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Sports

Gimme 5: Oak Forest's Mosqueda a Pack Leader

Bengals girls cross country coach Susan Poncin calls Jessica Mosqueda the unquestioned leader of the team.

Oak Forest girls cross country coach Sue Poncin has known Jessica Mosqueda since Mosqueda started running for the Bengals two years ago.

But even Poncin was a bit surprised that the rising senior took charge of practices at the start of the summer.

“She came out day one and said, ‘Here’s our workouts; Poncin’s got our calendar set,’” said Poncin, who enters her first year as the head coach at Oak Forest. “She runs a lot of the practice, which is unbelievable, and her leadership has exceeded our expectations.”

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Mosqueda is one of only two runners returning from Oak Forest’s top seven runners last season, when the Bengals took third in conference. Mosqueda placed 21st in conference, finishing the three-mile course in 21:43.

Along with junior Elise Hennessy, Mosqueda is looking to lead a young Bengals team through the fall season. Poncin says Mosqueda has the potential to place in the top 10 in conference and bring her time down to around 19:00.

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“Last year we did a lot of work on her form to really improve her time,” Poncin said. “Running is now her main love.”

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