Jama Grotelueschen has spent her first season as the Mahomet-Seymour girls’ cross-country coach attempting to strike a balance.

Between “running being an outlet for the girls because of COVID” and “wanting them to get something out of it and bringing the intensity while competing.”

And Grotelueschen is attempting to walk that tightrope on a limited schedule. The Bulldogs have had just four meets dating back to Aug. 28. Next on the schedule is Saturday’s triangular with Clinton and Urbana.

“It’s been very challenging,” Grotelueschen said. “I would prefer to run more often than we are. We have to really take advantage of the opportunities we do have.”

A significant one transpired last weekend, when M-S took on Class 1A powerhouses Monticello, St. Joseph-Ogden and Unity in St. Joseph. The Bulldogs finished third.

“It was important for our girls to see that since we’re limited with who we can compete against,” Grotelueschen said. “Right before the Uni High meet (earlier last week) I think we were pretty casual about it. … So we talked a lot about that leading up to the St. Joe meet, ‘Hey, let’s do this. Let’s get excited about this.’”

M-S also has dealt with key injuries, as junior Elizabeth Sims and freshman Ava Boyd — typically the Bulldogs’ No. 1 and 2 runners — each have missed time.

That’s allowed junior Klein Powell, according to Grotelueschen, to step up as a program leader and have “a couple good races.” Sims, Powell and Boyd all ran in St. Joseph, placing ninth, 15th and 16th, respectively.

Juniors Grace Lietz, Emily Bednar and Delaney King form a strong second pack for M-S. All three athletes finished within one second of each other at the St. Joseph meet.

Including Saturday’s triangular, the Bulldogs possess three more regular-season meets before the Oct. 24 Class 2A Taylorville Regional. M-S has won a regional trophy in two of the last three campaigns.

“We need to start putting pieces together for that,” Grotelueschen said. “It gives them more incentive to work harder in practice because there’s that extra carrot at the end.”

Sabers impressing despite losses

St. Thomas More coach Andrew Wszalek knew he’d be missing Fran Hendrickson before STM girls’ cross-country began its 2020 slate. The former News-Gazette All-Area Runner of the Year is now running at Loyola Chicago.

But the Sabers’ No. 2 runner from the previous season, Bella Ramshaw, also left, transferring to Centennial.

“Given it’s such a weird year, the kids have found their stride a little bit despite all the changes we’ve had to endure,” Wszalek said of his team, ranked 14th in the latest MileSplit Illinois Class 1A poll. “You had a few of the returners from last year who obviously notice (Hendrickson and Ramshaw) being gone, but we had a number of new bodies coming in.”

Sophomore Kennedy Ramshaw, Bella’s younger sister and the 70th-place finisher at last year’s Class 1A state meet, has battled for the Sabers’ top spot with senior Reese Hogan, who also plays golf for the Sabers this fall.

“She’s such a go-getter that it hasn’t impacted her,” Wszalek said of Hogan’s unique schedule. “(Ramshaw) is about a minute faster this season than she was at this point last year. She put in a lot of work this summer.”

Sophomores Emma Devocelle, Gianna Kreps and Claire Monahan “have been a nice little core there trying to run down Kennedy,” according to Wszalek, and freshman Skyler Anderson offers the Sabers a capable No. 7 runner.

STM will vie for the Class 1A St. Teresa Regional crown later this month. Having the IHSA postseason end in the sectional round for this relatively young STM squad, according to Wszalek, has pros and cons.

“Selfishly, as a coach, you want to have as many races as possible,” he said, “but it’s giving them a taste of what the state series would feel like without having additional pressure.”

Maroons seeing growth post-Turney

Clinton cross-country co-coaches Rachel Lyons and Leann Sosamon find themselves in a mental predicament these days.

Having the Maroons’ girls program ranked 23rd in the latest MileSplit Illinois Class 1A poll is a big deal to the pair. But knowing two-time News-Gazette All-Area first-team selection Payne Turney isn’t involved in that accomplishment does sting.

“Part of us mourns that the team is fuller and is ranked now without her,” Lyons said. “But we love that it is truly a testament to what she’s done.”

But the Maroons’ roster has grown since Turney’s graduation earlier this year.

“We just don’t have a storied distance program in Clinton on the girls’ side,” Lyons said. “When we took over last year we only had, on the whole team, six athletes.”

The Maroons are up to 11 girls this year and none of them are seniors.

Junior Claire Holland and freshman MaKayla Koeppel duke it out on the regular for Clinton’s No. 1 position, followed closely by freshman Addie Koritz and junior Jessie Wertz. Koeppel actually is a first-time distance runner, and Lyons said the ninth-grader will kick for Clinton’s football team this coming spring.

Clinton cross-country will be involved in the Class 1A Olympia Regional on Oct. 24, and Lyons feels her crew is capable of advancing to a sectional meet.

When IHSA officials on Sept. 23 announced cross-country runners would receive sectional meets — not previously guaranteed amid the COVID-19 pandemic — it made a good day for the Maroons even better.

“(That) was the same day the girls found out they were ranked (for the first time this season),” Lyons said. “(And) somebody had made a donation of spikes to the team. So we were walking in with free shoes and rankings and sectionals, and we were like, ‘This is the best day ever.’”