Railers dominate Cross Country Regionals
Becca Heitzig and Brenden Heitzig take home first place finishes

[October 24, 2022] 

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday in Taylorville for the 2022 IHSA Class 2A XC Regionals and to make the day even more perfect, two Lincoln Railers took the top spot!

Becca Heitzig, a LCHS junior, finished ahead of the pack with a time of 17:40.87 in the girls race. Zoe Carter of UHigh finished in second place with a time of 17:43.53. Colleen Zeibert, a senior at Rochester who recently committed to Illinois State University, placed third with a time of 17:52.27.

Brenden Heitzig, a LCHS senior, finished in the top spot in the boys race with a time of 15:49.35. Heitzig and Julian Baker of Mount Zion ran together and finished within split-seconds of each other. Baker, the grandson of Larry and Pam Baker (formerly of Mount Pulaski) finished with a time of 15:49.48. Sky Riddle of Normal Community West finished in third place with a time of 16:00.18.

The well-known brother-sister duo were followed by teammates who also did very well in the large field of runners at the regional meet in Taylorville.

In the girls race, sophomore Mallory Short finished 38th with a time of 20:19.43, freshman Shay Neeley finished in 63rd place with a time of 24:13.81 and sophomore Gianna Massena finished in 66th place with a time of 25:59.39.

In the boys race, the Lincoln Railers did fantastic and will advance to the sectionals as a team. The Lincoln boys team finished in fourth place overall.

Senior Jake Bivin just missed a top five finish. Bivin placed 6th with a time of 16:06.54.

Sophomore Jude Toft finished in 18th place with a time of 17:08.98.

Junior Luke Jones finished in 25th place with a time of 17:30.92.

Junior Ben Crombie finished in 36th place with a time of 17:47.92.

Junior Nathan Stuckey finished in 39th place with a time of 17:51.80.

Rounding out the pack for the Railers was senior Wyatt Schumm in 62nd place with a time of 20:29.65.

The Railers will compete in the sectional meet on Saturday, October 29, 2022 at Chatham Glenwood High School.

Congratulations and best of luck, Railers!

[Teena Lowery with photography by Cindy Bivens and Kim Heitzig]