After starting the season with a fourth-place finish at the SIRR Conference Preview meet on its home course the Du Quoin boys cross country team has upped its game with three straight second place finishes, including last Thursday at the Du Quoin Invitational.
For the second time this season the Benton Rangers kept the Indians from their first win, by a score of 23-52.
"It's hard to complain when you're going against quality competition," said Du Quoin Head Coach Eric Kirkpatrick.
Benton freshman Gavin Genisio blew away the competition once again with a time of 16:00.1 followed by teammate Reece Johnson (16:27.2), who snapped Du Quoin junior Landen Swiney's two-meet streak of second place finishes by 5.5 seconds.
"Genisio had a 50-meter lead about a half mile in and never let up," Kirkpatrick said. "Reece has a plan going in. He was going to pace off Landen's left shoulder for probably 97% of the race and then out-kick Landen at the end. That has also happened the last two races and we're going to work on that."
Swiney, who sat out the season opener because he was in quarantine after being in contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19, had outdistanced Johnson in week 2 at the Benton Invitational by 28.56 seconds with a time of 15:59.31. At the Du Quoin Invitational he finished with a time of 16:32.7.
"I ran a couple seconds faster than last year at this meet, so timewise I'm about where I wanted to be at this point of the season," Swiney said. "Of course I'm aiming for first place every meet and I just have to take it to the next level to get there."
For the Indians, senior Jonathan Gomes finished sixth (17:38.0), junior Nathan Smith eighth (18:10.2) with sophomore Tavion Garrison coming in 17th (19:53.7) and senior David Gomes 18th (19:54.5).
"We're pretty happy with our top three again finishing three, six and eight," Kirkpatrick said. "However, our splits are too wide and we're still trying to get Tavion up to speed and still trying to get our fifth runner up closer to our other three," he added. "We're at that point in the season where we either going to make that jump or this is where we are."
Benton freshman Mason Tieffel finished fourth (17:19.6), junior Chase Owens fifth (17:34.9) and senior Parker Sieveking 11th (18:37.9).
Senior Reese Tilley was the only Indian runner who finished with his best time of the season at 20:32.3 lowering his previous best set at Benton by 24.54 seconds.
"Tilley is a kid that I'm hoping he's starting to round into form," Kirkpatrick said. "He was rolling in the summer and then he had some shin splints. Before the injury he was right up with the top three step for step all summer, but he took about 2½ weeks off and we just can't get him right, right now.
"This is only his second year of running and he really bought in like nobody I've ever had before, so I'm really disappointed with his injury."
Nashville junior Ray Habeck finished seventh (17:59.6), Sparta junior Lee Craig ninth (18:22.3) and Nashville freshman Brayden Hunter 10th (18:34.0) to round out the Top 10 runners.
The Indians (52 points) beat Carterville (83), Nashville (96), Murphysboro (114) and Sparta (134).
Du Quoin returns to action Thursday with a return to Sparta for the second Sparta Invitational.
