How many people can say they’ve beaten their opponent in a three-mile race by 49 seconds?

After the Southwestern Conference Meet at Belleville West, junior Abby Korak can. Korak won first place individually with a time of 17:14:70, a new personal record.

“It’s been just over a year since I’ve beaten my time, so I was happy I finally did,” Korak said.

Senior Jaycie Hudson said that Korak’s success motivates the rest of her team.

“She (Korak) always amazes me with how fast she is able to go,” Hudson said. “I think having someone so talented on the team shows other girls what’s really possible.”

Although the girls cross country team won the Southwestern Conference this past weekend, the boys fell just behind. Led by Roland Prenzler, the boys took second place. O’Fallon took first place with 28 points compared to Edwardsville’s 30.

Prenzler took first place individually with a time of 14:42:00.

“I took the first mile out around 4:40 and tried to lose people in the backwoods on the second mile. I developed a … lead coming out of the woods coming into the third mile and it was enough for the win,” Prenzler said.

According to junior Kurt Brase, the boys ran well individually, but their team fell just short of their goal.

“In both the…varsity race and the open race, we lost to O’Fallon by a combined total of three points,” Brase said. “That one extra person could’ve made all the difference.”

This meet was the last regular meet before the post-season begins. Prenzler said that this meet set the stage for future meets.

“It showed us who else is out there and who really wants to throw hands with us in the races to come,” Prenzler said. “It was a big wake-up and an even better learning experience.”