson placed 162th with a time of 17:37.3. Senior Stephen Klimczak placed 171st with a time of 17:47.7. Sophomore Liam Lily placed 171st with a time of 17:50.8. Sophomore Charles Tonagel placed 173rd with a time of 17:51.8.
The Slicer team will say goodbye to seniors Pillai and Klimczak.
Pillai started out running in middle school and hasn’t stopped since. This season, he set for himself to break 16 minutes and get the team to State again. His motivation for this year was to keep the legacy of past LPXC success. He achieved this by training hard for the post season and running 60 miles over the summer and fall. He is going to miss all the team meals and running with teammates.
“This season was a roller coaster but ended up going very well because the team had the mentality of winners and never settled even when things weren’t going the way we planned it out,” Pilliai said.
Klimczak started when he was in 7th grade, and he didn’t think that he would be running still. He moved to LPHS his junior year and made an immediate impact. The season was long but successful in his eyes. His big motivation was just trying to have a fun season and continue the legacy from past years.
“This year I really tried to detach myself from the time on the clock and focus on the place I was in during the race. I think I was effective in that goal,” Klimczak said.
While the girls’ team did not qualify for State, senior Tatum Bumgardner and sophomores Gillisse and Faith Spain qualified for Semi-State. Gillisse finished 5th at Semi-State and qualified for State, finishing 41st with a time of 19:17.1.
“My season started out rough because I couldn’t compete the entire regular season because of my injury, but I was able to accomplish my goal of running DAC and continuing on through State,” Gillisse said.
Gillisse’s tough start did not deter her from her goals. When she was injured, she didn’t stop training. She did cross-training, swimming, and other activities to help keep her endurance up. After an 8th place finish at the track State finals as a freshman, Gillisse showed why she is one of the area’s best.
Senior standout Brenna Sobecki wasn’t able to run past Sectionals, where she placed 3rd, due to a stress fracture. Sobecki was All-Sectional and All-Conference and qualified for State last year.
With a successful cross country season behind them, the LPHS distance crew has their eyes set on the spring track and field season.