Intercity: Girls cross country battles, finishes 2nd

Hayley Metz, Staff Reporter • Sep 23, 2016

The girls cross country team finished second in the Intercity meet at Maxwell Park behind U-High, a repeat of last year’s finish for both teams.

Before Tuesday’s meet, head coach Tom Patten said, “Our girls team is probably going to get second, although they have as good a chance of winning as they have in the past several years.”

Emmy Mussey, one of U-High’s top runners, has been fighting an injury throughout the season which has lowered the team’s scoring.

“A lot is going to depend on U-High’s injury situation,” said Patten. “One of their top girls has been hurt. If she races, it’s going to be harder for us to get first.”

U-High has held the Intercity title for the past seven years, becoming Normal’s biggest rival. The team was able to win even without the help of Mussey, who won the JV race. The Pioneer’s proved their depth with 1st, 2nd, and 5th finishes in the varsity competition.

Hope Metz, the NCHS team captain, reiterated Patten’s belief: “I think we have a good chance at getting second place, definitely, maybe even beating U-High to win.”

Metz (12), along with twins Heidi and Rachel Zimmerman (12), finished 9th, 7th, and 6th respectively.

Despite the second place team finish, there were individual victories for the Ironmen.

Rachel Zimmerman, who has been fighting an injury, was able to race after sitting out of two meets. Heidi, last year’s JV winner, competed for varsity – finishing second on the team. Prior to the race, Metz expressed that she wanted to place in the top ten.

“I got 11th last year, so I think top ten is definitely a possibility.” Metz’s 9th place finish achieved her goal.

U-High and NCHS were the only two teams to have three runners break top ten. Patten was correct in his prediction of his runners being “extremely competitive”.

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About the Contributor

Hayley Metz, Staff Reporter

Hayley is a senior at Normal Community High School. This is her first year on the Inkspot as a staff reporter. She is involved Cross Country, Track, FCA, and Class Board. All-time dream To travel to every continent. Random fact about me I have a twin sister. Slogan to live by Well done is better than well said. Farthest I've been from home Paris, France.