The OFHS Annual Colonel Madden Mad Dash was a Huge Success!

"The race was a success! We had 112 register and 102 community participants made their way through the sometimes muddy course to cross the finish line. We were fortunate that the rain clouds gave way to some sun. It was fun, action packed day," said race organizer, Kim Reif.

The day started with the boys' high school cross country teams. The freshmen/sophomore top three were Brock O'Neill of Providence with a time 16:40.6, Jack Weiland of Richards with a time of 17:54.1, and Louie Leahy of Richards with a time of 18:14.6. The top three freshmen/sophomore teams were Richards with first place, Thornton Fractional South with second place and Providence in third place. Guiseppie Smith, Liam McGoldrick, Smith Patel, and Perm Patel of Oak Forest High School each medaled in the fresh/soph race.

Next up was the boys' varsity race. There was some intense competition in this race. During the first mile, it was Kyle Bell (Providence), Mike Reif (Oak Forest), Jimmy Grill (Providence) Manny Salinas (Thornton Fractional North), Ishaan Patel (Tinley Park), and John Morrison (Providence) making their way through the muddy course. Bell and Reif broke off the pack shortly before the second mile. As they entered the stadium, Bell was in the lead and maintained that lead to finish the race ten seconds before Reif. Kyle Bell took first with a time of 16:17.8, Mike Reif came in second with a time of 16.27.0, and Jimmy Grill in third with a time of 16:43.1. The top three varsity teams were Providence in first, T/F North in second, and Tinley Park in third place. Raj Patel, Nicky Leahy, and Tim Moran of Oak Forest High School each medaled in the varsity race.

Next up it was the girls' fresh/soph race. Providence dominated this race with the top six finishers. Emma Kulpinski 20:07.4, Maura Houlihan 22:11.1; Morgan Tomaselli 22:25.5, Abbey Duggan 23:21.5, Madison Healy 23:24.5, Nikky Zambrzycki 24:19.7. The top two teams were Providence with a perfect score of 15 and T/F North in second. The highlight of the fresh/soph race was the perseverance of Daisha Perez of Thornton Fractional South. With a brace on her leg, she did not give up and crossed the finish line with the crowd cheering her on.

In the girls' varsity race, Kayley Burke of Evergreen Park High School owned this race coming in first with a time of 19:55.7. Her teammate, Isabella Villamil came in second with time of 21:15.3, followed by Anna Kovats of Tinley Park at 21:20.5. As the race progressed the girls were sprinting to the end to better their place and personal bests. The top three teams for the varsity girls were Evergreen Park in first, with Oak Forest placing second, and Thornton Fractional South taking third. Oak Forest High School's Emily Cummings, Grainne Giblin, Haleigh Martin, Rachel Briggs, Marrisa Toschi, Mackenzie Griffin, and Sabeen Baraket all medaled in the varsity race.

The final race of the day was the community race. The runners took their place on the baseball field to start their race. By this time, the completely sun was out and the humidity was rising but the rain clouds were looming in back. The table gets turned for many of the cross country runners as their coaches run in the race. Finally they have the chance to root their coaches on and to give them advice about their running.

The overall female winner was Oak Forest Junior Allison Ramsey with a time of 23:16.5. The overall male winner was Thornton Fractional North's coach Erik Perez with a time of 18:16.6. Roberto Rangel (Oak Forest) took first place in the boys ten and under, Grace Wood (Tinley Park) in the girls' 11 -14, Parker Griffin (Oak Forest) in the boys' 11 -14, Lynette Latocha (Oak Forest & former OFHS XC runner) in the women's 15 - 19, Micky O'Farrell (Oak Forest) in the men's 15-19, Patty Heiman (T/F South coach) in the women's 20 to 29, John Kawulia (Richards Coach & former OFHS XC runner) in the men's 20 to 29, Lisa Savage (Providence Coach) in the women's 30 to 39, Bob Peck (Richard's coach) in the men's 30 to 39, Eva Manzke (Evergreen Park coach) in the women's 40 to 49, Tom Walden (Crown Point, IN) in the men's 40 to 49, Maureen Spinler-Kracik (Tinley Park) in the women's 50 to 59, Fred Seibel (T/F coach) in the men's 50 to 59, Monica Woolard (Midlothian) in the women's 60 plus, and Casey Latocha (Oak Forest) in the men's 60 plus. A special shout out to Joseph Manzo of Oak Forest on crossing the finish line at 29:37.4 at the age 76! His first sub 30 race!

"It was a great day! We are grateful the rain stopped and the sun came out. It was successful thanks to City of Oak Forest, all of the participants, our parent volunteers and Coaches Gary Andruch, Donn Harmrin and Arturs Bareikis," commented Oak Forest High School coach and assistant athletic director, Coach Mike Brown.