Strobel gets last qualifying spot for state

Well, that was close.

Vandalia junior Ben Strobel earned the final spot to the state cross country meet at Saturday's St. Teresa Sectional in Decatur, finishing 10th in the 5K race.

At any other sectional site in the state, that would have easily put Strobel into the state meet, but because there were so many good runners in the race, his time of 15:46 – a nine-second improvement on his regional race time – almost fell short.

“I knew I needed to be in the top 10 at least,” Strobel said. “I didn’t know anything about the extra qualifer, I just knew I needed to be in the top 10.”

By rule, the top seven individuals who are not part of teams participating in the state series advance to Peoria, but because all seven individual finishers at St. Teresa were in the top 10, an extra individual qualified.

Strobel’s time was tied for the 13th best among state qualifers, showing just how tough the St. Teresa Sectional was.

Strobel's time would have placed first at the Metro-East Lutheran, Lisle and Oregon sectionals, and would have tied for fourth at the Elmwood Sectional.

Had Strobel ran at those courses, however, his time likely would  have been slower, as the courses on which his time would have won have historically produced slower times.

Last season's champion from Lisle ran a 15:49 at Lisle and a 14:22 at state; the champion from Metro-East Lutheran ran a 16:41 at MEL and a 15:41 at state; and the champion from Oregon ran a 15:52 at Oregon and a 15:03 at state.

But running on a fairly level course and being able to pace himself with some of the top runners in the state allowed Strobel an opportunity to run one of his best times.

“I was expecting (the course) to be even faster,” Strobel said. “There were less rolling hills and it was just fast overall.

“You could tell when some guys were dropping off, so I had to pick up the pace in the second mile,” he said. “I could tell who was struggling and who wasn’t.”

Despite where he may have finished at another site, all that matters is that he is in the field for the second straight season, and he’ll look to better his time and place from last season this Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Strobel's race begins at about 10 a.m.

As a sophomore last season, he finished 78th, with a time of 16:15.

On Saturday, he has set a goal of bettering last year's marks.

“I want a faster time than last year,” Strobel said. “And, hopefully, a lot lower place.”

Strobel has run as an individual without a team all fall, training by himself to reach this point.

He also did that last season, but even though he knew what to expect this fall, it was still a challenge to train on certain days.

“Some days, you just don’t want to (train),” Strobel said. “Other days, I am more motivated, but I still have a week to go.

“Hopefully, it will pay off in the end.”