GENOA — The Rochelle cross country program has been building toward a solid team performance, and the Hubs delivered by bringing home the fourth-place trophy from the annual Matt Walter Invitational hosted by Genoa-Kingston on Tuesday. Rochelle finished fourth out of 12 schools with 105 points.

Four Hubs earned medals including senior Santi Cordoba, who placed 18^th overall (18:10) and recorded Rochelle’s top finish. Sophomore Josue Huerta took 22^nd (18:51) while junior Aiden Seldal (19:09) and senior Tucker Louis (19:09) placed 24^th and 25^th, respectively. Freshman David Wanner (30^th) and seniors Evan Horner (36^th) and Seth Gould (40^th) rounded out Rochelle’s varsity boys team.

“Our times are starting to improve pretty rapidly,” Seldal said. “The course was really nice and it was very wooded so I really enjoyed the scenery while I was running. It’s a great course to keep up with the runner next to you… My times have improved recently and we’ve been going really hard at our last few meets.”

“It was a great feeling to bring home the trophy and I was really excited about my results,” Huerta added. “I think our speed and our grouping has improved and we really try to stay together. I’ve improved both my running form and my speed this year.”

Rochelle saw two Lady Hubs medal in the varsity girls race, where Rochelle placed fifth with 127 points. Senior Britney Baez finished 11^th overall (21:23) and sophomore Sara Johnson (22:29), who also won a medal in the Rock River Run this past weekend, placed 24^th. 

“Sara and I ran really well,” Baez said. “She’s been improving so much… We’ve been working hard during our practices and hopefully we can continue improving and avoid plateauing. I think I’ve improved in my leadership role, and I feel like I’ve helped lead the team this year.”