The Bill Dawson Invitational is a Cross Country meet hosted at the O’Plaine campus. The meet was originally called the Blue Devil Invite, but was renamed to honor the late (and great), Bill Dawson. Dawson was the head boys track and cross country coach who was known for his positive coaching style and dedication to the sport.
The meet marks the halfway point in the Warren girl’s season, and is a great benchmark to see progression.
Freshman Ella Volante lead the charge in the Frosh/Soph race, placing 6th and taking home a medal. Sophomores Sofia Ortiz, Sara Scarbrough, and Miley Lopez; and Freshman Paige Lerner rounded out the team. Freshman Paige Lerner shared her experience at her first big meet of the season, “It was more scarier [than exciting]…” but she also shared her hopes for the rest of the season, “PR-ing, that’s the goal!” We’re all excited to see how Paige and the other girls progress throughout the season!
On the Varsity side of things, Sophomore Kaylee Wilson medalled at 4th place, while Finley Jezuit, also a sophomore, earned her hardware with her 14th place finish. Seniors Savana Sweitliek and Justyce Sieber, Juniors Karina Tondeva and Addy Filipowicz, and Freshman Blair Laroche made up the rest of the varsity squad.
In the final girls race of the day, when the temperatures had climbed to 85 degrees and the sun was beating down, the Warren girls junior varsity squad came away with a second place finish. The team had 4
individual medalists. The first finisher on the team, Senior Josie Schenk shared how she felt the race went, ”I think I did pretty good, got 5th place! Full circle moment because sophomore year I got fifth place too,” Junior Brandy McGill took 8th, Junior Zoey Zwiefelhofer placed 11th, and Senior Eva Jansen placed 13th. Juniors Jane Kelly, Elizabeth Mertz, Kaitlyn Enger and Jasmine Salas, as well as seniors Grace Wiser, Klara Cederberg, and Lydia Weber filled out the rest of the team.
Coach Wilson shared his opinion on the races and his vision for the rest of the season, “It was a hot one today… I thought the team ran really well for what the conditions were, and moving forward we just have to take advantage of each practice and improve week to week!”
The Warren Boy’s team also made a great showing with an 11th place team finish in the frosh/soph race, a 4th place team finish on JV, and an 8th place team finish on Varsity. Junior Oliver Clayton earned a medal placing 15th in the JV race. Sophomore Kellan Trukov placed 11th medaling in the Frosh/Soph race.
The Warren girl’s Cross Country team has 8 seniors, Lauren Boznos, Klara Cederberg,
Eva Janson, Josie Schenk, Justyce Sieber, Savana Swietliek, Lydia Weber, and Grace Wiser. Senior Night took place after awards in the OPlaine gym. Head Coach Klein shared a small tidbit about each girl, showing his appreciation for each. The girls were each given a gift basket, and a poster made by the underclassmen and juniors. The event closed with lots of pictures being taken. We love our Seniors!