By Kevin Worthy ‘24
The Running Uglies placed second at regionals last weekend qualifying for the IHSA sectionals at Geneseo next week. The meet had great competition, but nobody knew who Gavin O’Connor was.
Junior Gavin O’Connor said, “Even though there were great runners, I had a goal in mind and nobody was going to stop me.”
The Uglies came into the meet with a plan and all they had to do was execute. Many other runners needed to perform the plan in order to qualify.
Brother Rice had many runners place under 20th, allowing for them to qualify. This race had a total of 70 runners. This was huge for the Uglies.
Sophomore Andrew Straley said, “This year’s regional was great. We were able to take first with Gavin’s help, so that is huge. Our team did a lot better than planned, but we still need to improve and get better.”
At the end of the race, many Crusaders crossed the finish line, happy with their results. Junior Brian Sheehan finished in 18th, senior Danny Macis placed 10th, sophomore Andrew Straley placed fourth, and junior Gavin O’Connor finished first.
Macis said, “Seeing one of my friends and teammates that I have been running with for three years win is so exciting. Not only was it a great memory for him, but also for me, too. Gavin helped us continue our season and shock the state.”
