Dylan Gehl Finishes 7th At State As GHS XC Concludes The 2023 Season!

2023 GHS Boys Cross Country Team State Finalists (Photo Submitted)

GHS Freshmen Brooklyn Smith Prepares To Begin The State Race. (Photo Submitted)

The Geneseo High School Boys Cross Country team capped off their season with an 18th place finish (446 points) at the IHSA 2A State Finals this past Saturday in Peoria. Marion High School (112 points) were winners of the championship. Junior Dylan Gehl earned himself a state medal with his 7th place finish and also set the second best GHS Boys XC time at Detweiller Park with a 14:48.36. Dan Chenoweth holds the top time of 14:24 which was set during the state finals in 2006. Also competing for the Maple Leafs were Sam Mosbarger (3rd/15:14.89), Jaxson Sottos (131st/16:10.65), Jack Kreiss (186th/16:48.23), Max Johnson (194th/16:53.58), Kaden Elmer (200th/17:00.59), & Aidan Bries (205th/17:06.19).

Brooklyn Smith concluded an impressive freshman season for the Lady Leafs as she finished 56th overall at last Saturdays 2A State Finals. With the time of 18:28.54, Smith finished 11th out of the 56 freshman runners. A bright future is ahead for Brooklyn and the Lady Leafs!

The Maple Leafs Plus A Lady Leaf Heading To The XC 2A State Finals!

IHSA 2A Geneseo Boys & Girls Cross Country Sectionals

The Maple Leafs Boys Cross Country team are heading to state! With their third place finish, GHS will compete at the IHSA 2A State Championships on Saturday November 4th! With 129 points, GHS finished behind only Washington (100) and sectional champ Morton (70) as junior Dylan Gehl (15:34.40/2nd), senior Sam Mosbarger (16:04.40/8th), and sophomore Jaxon Sottos (16:40.30/28th) ran the best GHS boys marks at Richmond Hill since 2018!

The Lady Leafs Girls Cross Country team took eighth overall with 212 points, 13 behind Lemont who took the final team spot for the state finals. GHS freshman Brooklyn Smith (20:01.40) finished 15th overall and qualified individually for next weekends state meet!

The state title meets will be ran at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Brooklyn is scheduled to run at 11:00am while the Maple Leafs run at 12:00pm. Best of luck to all!

GHS Boys Results
Dylan Gehl (15:34.40 - 2nd)
Sam Mosbarger (16:04.40 - 8th)
Jaxon Sottos (16:40.30 - 28th)
Aidan Bries (17:13.40 - 52nd)
Max Johnson (17:15.90 - 54th)
Jack Kreiss (17:29.10 - 65th)
Kaden Elmer (18:22.70 - 100th)

GHS Girls Results
Brooklyn Smith (20:01.40 - 15th)
Lucille Wachtel (21:05.20 - 42nd)
Ayla Schultz (21:15.50 - 48th)
Elanor DeBlieck (21:20.80 - 51st)
Katlyn Seaman (22:11.70 - 73th)
Emma DeBaene (22:30.80 - 78th)
Jeslen Rink (22:31.00 - 80th)

Maple Leafs set to race at the Geneseo Sectional on Saturday October 28 at Richmond Hill. (Photo By GHS Boys XC)

XC Teams Advance In Regionals! Host Sectionals This Saturday!

Top Five: Pictured are L-R  1.)  Dale Johnson (Sterling), 2.)  Dylan Gehl (Geneseo), 3.)  Sam Mosbarger (Geneseo), 4.)  Dom Cantarini (Galesburg), 5.)  Brecken Fahrenkrug (IVC).

2023 Lady Leafs XC Sectional Qualifiers! (Photo Courtesy Of GHS Girls XC)

Another great day for Geneseo High School Cross Country as both the Maple Leaf & Lady Leaf teams placed 2nd at the IHSA 2A Galesburg Regional this past Saturday October 21st! With 55 points (12 behind Sterling) for the boys and 73 (42 behind Dunlap) for the girls, they both advance to the Geneseo Sectional this Saturday at Richmond Hill! Lady Leafs will race at 11:00am and the Maple Leafs will follow at 12:00pm.

Maple Leaf Results
2nd Dylan Gehl (15:59.30)
3rd Sam Mosbarger (16:11.70)
9th Jaxson Sottos (16:57.80)
19th Max Johnson (17:39.10)
24th Aidan Bries (17:53.70)
25th Jack Kreiss (17:56.10)
26th Graysen Carlson (18:03.00)

Lady Leaf Results
4th Brooklyn Smith (19:57.80)
6th Lucille Wachtel (20:30.90)
20th Emma DeBaene (21:37.70)
21st Elanor DeBlieck (21:41.50)
22nd Ayla Schultz (21:52.30)
27th Jeslen Rink (22:13.60)
32nd Katlyn Seaman (22:57.90)

GHS Girls Swim Club In Action!

With only 6 swimmers and competing against schools that featured 15 or more competitors, the GHS Girls Swim Club placed 5th at the Panther Sprint Classic on Saturday September 30th in East Moline!

GHS Results
Kirsten Zimmerman
7th 100 Free
8th 50 Back

Jill Corso
8th 50 Fly
7th 50 Back

Trinity Schweitzer
12th 50 Free
14th 50 Breast

Jordan Thomas
18th 50 Free
15th 50 Back

Jordan Cechowicz
8th 100IM
4th 50 Fly

Nyna Schweitzer
10th 100 Free
13th 50 Breast

T. Schweitzer, Zimmerman, Corso, Thomas
6th in the 100 Free Relay

N. Schweitzer, Cechowicz, Zimmerman, Corso
5th in the 200 Free Relay

On Thursday October 2, GHS traveled to LaSalle-Peru to take on a very solid and much larger Cavalier squad. While LP picked up the 91-9 victory, the Geneseo squad continues to improve!

For the first time, Jordan Cechowicz and Nyna Schweitzer both competed in the longest even in high school swimming, the 20 lap 500 Free. Cechowicz swam a 7:22.54 and Schweitzer a 7:29.97.

Jill Corso and Trinity Schweitzer both swam the 200 IM, 2 laps of each stroke, for their 1st time. Corso swam a 3:10.34 and Schweitzer a 3:14.16.

Kirsten Zimmerman and Jordan Thomas both completed in a 50 free and had their fastest time to date with Zimmerman swimming a 32.14 and Thomas a 45.42.

The girls also competed in Morrison on Monday October 16th and will next compete at the WB6 Championships meet in East Moline on Saturday October 21st.

Pettit & Kelly Finish 4th At Galesburg Sectional! Headed To State!

STATE BOUND! With their fourth place finish at the Galesburg Sectional, Mia Kelly & Ella Pettit will compete at the IHSA 1A State Finals which will take place in Buffalo Grove and the surrounding area courts. The state finals begin Thursday October 19 and will run through Saturday October 21.

GHS Sectional Results (Doubles)
Mia Kelly/Ella Pettit
1st Round: Bye
2nd Round: Defeated Harper/Beiermann (Peoria ND) 6-1, 6-4
3rd Round: Defeated Rhodes/Beattie (Sterling Newman) 6-3, 6-1
(Clinched State Final Berth With This Win)
Semifinals: Lost to Sophie Muir/Alassea Michel (Dunlap) 6-0, 6-1
3rd Place: Lost to Natalie Holst/Mary Reagan (Alleman) 7-5, 6-1

Madison Reade/Paige Swain
1st Round: Bye
2nd Round: Defeated Morris/Lyons (Sterling) 6-1, 6-4
3rd Round: Lost to Holst/Reagan (Alleman) 7-6(6), 6-0

GHS Sectional Results (Singles)
Allison Reade
1st Round: Bye
2nd Round: Defeated Hannah Andrews (Alleman) 6-2, 6-4
3rd Round: Lost To Layla Tablante (Sterling) 6-2, 6-1

Addi Snodgrass
1st Round: Defeated Armaris Sanchez (Kewanee) 6-3, 6-4
2nd Round: Lost to Catherine Dooley (Peoria ND) 6-3, 6-1

GHS Cross Country Dominates At The WB6 Championships!

A historic day on Thursday October 12 for the Geneseo High School Cross Country Teams as both the boys and girls won their respective races to earn the Western Big 6 Championships at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island!

Boys Race
The Leafs (46 pts) beat out Sterling (51 pts) to win the team championship! Dylan Gehl finished 2nd place with Sam Mosbarger coming in right behind in 3rd and Jaxson Sottos rounding out the Leafs top ten representatives with an 8th place finish. All three each earned a medal along with being named 1st Team WB6 All-Conference! Max Johnson (16), Jack Kreiss (17), and Aiden Bries (20) each earned 2nd Team All-Conference honors for the Leafs!

Also competing for the Maple Leafs were Graysen Carlson, Kaden Elmer, Rylan Lambert, Austin Hull, Matthew Darnall, Jacob Taylor, Christian Haney, Mason Anderson, Micah Johnson, Connor Runty, Shane Bagby, Alex Aleman, Connor Douglas, Ryley Rowold, Jacob Berry, Tyson Duda, Rafa Uguina, & Camden Baumgardner.

Final Standings
Geneseo 46
Sterling 51
Quincy 91
Rock Island 99
UTHS 115
Moline 155
Galesburg 166
Alleman 182

Girls Race
The Lady Leafs (58 pts) finished ahead of Sterling (65 pts) in the title win! Medalists and 1st Team All-Conference honors went to Brooklyn Smith who came in 3rd overall and Lucy Wachtel was not too far behind with a finish of 7th! Katlyn Seaman (15), Emma DeBaene (16), Elanor DeBlieck (17), Ella Toom (18), and Ayla Schultz (20) took home 2nd Team All-Conference!

Also competing for the Lady Leafs were Jeslen Rink, Kady Fouts, Liberty Brumbaugh, Bella Curcuru, Madison Simms, Hannah Stone, Emma Veloz, Rachael Roodhouse, Molly Snyder, Jessa Gramling, Gia Ritter, Megan McClanahan, Kjerstin Wildemuth, & Kelsey Dillie.

Final Standings
Geneseo 58
Sterling 65
Quincy 77
Rock Island 95
Moline 110
Alleman 145
UTHS 167
Galesburg 225

Next Up: IHSA 2A Galesburg Regional on Saturday October 21 at Lake Storey Park.

Hayden Moore Caps Off GHS Career With a 4th Place Finish!

At the D.A. Wiebring Golf Club in Normal, GHS Senior Hayden Moore shot an overall 146 in the 2A State Finals this weekend to finish 4th place! Moore, who is now a two time state medalist leaves the GHS golf program as the most decorated golfer in school history! Hayden will continue his golf career at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Congratulations and best of luck Hayden!

Lady Leaf Tennis Lobs Past United Township!

Another victory for Lady Leafs Tennis on Tuesday afternoon as they defeated United Township 8-1 in East Moline! Picking up singles wins for GHS were Madison Reade (6-0, 6-0), Addi Snodgrass (7-5, 6-4), Ella Pettit (6-1, 6-1), Addison Dykstra (6-2, 6-2), & Celina Pena (6-0, 6-0).

Lady Leaf doubles winners were Paige Swain/Madison Reade (6-3, 6-1), Mia Kelly/Addison Dykstra (6-3, 6-1), & Addi Snodgrass/Ella Pettit (6-0, 6-0).

Next Up: Senior Night on Wednesday 10/4! The 12 senior Leafs will face off in doubles exhibitions.

Leafs Cross Country Teams Run at Lake Story

By Todd Ehlert
Contributor

Galesburg - Saturday in Galesburg, the varsity boys team placed third in a twenty team field at the Streaks Invite at Lake Story. Dylan Gehl Placed second overall. Sam Mosbarger placed in the top ten by finishing eighth, Max Johnson also earned a medal at 16th place in the individual varsity race.

The Freshmen and Sophomore’s placed third of twenty teams in the Fresh/Soph race.  Jaxson Sottos won the Fresh/Soph individual race.  Kaden Elmer finished in the top ten at 10th place, Jack Kreiss placed 13th, and Aiden Bries also earned a medal at 18th place.

The Lady Leafs varsity group placed ninth.  Lucy Wachtel earned a medal at 28th place in the varsity individual race.  

Brooklyn Smith won the Fresh/Soph race.  Ayla Shultz also ended up earning a medal with a 15th place finish.

The cross country teams run in Peoria next weekend on September 9th at the First to the Finish invitational.