SVM cross country roundup: Dixon, Sterling, Rock Falls send runners to state

2A Woodstock Sectional: The Dixon boys cross country team qualified for state with a sixth-place finish in an 18-team field on Saturday.

The Dukes were led by 12th-place finisher Aaron Conderman (16:15.04), 18th-place finisher Dean Geiger (16:27.44) and 23rd-place finisher Averick Wiseman (16:35.31). Westin Conatser added a 49th-place finish (17:03.26) for Dixon.

2A Geneseo Sectional: Rock Falls’ Ariel Hernandez and Hana Ford qualified for state as individuals at the 18-team event. The Sterling boys and girls qualified as teams.

Hernandez placed eighth with a time of 19:13.80, and Ford took 23rd with a time of 20:28.50.

The Golden Warrior girls finished fifth with a team score of 157. Rhylee Wade (14th, 19:49.60), Delia Block (16th, 20:01.60), Jaz’Mya Castaneda (21st, 20:22.60) and Lainey Zuithoff (49th, 21:15.60) earned top-50 finishes for the Sterling girls, who qualified for state as a team for the first time since 2003.

Sterling’s Dale Johnson won the sectional title for boys by 24.4 seconds, clocking a course-record time of 15:10.00. The Golden Warrior boys finished fourth with 153 points. Aalin Schmidt (17th, 16:20.00), Charles Johnson (39th, 16:57.60) and Jordan Britt (55th, 17:16.00) also competed for Sterling in the 138-runner field.