SirLaurence King’s debut as the Leo Lions’ cross country coach resulted in a sixth-place finish in the eight-team Connelly Invitational hosted by St. Ignatius in Romeoville on Saturday, Sept. 4.
The event was pretty much a Jesuit Jamboree as runners from Loyola Academy and St. Ignatius claimed 13 of the top 15 places, leading the Ramblers and Wolfpack to a 1-2 showing in the team standings.
Junior Jakeem Cole’s 42nd-place finish in 17:54.34 over the three-mile course led the Leo contingent; next came Tim Wilson (19:35.60), David Hannah (20:45.37), Arian Dean-Wheeler (21:59.37) and Khalifa Brandon (27:27.88). Keliche Mbah and fellow freshman Jerry Brown were the top Leo finishers in the frosh-soph meet.
“It wasn’t a bad showing for a first race, given that some of our guys hadn’t run competitively in a while,” King said. “Overall, we have a lot of talent. Now it’s all about being consistent with practice, not taking any shortcuts with preparation and following the game plan, and the results will speak for themselves.”
The remaining schedule:
Sat., Sept. 11: Lee Halberg Invitational, Springfield
Sat., Sept. 18: Julian Urbana Invitational, South Holland
Fri., Sept. 24: Brother Rice Invitational
Sat., Oct. 2: Lisle Main Event
Sat., Oct. 9: Jimmy Daniels Invitational, Richton Park
Sat., Oct. 16: CCL Championship, TBA
Sat., Oct. 23: IHSA Regional, TBA
Fri., Oct. 29: IHSA Sectional, TBA.