Monticello’s inner pack key to 1^st 1A team championship

By Michael Newman

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Peoria, Ill – The only competition that Jon Davis (Oakwood HS, Fithian) had in the final stages in the 1A Boys race at the IHSA State Cross Country Meet at Detweiller Park was the pace truck. Even the motorized vehicle had trouble staying ahead of the swift legs of the Oakwood junior.

“In the last 400 meters, regardless of the pain, I had to keep on trucking,” Davis said. “I pretended that the truck was in first and it was going to beat me. I just gave it my all.”

Davis used the carrot of a Class 1A record and the truck to capture his second straight state championship and his fourth overall state crown in Cross Country and Track & Field Saturday Morning. Davis finished in 14:20 missing Jeremy Stevens’ record by only two seconds. His margin of victory was an incredible 42 seconds ahead of second place Eric Ponder (Tuscola HS) and Tanner Chada (Aurora Christian HS).

This race mirrored races from the sectional meet of a week ago and the regional meet two weeks ago where Davis moved away from Ponder before the half way point of the race. The same thing happened in this state race. Ponder got off to a great start having the lead past the 400. Davis caught the Tuscola senior just before the half as they passed the half in 2:15. The duo passed the mile point together in 4:45 running side by side.

Davis picked up the pace as he entered the triangle passing the halfway point in 7:04. By the time he passed the 2 mile point in 9:39, he had opened up a 20 second lead on a struggling Ponder. Chada, who was nine seconds behind Ponder at the mile, had closed the gap to four seconds catching Ponder after the turn behind the starting line.

Davis was struggling as he entered the last half mile. He knew he wanted the record. He put his head down and went. He fell short by two seconds of the record but ran the last half mile in an incredible 2:08.

“I had to dig inside of myself to finis that last oomph,” added Davis. “That 2:08 last half mile speaks for itself.”

Ponder held off Chada in the final stretch to grab second place ahead of the Aurora Christian sophomore.

“I thought I may be able to keep up with him at the mile,” Ponder said. “He made that move when we went into the triangle. My thought was I could have one of it. I’m proud of second actually. I knew that Davis was a tough competitor. I have track season. I can get him in track.”

Monticello came in as the team favorite in this race and failed to disappoint. The Sages placed their five scoring runners in the first 53 to win their 1^st state championship with 93 points. Matt Norvell was Monticello’s first and only runner in the first 25. He earned all-state honors by finishing 13^th overall. They had an overall split of 40 seconds. Following Norvell was Justin Furich (26^th), Zach Mesplay (29^th), James Kilby (33^rd), and Will Montgomery (53^rd). The key for success for their state championship was only a nine second split between Furich and Kilby.

“I think we all believed that we had a shot at the title, but I don't believe you can come into this meet with any kind of expectation,” said Monticello coach Dave Remmert. “We were very deliberate this season though about not focusing on others, just on ourselves and doing the things we needed to do to prepare.  I could sense an eagerness about the team during the week and I felt like mentally they were in a good place leading into Saturday.  We were healthy and rested, and the kids performed very well under the pressure. I couldn't be happier about their performance.”

2013 champion Elmwood-Brimfield ran their best race of the season but had to settle for second place with 143 points. Matt Osmulski (12^th) and Nate Herridge (17^th) earned all-state status.

Rockford Christian won a close battle for third in which only 11 points separated third through fifth place. Nick Monkemeyer led the Royal Lions with a fourth place finish. “We were very pleased. Our depth carried us. Alex Wilfong who has finished in our top 5 all year was really sick and struggled at state as we thought he might. He's a four time letterman and earned the right to try. Josiah Vogel actually fractured his leg in the race and had to DNF. He's a great kid and will make an impact for future RC squads,” said Rockford Christian Coach Randy Moore. “The boys knew we had changed some training to peak better at state and they did. It is a huge confidence boost for all of us. I challenged the boys to live out three legacies this season: personal, team, and spiritual. I do believe they honored Christ in all three.”

Tolono Unity was five points behind in fourth place with 162 points. Winnebago finished fifth behind all-state runs by Nathan Smith (9^th) and Nathan Ambrose (11^th).