By Michael Newman

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Here are highlights of each of the 3A sectionals.

Hinsdale Central Sectional

The whispers of who was that lead runner in the Girls race spread across the grounds of Katherine Legge Memorial Park as Argo’s Abby Lopez dominated the field in winning the individual sectional race. Lopez, who was competing in her only fourth cross-country race in her high school career, ran 17:48 for the win some 20 plus seconds ahead of Grace McCabe of Hinsdale Central.

Lopez did not run her entire freshman year. She was the starting guard on Argo’s Girls Varsity team. “I started running just around Memorial Day to stay in shape for Basketball,” Lopez said after her win. “I liked it so much, I decided to run in the team’s summer camp.” The sophomore ran 17:19 to win the Rich Dust Invitational in her first race of September 2. She injured hip which sidelined her up until the SSC-Red Conference Meet in which she won. She dominated the regional race just as she did in this race on Saturday. Lopez has never been to Detweiller Park before. She will get a taste of that park next Saturday.

Lyons Township moved their pack up through the race that gave them the sectional title with 58 points. The #8 Lions were led by Emily Henkel’s third-place finish as well as having their top 5 in the first 30 with a 74 second split on the group. #3 Downers Grove South and #9 Hinsdale Central both scored 71 points with South finishing second. The Mustangs, led by Brenna Cohoon’s fourth-place finish, placed 5 runners in the top 25 with a 47 second top-five split. Hinsdale Central was powered by three runners in the top six with McCabe second, McKenna Revord fifth, and Reilly Revord sixth. Despite their #2 runner Elizabeth Carnic was sick but still ran (she was the team’s seventh runner, the #14 Redwings still made it to state finishing fourth (108 points) running a 40 second top-five split off Kelly Andrews finishing 13^th. #24 Plainfield North did not have their best race of the season with their normal #1 runner Juliana Stogsdill finishing 27^th overall. The Tigers made it back to back state trips by finishing fifth (188 points) led by the ninth-place finish from Megan Patton. Downers Grove North finished off a good season placing sixth (194 points) missing qualifying for state by six points.

It was supposed to be a showdown in the Boys race as two of the top runners in the nation Dylan Jacobs of Sandburg and Danny Kilrea of Lyons Township faced each other for the first time since September 2. Jacobs sprinted out to the lead in the first 400-meters of the race and never looked back. The margin between the two stayed within six to seven seconds for most of the race. The margin at the end was eight seconds as Jacobs crossed the line as the sectional champ (14:39) breaking Blake Evertson’s course record on this version of the course in this park (14:48). Kilrea followed (14:47) looking fresh as he crossed the finish line. If this is any indication of what we could see next Saturday at Detweiller Park, it could be a memorable must watch race.

#1 Downers Grove North proved that they will be the team to beat in next week’s 3A Boys state race. The Trojans placed 6 runners in the top 14 to easily win the team title with 41 points. Jacob Ridderhoff led the Trojan charge as he finished third overall. Sam McCool, who was the team’s sixth runner in last week’s regional race, was the team’s #2 runner as he finished seventh. Jack Roberts was in 8^th followed by Nick Chudzik (10^th), Ryan Birkmeier (13^th), and Miles Christensen (14^th). The split on their five scorers was ONLY 16 seconds. #4 Lyons Township placed 3 runners in the first 11 with Kilrea, Charles Harders (4^th) and Collin Costello (11^th) to finish second (86 points). #6 Hinsdale Central finished third (102 points) led by Colin Yandel’s fifth-place finish. Stephen Pipilas finished sixth to help #11 Downers Grove South make it to state finishing fourth (122 points). #10 Sandburg finished fifth (129 points) with the final qualifying spot ahead of sixth-place #14 Plainfield South (150 points).

Lake Park Sectional

The expected showdown between two of the top Girls runners in the state defending state champion Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West and Enyaeva Michelin of Evanston Township materialized for the first half of the race at Lake Park’s East Campus Course. The two ran side-by-side before Hart pulled away from Michelin just before the second-mile. Hart put the hammer down in the final mile to cross the line with back-to-back sectional titles in running 16:28.52. The early pace looked like it effected Michelin in the final mile as she ran 16:54.64 to hold off Glenbard West’s Lindsey Payne for second. Payne ran 16:57.90 to finish third.

The team race was a repeat of last week’s Wheaton North Regional race pitting the pack of Wheaton-Warrenville South and the front-running of Glenbard West. The Hilltoppers had the power up front with Hart, Payne, and Katie Hohe (sixth overall). It was #4 Wheaton-Warrenville South’s pack that was in front as they won the Sectional title with 51 points. #6 Glenbard West was second (73 points). South was again led by freshman Samantha Poglitsch finishing fourth overall. The Tigers placed 5 runners in the first 16 with Maria Rucoba (7^th), Haley Ansiel (11^th), Laurel Moneysmith (13^th), and Kaitlyn Nenninger (16^th) following Poglitsch. The split on the group was 56 seconds but only 18 seconds on their second through fifth runners. “We looked good today,” Wheaton-Warrenville South Rob Harvey said after the race. “But I think that we can run better.”

Glenbard West did run better in this meet as Abby Hoffman (26^th) and Claire Kenwood (39^th) were closer than they were the week before. #12 New Trier displayed great pack running moving towards the front during the race to finish third (79 points) led by the ninth-place finish from Bridget Forbes and only an 11 second split on their top five runners. #21 York advanced to state by finishing fourth (132 points) led by Sarah May finishing eight and the pack behind her led by Katherine Tomaska (28^th) and Emma Kern (29^th) leading an only eight second split on that group. #25 Maine South was the final team to advance (210 points) behind Olivia Niziolek’s fifth-place finish.

The outcome was different than the week before at the Wheaton North Regional as regional champ Wheaton-Warrenville South winning by 12 points ahead of Glenbard West. The tables turned in this race as the Hilltoppers won the individual battles in this sectional race. #7 Glenbard West placed 5 runners in the top 20 to win the team title 58-67 ahead of #3 Wheaton-Warrenville South. West was helped by the addition of Will O’Brien who missed last week’s regional race. West had the strength up front as Rory Cavan and Stephen Moody finished third and fourth. O’Brien was next (12^th) followed by Ian Repking (19^th) and Cameron Benes (20^th) who finished within two seconds of each other. Their overall split was 27 seconds. Glenbard West’s runners were ahead of Wheaton-Warrenville South in four of the top five positions. The tigers had top ten finishes from Sean Maison (fifth-place) and William Hauenstein (seventh-place) as the team had a 33 second split on their pack that had 5 runners in the top 26.

Maine South’s Brandon Christopher and Tommy Brady pushed the pace early in the race opening a 10-meter gap on the rest of the pack led by Whitney Young’s Clayton Mendez. The group caught up to the Maine South duo just after the first mile. Mendez made his move taking the lead just after the second mile with Brady in hot pursuit. The lead continued to grow for the Whitney Young senior as he crossed the line in 14:35.42 some eight seconds ahead of Brady (14:43.42).

There were so many storylines in the Boys race. One was the third-place finish of York (117 points) led by the ninth-place finish from Sean MacGregor. What was noticeable for York was the return of Charlie Kern Jr. who ran in his first race since Detweiller at Dark at the end of July. This was a “rust-buster” type of a race for Kern as he was the team’s fifth runner finishing 39^th overall. It was just good to see this York senior running again. Whitney Young, who had not been ranked in the top 25 all season, is peaking at the right time as they finished fourth (146 points) behind Mendez and the 11^th place finish from Charlie Nevins.

Only one point separated the next two teams with #21 New Trier having the edge 155-156 over a heartbroken #17 Wheaton North squad. The bigger story in this was that New Trier was led by Patrick Norrick gutting his way to a 10^th place finish holding off Whitney Young’s Nevins for that spot. That one point was the turning point for the Trevians.

“Patrick strained his piriformis muscle after racing at Wheeling.  This is a tough injury to beat and very painful since the swelling from a strained piriformis causes compression on the sciatic nerve and numbness throughout the leg,” New Trier Coach David Wisner said after the race. “After this injury occurred we knew that Pat probably only had one race left in him.  He has run easy on most days and tried a few workouts, but this only seemed to make things worse.  It was his decision to race at sectionals and help his teammates advance to state.  Without him we would have stayed home.  Seeing him struggle to walk after the race brought tears to my eyes because pain never seems to bother him, and he was really hurting. My hope is that he can fully recover and finish his Trevian career in Charleston.  So many of our guys made the difference for our team in the final few meters.  It was probably the best team effort I have ever been a part of.  It wasn't pretty, we can certainly run better, but we got the job done.”

It is the things that athletes will do in this sport for their teammates that is the most gratifying. Norrick exemplified that on Saturday.

Waubonsie Valley Sectional

#1 Naperville North dominated the Girls race in this sectional taking the first four places and their fifth runner Megan Driscoll finishing 17^th overall to score only 27 points for the sectional championship. Sarah Schmitt led her team with the individual win (17:17) ahead of Alex Morris by 21 seconds. Hannah Ricci (17:51) and Claire Hill (18:06) finished third and fourth with Driscoll in 17^th (18:40). #11 Batavia finished second (96 points) as Mia Gianfrancesco (sixth-place) led her team’s pack that placed 5 runners in the top 37. It got close after that for the final three team spots. Oswego East finished third (151 points) led by Abby Flammersfeld’s 15^th place finish. #23 Naperville Central and #24 Oswego finished fourth and fifth both scoring 165 points. Central was led by Emily R. Scott’s 20^th place finish as well as a 32 second split on their top five. Grace Pagone and Isabelle Christensen finished 10^th and 11^th to lead Oswego. #22 Hononegah missed qualifying as a team finishing sixth (173 points). They did have two individual qualifiers as Taylor Frommer and Lauren Johnston finished seventh and eighth overall.

Zach Kinne not running for Neuqua Valley in this race was a planned one according to Neuqua Valley Coach Paul Vandersteen. Kinne did not run in last year’s sectional race. The #2 Wildcats still prevailed winning the sectional title with 52 points. Ryan Kennedy led his team with a fourth-place finish overall as the team had 5 runners in the first 15. Chris Keeley was the team’s second runner (7^th) followed by Alex Johnson (12^th), Tyler Bombacino (14^th), and Michael O’Connor (15^th). The split on Neuqua’s top five was only 18 seconds. #16 Naperville Central finished second (80 points) paced by top ten finishes from Thomas Shilgalis (third-place) and Adam Balutowski (fifth-place). #24 St. Charles East qualified for the state meet for the fourth year in a row as they finished third (150 points) with a 24 second split on their top five led by Cole Adesso’s ninth-place finish.

Josh Rodgers of Geneva ran 15:24 to win the individual race by two seconds ahead of Matthew Blanco of Oswego East. His win, along with the 10^th place finish from his teammate Ryan Kredell helped Geneva qualify for state finishing fourth (161 points) just ahead of Upstate Eight Conference rival Batavia who was just two points back in fifth running only a 28 second split on their top five. #8 Huntley did not advance to the state meet finishing seventh with 183 points. Oswego finished just ahead of Huntley in sixth in the process qualifying three individuals to the state meet.

Hoffman Estates Sectional

The Busse Woods course has been in better shape than it was on Saturday for this sectional race. Runners had to run through a patch on the course three times that had mud close to four inches deep. The runners prevailed over the course on this day.

#5 Hersey placed 4 runners in the top 20, 5 in the first 31 to win the Sectional championship with 73 points. Josh Methner led the team with a second-place finish (14:45.4) in which he finished less than three seconds behind individual race winner Nick Laning of Barrington (14:42.9). Ryan Thiesen was the team’s second runner (10^th) followed by Nate Mayo (17^th), Max Svienty (20^th), and Ryan Buch (31^st). The split on their top 5 was 54 seconds with only a 23 second split from their second through fifth runners. #12 Lake Zurich has been coming on strong and that showed with their second-place finish in this meet scoring 117 points. Patrick Burns led the Bears finishing fourth overall. Barrington, behind Laning’s win, bounced back after a fourth-place finish at the Palatine Regional to finish third (134 points). #15 Mundelein made it to the state meet for the first time in the program’s history as they were three points behind Barrington finishing fourth (137 points). They were led by the fifth-place finish from Robert St. Clair. #23 Dundee-Crown also made it to the state meet for the first time as they finished fifth running a 21 second split on their top five led by Adam Swanson’s 22^nd place finish. #25 Palatine finished sixth missing qualifying for state by four points.

#5 Barrington should be a team to watch in next week’s 3A Girls State Meet. The Fillies, led by the individual win from Jocelyn Long and fifth-place finish from Molly FitzPatrick, won the sectional title with 86 points. Long used a strong finishing kick to capture the individual sectional title running 16:57.8 to finish ahead of Schaumburg’s Madison Marasco (17:00.2) and Melissa Manetsch of Libertyville (17:02.3). Barrington placed 5 runners in the first 38 with Alyssa Morris (15^th), Katherine Shien (36^th), and Anne Berqusit (38^th) finishing behind Long and FitzPatrick. #15 Prospect finally made it to the state meet after finishing sixth the past two years. The Knights, led by Marissa Valentini (14^th) and Mikayla Olsen (17^th) in the top 20, scored 126 points. #16 Stevenson was third (132 points) making a return trip to the state meet led by Natalie Sorenson’s 17^th place finish. #18 Cary-Grove continued their strong end of season running as they finished fourth (144 points) led by Alison Drage and her 11^th place finish. #20 Palatine makes it back to Peoria as freshman Anne Marie Jordan (ninth-place) led Palatine to a fifth-place finish (168 points).

Granite City Sectional

Yorkville was in charge in this sectional as they won both the Boys and Girls championships. #2 Yorkville showed they are ready for a challenge for the 3A state title as they scored only 26 points led by the individual win from Alyssa Edwards. The Lady Foxes put 5 runners in the top 11 with Edwards then Helena Kleronomos (3^rd), Emily Eberhart (5^th), Olivia Borowiak (6^th), and Hailey Simmons (11^th). That group had a split of 56 seconds with only 32 seconds separating their second and fifth runners. Edwards won the individual race (16:52) outkicking Minooka’s Emily Shelton winning by two seconds. Shelton and Vivian Van Eck’s seventh-place finish led #10 Minooka to second (73 points) as the Indians put 5 in the top 28. #7 Edwardsville finished third (89 points) led by the 8-9 finish from Abby Korak and Melissa Spencer. #19 Lockport Township used strong pack running led by Alexandra Skibicki’s 15^th place finish. The Lady Porters scored 117 points placed them fourth overall with only a 14 second split on their top five. The split from their second through fifth runners was only ONE second. #13 Lincoln-Way Central finished fifth (126 points) led by Mackenzie Brownrigg’s 10^th place finish. O’Fallon finished sixth missing qualifying for state by four points.

#22 Yorkville was in charge in the Boys race led by a 9^th place finish from Ben Summers and 11^th place finish from Ivan Westcott. The Foxes placed 5 runners in the top 35 with only a 28 second split to win the team title with 94 points. Matt Cox (13^th), Patrick Black (27^th), and Zack Price (35^th) followed Summers and Westcott across the line. Perhaps the biggest surprise in 3A Boys out of all the sectionals was the second-place finish from Lockport Township. The Porters ran their best race of the season scoring 95 points led by Cade Musich (7^th) and Marc Schelli (11^th). They had only a 25 second group on a pack that had 5 runners in the top 32. #18 Edwardsville was third (111 points) just one point ahead of conference rival O’Fallon (112 points). Lincoln-Way Central (131 points) was the final team to make it to state (131 points) ahead of sixth-place Minooka by eight points. In one of the closer finishes of the weekend across the state, Andrew O’Keefe of Granite City won the individual title by just four hundredths of a second ahead of O’Fallon’s Lucas Capistrant (14:56.34 – 14:56.38). Lincoln-Way East’s Brett Gardner finished third (15:10.83).