By Michael Newman

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East Peoria Sectional

Normal University – This might have been the closest set of races of all the 2A regionals held on Saturday. The Girls race started that trend as Mahomet-Seymour held off Normal University 55 to 57 for the team title. U-High placed five runners in the top 21 led by Ella Bittner’s third-place finish. Mahomet was just a touch better placing their five scorers in the first 18 led by the second-place finish from freshman Elizabeth Sims.

Aspen Gordon of Morton won her fourth race in a row. Her time of 17;45 was 20 seconds ahead of Sims.

Metamora continues to improve at the right time winning the boys Regional in a close race with Bloomington and Washington. The Redbirds placed three runners in the top ten led by the fourth and sixth-place finishes from Jacob Gray and Adam Gilbreath-Glaub to score 53 points for the title. Metamora had a 39 second split on their top five. Bloomington, without top five runner Roger Mendiola in their lineup, scored 61 points to finish second. The Purple Raiders also had three runners in their top ten led by Nick Doud’s second-place finish. Washington could be a team to watch for in the next two weeks. The Panthers, led by Chris Hurd’s eighth-place finish, ran a 35 second split on their top five runners to finish third (68 points) ahead of defending 2A state champion Mahomet-Seymour (98 points).

Mahomet’s Matthias Powell still appears to be the runner to beat in 2A. Powell won this regional (15:14) by 30 seconds ahead of Doud.

Galesburg – Geneseo, who has six underclassmen in their top seven, took a huge step in winning the Boys Regional title with 58 points. Sophomore William Plumley and Freshman Justin Johnson finished fourth and fifth to lead the Maple Leafs as the team only had a 26 second split. Peoria Notre Dame (64 points) and Galesburg (70 points) finished second and third. Peoria Notre Dame’s Chris Gilbert ran 16:53 for the regional title winning by seven seconds ahead of Limestone freshman Wilson Georges.

Peoria Notre Dame edged Geneseo 49 to 53 for the Girls Regional crown behind Rachel Ehrhart. Dunlap did not run some of their top seven but finished third (85 points). Geneseo’s Josie Brown ran 19:25 for the win 31 seconds ahead of Ehrhart.

Morris – Providence Catholic was in charge in this regional winning both the Boys and Girls titles. Kyle Bell won the individual race as the Celtics placed five runner in the top 11 to win with 27 points. LaSalle-Peru finished second (63 points).

Providence’s Girls team finished second through fourth led by Emma Kulpinski to win the team title with 36 points ahead of Morris (64 points) and LaSalle-Peru (68 points). Ashley Heagy of LaSalle-Peru ran 18:53 to win the Regional title finishing 73 seconds ahead of Kulpinski.

Woodstock North Sectional

Antioch – Vernon Hills’ pack was at it again placing four in the first eight places to score only 37 points in winning the Girls Regional title. Hannah Ray paced the Cougars with a fourth-place finish as their top five runners were separated by 56 seconds. Two points separated the next three teams with Lakes Community leading the way (95 points) ahead of Grayslake Central (96 points) and Carmel Catholic (97 points. Brooke Stromsland of Lakes Community ran 18:20 for the individual win ahead of Grayslake North’s Kelli Tosic (19:03) and Caroline Riss (19:08).

It took a sixth-runner tiebreak to separate Lakes Community and Lake Forest. Both teams scored 58 points with Lakes Community earning the Boys Regional title. The Eagles were led by the 5-6 finish from Jack Erwin and Owen Wenberg. Lake Forest’s Nathan Schmitt won the individual race (15:47) by 14 seconds ahead of Antioch’s Charlie Smith (16:01) and Vernon Hills’ James McDonald (16:02).

Woodstock – Prairie Ridge had the edge for the second week in a row ahead of Crystal Lake South. The Wolves won the Girls Regional title with 44 points nine points ahead of South. Prairie Ridge placed three runners in the top ten led by Chelsea Gale’s second-place finish. Crystal Lake South also had three runners in the top ten led by the individual win from Mackenzie Aldridge. Her time of 18:21 was 11 seconds ahead of Gale. Woodstock finished third (89 points) behind Kylie Hagmann’s fourth-place finish.

The fourth and sixth place finishes from Keegan Smalley and Jack Flynn pushed Crystal Lake Central to the Boys Regional title (51 points) ahead of Woodstock (70 points) and Harvest Christian Academy (78 points). Marian Central Catholic’s Ryan Jones ran 16:05 for the individual win. He won by 10 seconds ahead of Harvest Christian’s Matthew Olech.

Belvidere North – The top ranked Blue Thunder were without one of their top runners Madison Diercks who was rested for this race. That left Giana Sagona to lead Belvidere North who placed five runners in the top nine to win their regional title with 25 points. Dixon (54 points) and Sycamore (95 points followed. Sagona’s winning time of 17:45 was 49 seconds ahead of teammate Sydnie Elder.

Dixon won the Boys Regional title with 39 points as Sycamore (48 points) and Rockford Christian (50 points) finished second and third. The Dukes were led by a 1-2 finish from Colin Grady and Brock Drengenberg. Grady’s time of 15:03 was 34 seconds ahead of his teammate.

Decatur MacArthur Sectional

Taylorville Sectional – Springfield had the upper hand for the second week in a row with top ranked Chatham-Glenwood. The Senators edged the Titans 42 to 46 with three runners in the top seven led by Kyle Boughter (3^rd), Will Formea (6^th), and Anthony Peralta (7^th). Their split on five runners was 46 seconds. Chatham-Glenwood got the 1-2 finish led by the individual win from Drey Maton with his brother Dathan right by his side. Both runners were timed at 15:43. Glenwood placed five runners in the top 16 with a 56 second split.

Glenwood was in control in the Girls race putting all of their runners in the top 12 scoring only 23 points and finishing ahead of Springfield (55 points) and Sacred Heart-Griffin (92 points). Nia Gibson led Glenwood with the win (18:52) by 15 seconds ahead of SHG’s Mikayla Hady.

Troy Triad – Waterloo’s Jenna Schwartz appears to be ready for defense of her state title. Schwartz ran 18:12 to win the individual title in this meet by 86 seconds ahead of Carbondale’s Madeline Prideaux. Her win, along with two other Waterloo finishes in the top 10, helped the Bulldogs win the Girls team title 50 to 60 ahead of Highland.

Host Triad needed sixth-runner Ethan Dudley’s 30^th place finish to break a tie with Carbondale and to give them the regional title. Both teams scored 58 points. Mascoutah finished third (73 points) behind the individual win from Casmir Cozzi. His time of 15;58 was 17 seconds ahead of Carbondale’s Ethan Cherry.

Danville – Mt. Zion, led by the third-place finish from Carson Fenton, scored 43 points to win the Boys Regional title ahead of Olney Richland County (76 points) and Danville (77 points). Charleston’s Austin Ames won the individual race (15:44) by just a second ahead of Centennial’s Luke Manolakes.

Mt. Zion also won the Girls team title (24 points) by taking the second through fifth place spots led by Emma Mallory. Urbana’s Chiann Scott was ahead of Mallory by 26 seconds to win the individual race with a winning time of 18:40.

Kaneland Sectional

Burlington Central – Kaneland edged Benet Academy 44 to 48 for the Boys Team title behind Daniel Occhipinti’s individual win and fourth-place finish from Austin Adams. Occhipinti’s winning time of 15:42won him the race by two seconds ahead of IMSA’s Daniel Chen. Burlington Central’s Anthony Farmer was another second behind (15:45) to finish third. The team battle was close. Kaneland put five runners in the top 14 with a 40 second split. Benet had five runners in the top 15 with a 29 second split.

Natalia Rodriguez finishing third and Erin Jossart placing fourth helped Burlington Central win the Girls team title with 47 points. Kaneland (57 points) was second ahead of St. Francis (82 points). Rachel Richtman of Kaneland ran 18:37 for the individual win by 37 seconds ahead of teammate Olivia Franklin.

Hinsdale South – Rosary, behind Lianna Surtz’s individual win, put six runners in the top ten, to win the Girls Regional title with 23 points with Lemont next at 47 points. Surtz’s time of 17:39 was almost two minutes ahead of second-place Kaylie Politza of Lemont. Rosary’s second through five pack was impressive with a split of 39 seconds on the four runners.

Hinsdale South won the Boys team title (38 points) behind the individual win from Julian Watson and placing three runners in the top six. The sophomore’s winning time of 16:25 was just four seconds ahead of second-place finisher Mike Reif of Oak Forest. Thornton Fractional North (77 points), Bremen (78 points) and Lemont (82 points) finished second through fourth.

Riverside-Brookfield – Host Riverside-Brookfield won both regional titles in this meet. The Girls team, paced by the individual win from Tara Rainey, took five of the first eight places to win with 24 points ahead of Evergreen Park (55 points) and Nazareth Academy (59 points).

It was the same story in the Boys race. The Bulldogs scored 28 points for the win led by Josh Ranft (2^nd) and David Keen (3^rd). Nazareth Academy (46 points) and Evergreen Park (87 points) were the closest teams to Riverside-Brookfield. Nazareth Academy’s Scott Sikorski was the individual race winner (16:44).

Fenton Sectional

Elmwood Park – The host Tigers put five in the top nine sweeping the first three places to win the Boys Regional title 22 to 35 ahead of Solorio Academy who was without their top runner Adonaliz Hernandez. Carlos Sanchez led the sweep winning individually (16:39) with teammates Khris Vicencio and Tyler Ocampo within three seconds of him.

The formula was the same for Trinity in the Girls race as they scored 27 points edging Solorio Academy who scored 31 points. Alexis Cohn led Trinity with her winning time of 19:11 putting her 30 seconds ahead of teammate Kate Foley.

St. Viator – The host Lions won both team titles Saturday morning at Mt. Prospect’s Melas Park. The Girls team placed all seven of their runners in the top 10 to win with 17 points. Kate Castelli led a St. Viator sweep of the first three places running 18:42 for the win ahead of teammate Payton McDonnell by 44 seconds.

St. Viator’s Boys team placed their top four in the first ten places to score 41 points for the team win ahead of Niles Notre Dame (55 points) and Mather (63 points). St. Viator’s Patric Natindim ran 16:26 for the win with Mather’s Fernando Gonzalez within five seconds of Natindim in second.

Latin School – The Romans, behind the 1-2 finish from Ava Parekh and Marianne Mihas, put five runners in the top seven to win the Girls title with 19 points ahead of Chicago University (36 points). Parekh’s winning time of 18:21 was 18 seconds ahead of teammate Mihas.

Latin School also won the Boys Regional title (44 points) ahead of Lake View (55 points) and DePaul College Prep (57 points). Lake View’s Ethan Breen ran 16:19 for the win ahead of DePaul’s Alfredo McLaughlin by 12 seconds.