EPGXC Qualifies First Team to State in School History

(11.2.13) Oregon, IL—While EPGXC has sent several individuals to State Finals in the ten-year History of our program, never has it qualified a whole team. This changed on Saturday, November 2nd as the EPGXC high school boys team placed third in the Oregon Sectional to punch their first team ticket to State. Six state-ranked teams were fighting for only five qualifying spots to the most prestigious meet in the Midwest. Winnebago locked in the top spot early, putting all five of their scorers in the top 25, and Rockford Christian looked tough with their sophomore phenom Nick Monkemeyer placing third overall, but EPG used its depth and mature racing strategy to tame the difficult Oregon course en route to their impressive finish. Senior tandem Jacob Ludy and Tyler DeMarb have served well as the yin and yang leaders of this team, and proved again why they will be among those hunting for All-State Honors on November 9th at Detweiller. Cruising through the one-mile mark in a conservative 5:40, DeMarb and Ludy looked confident, poised, and relaxed amongst a sea of athletes struggling after the half-mile incline that leads to the mile mark. From there, the leaders shifted gears and systematically advanced up the field from their 40th position to 10th and 12th overall. With splits of 5:41, 5:24, and 5:22, DeMarb successfully completed the task of negative splits on his way to EPG’s first male All-Sectional Finish in school History. Ludy’s 5:38-5:25-5:30 were also a first-half/second-half negative split which has served the team well over the years. Following the seniors were underclassmen who round out our scoring five: Andy Layden, Hunter Cobbley, and Adam Ludy. While Adam was boxed in and forced to walk-jog through traffic on the early narrow portions of the course, Layden and Cobbley stuck together and crested the hill ready to go. They cruised through the mile mark at 6:00, a bit slow, but in great shape. That would prove to be their slowest mile of the day as they brought it home in 5:48s, crossing in 17:34 and 17:35. Adam’s first mile of 6:13 would be a cause for a freak out by a less experienced runner, but the freshman handled it with remarkable poise as he gradually decreased his pace, bring his three mile effort home in splits of 5:52 and 5:47 for a 17:52. Despite getting outkicked by the Rock Falls 4th man, Ludy’s gutsy last mile was enough to secure EPG’s top five team finish. Luke Barnard was our #6 on the day, fighting both the course and his strained abdominal muscle for near even splits of 6:19-6:08-6:20. Sophomore Ryan Filkins gave an inspiring performance against severe leg pain, and ran splits of 6:18-6:17-6:24 while afterwards he limped forward to receive our parking pass to the State meet. All seven of those guys are now among the top ten Titans of all time on the Oregon course, and they also ran five of the fastest eight times ever for that course. The State Finals will begin at 10am at Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday, November 9, 2013.