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Boys Cross Country

TUSCOLA — Senior Malcolm Taylor and junior Nathan Smith ran just three seconds apart to place third and fourth overall in Saturday's Tuscola Classic, leading Uni High to a decisive victory over some of the best teams in the area.

Scoring just 38 points, the Uni team was more than 54 points ahead of the closest competitor, Shelbyville. Heading into the meet, Shelbyville was ranked No. 7 in Class 1A by Dyestat Illinois, while Uni was No. 9.

The boys varsity team showed an impressive split time, with the first and fifth runners coming in only 43 seconds apart. In cross country, the top five runners on each team contribute to the total team score, so a good 1-5 split is vitally important. All five runners placed in the top 25.

Although the course was a 5K (3.1 miles, compared to the official cross country race length of three miles), both Taylor and Smith finished with times just over 17 minutes.

Smith continues to improve, running this race in 17:09, or 23 seconds faster than he did at the Peoria Woodruff Invitational (17:32), which is the regulation length of three miles.

This is the third race that Taylor has run since recovering from a respiratory illness. He also improved, finishing with a time of 17:06, compared to his time of 17:30 at the team's home meet last week.

Also finishing in the top 10 were sophomores Albert Anastasio (ninth, 17:16) and Buck Walsh (10th, 17:18).

Last year Uni placed sixth out of 14 scoring teams. At that meet, Taylor didn't compete but Smith ran 17:40 to finish 22nd.

Next up: The boys will participate in the Monticello Quad Meet on Tuesday.

Team Results

1. University High – 38 points
2. Shelbyville – 92 points
3. Monticello – 101 points
4. Cumberland – 118 points
5. Decatur St. Teresa – 146 points
6. Unity – 171 points
7. Tri-Valley – 197 points
8. Effingham St. Anthony – 198 points
9. Lebanon – 205 points
10. Neoga – 273
11. Sullivan – 274
12. Villa Grove – 298
13. Prairie Central – 338
14. Central A&M – 357
15. Judah Christian – 372
16. St. Thomas More – 428

BOYS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP 10)

1. Alan Hollingsworth – 16:30 (Monticello) – [3MC: 15:58]
2. Brice Dodds – 16:52 (Unity) – [3MC: 16:19]
3. Malcolm Taylor – 17:06 (UNI HIGH) – [3MC: 16:32]
4. Nathan Smith – 17:09 (UNI HIGH) – [3MC: 16:35]
5. Taylor Johnson – 17:09 (Lebanon) – [3MC: 16:35]
6. Clayton Baker – 17:11 (Shelbyville) – [3MC: 16:37]
7. Ryan Brown – 17:12 (Shelbyville) – [3MC: 16:38]
8. Dylan Scott – 17:16 (Cumberland) – [3MC: 16:42]
9. Albert Anastasio – 17:16 (UNI HIGH) – [3MC: 16:42]
10. Buck Walsh – 17:18 (UNI HIGH) – [3MC: 16:44]

Note: 3MC = Three-mile conversion and represents the projected race times if the race were three miles.

Girls Cross Country

TUSCOLA — Junior Elizabeth Russell ran the flat, grassy 3.1-mile Wimple Park course in 20 minutes, 56 seconds to finish as the top runner from the Uni girls team on Saturday, placing eighth overall.

Uni also placed eighth out of 13 scoring teams, with 177 points total. Last year, the girls won the meet with a score of 39 points.

Although the Illineks' score did not improve from 2007, this year's Tuscola meet demonstrated a remarkable improvement in some of Uni's individual runners.

Senior Elaine Gu did not run, but all five of Uni's participating athletes had exceptional races. Junior Katherine Allen, who placed 33rd (22:55), improved about 34 seconds from her time in the Twin City Championship.

Junior Brittany Scheid broke her personal record by more than 30 seconds, and freshman Shruti Vaidya broke hers by 45. Vaidya finished with a time of 24:09.

The girls will compete Tuesday in the Monticello Quad Meet.

Team Results

1. Decatur St. Teresa – 65 points
2. Shelbyville – 77 points
3. Effingham St. Anthony – 96 points
4. Central A&M – 126 points
5. Monticello – 128 points
6. Villa Grove – 157 points
7. Tri-Valley – 162 points
8. University High – 177 points
9. Unity – 192 points
10. Maroa-Forsyth – 202 points
11. Sullivan – 274
12. St. Thomas More –330
13. Prairie Central – 330

Uni Girls Individual Results

• 8. Elizabeth Russell, 20:56.9
• 33. Katherine Allen, 22:55.4
• 50. Maddy Levin, 23:35.0
• 54. Brittany Scheid, 23:51.0
• 56. Shruti Vaidya, 24:09.5