NORMAL - The Maryville Christian Middle School cross country teams made a strong showing at the Southern Illinois Junior High School Athletic Association state championships, with the boys winning the state title and the girls finishing fourth in their first-ever trip to state. The boys and girls squads competed against top schools from across the state in the Class L category.
The boys team secured the state championship, led by Connor Potthast, who took first place overall 10:22 for two miles. Teammates Lee Kramer, Jett Nazetta, Jameson Vieregge, and Rudra Patel also earned medals, finishing 4th in 10:33, 11th, 17th, and 18th respectively.
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This was back-to-back state championships for Maryville's boys after a top finish in Class S last year.
On the girls side, the team finished fourth overall, narrowly missing second place by just two points in a highly competitive race.
Lily Kamadulski distinguished herself by placing fourth individually and earning recognition among the top 10 runners. Lily finished with a time of 11:36.
The other Maryville girls were as follows: Audrey Gaworski was 30th, Leah Mahtani was 37th, Emery Manville was 44th, Ellie Ziebka was 45th, Braelyn Hite was 47th and Blakely Ruhlin was 79th.
Coaches and athletes expressed pride in their accomplishments, highlighting the dedication, perseverance, and faith demonstrated throughout the season.
Lucas Kramer is the head coach of Maryville Christian's cross country team, while Brian Kamuldski assists.
