Caroline Schoen didn’t finish her high school cross country career quite like she’d hoped but the Homewood-Flossmoor senior still graduates as a two-time state qualifier with a running resume full of first-place finishes.
She finished 42nd in the Class 3A state meet, crossing the finish line in 18 minutes, 37 seconds on Nov. 5 at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
“I wasn’t super happy with how it ended but I had fun. It was a good experience. I got to see a bunch of girls I don’t race against very often,” Schoen said. “It wasn’t the ending I wanted but it was still a fun race.”
Schoen, who is signed to run for Columbia University, was at state for the second consecutive season. As a junior, she finished 35th with a time of 17:35.
She was hampered by a stress fracture in her leg in the spring that forced her to miss much of the track season. This fall, she was sick multiple times and wasn’t able to train as she’d like.
On the boys side, H-F junior Habtamu Epley ran a 16:25.97 race to finish 152nd out of 234 qualifiers. It was Epley’s second time running in the state meet, as well.
In other fall sports, the Vikings football team returned to the playoffs for the first time in two years after posting a 6-3 regular season record. H-F held off Lincoln-Way West to win a 35-28 season finale that clinched the postseason spot.
The Vikings ran into 8-2 Glenbrook South in the Class 8A regional opener, losing 40-7.
Homewood Flossmoor girls volleyball finished the season 16-17, falling in the regional final in Flossmoor. H-F beat Shepard 25-13, 25-21 in the semifinal before losing 25-17, 25-16 to Lincoln-Way East in the championship.
Senior Tiffani Curry advanced to the state championships in diving, taking first in the sectional hosted by the Vikings after posting a 257.5. As a team, H-F finished third in the sectional as a team.
A Chicago Christian girls cross country team featuring three athletes from the area finished fifth in the Class 1A state race.
Flossmoor resident Grace Mullin posted the Knights’ second-best time, finishing 22nd at 19:23.13. Mia Corporale, of Homewood, ran a 20:38.9 race. Senior Lydia Derks, of Flossmoor, is also part of the Chicago Christian team but didn’t run in the state race.