2021 Naperville Twilight Invitational Preview

By Michael Newman

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Over 1500 runners and 26 schools will converge on the Naperville North Campus course for the Naperville Twilight Invitational on Wednesday night. The meet begins at 4:30 PM with the Girls Open race. The championship races will take place with the Girls going at 7:30 PM and the Boys racing at 8:00 PM. This is the seventh year that this meet will take place on this 3-mile course.

Conditions look to be great for this meet with temperatures in the 60’s when the championship races take place. The dry conditions could mean fast times on this course. Two of the top runners in the state, Ava Parekh of Latin School and Drew Rogers of Herscher, will lead their respective race fields and could come away from this meet with a win and a course record.

Here is a look at the teams in both championship races. We also give you an idea of who the top runners could be in each of those races.

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Illinois XC Speed Ratings Meet Projections

Girls (16 Teams) – 7:30 PM

#2 Naperville North – The last big meet for the Huskies is when they finished fourth at the Roy Griak Invitational on September 24. Lucy Westlake is the top runner on this team and should contend for a top 10 finish. Sophie Golobitsch was the team’s second runner in that race and was 40 seconds behind Westlake. Then comes the Huskies’ pack that had a split of 14 seconds between Golobitsch, Emma Berres, Julie Piot, and Marissa Magana. This team will be the favorite n their home course if they can run a similar type of split from their previous race. Closing the gap between Westlake in the top 10 and Golobitsch will be something to watch for.

#4 Minooka – The last meet for the Indians was the Macnider Invitational on September 25. They did not have two of their top five in that lineup in Jocelyn Host and Gabrielle Kics. Seven runners have been interchangeable in the top five led by Host and then followed by Kics, Gabriella McCollom, Audrey Boles, Kathryn Cichon, Cassie Fuhrman, and Taya Gummerson. The team’s top four split in the Macnider race was 46 seconds. The last time that Minooka ran their full lineup was at First to the Finish their top five split was 83 seconds. The key is getting 2 runners in the top 20 in this race and then seeing how many runners that they can break up the Naperville North pack with.

#5 Yorkville – The Lady Foxes started out slow at the beginning of the season but are coming on strong especially after finishing fifth at the Roy Griak Invitational on September 24. Anna Hunter should be the team’s top runner that will challenge for a top 15 finish. There was a 43 second split after A. Hunter before Ava Galloway crossed the line in the Griak race. Makenna Edwards and Margaret Hunter were part of a 2-4 pack that was separated by 21 seconds. Their overall split in that race was 10 seconds. Alex Stewart and Katie Melzer should close the gap on the fifth runner sot in this race. Tightening up that split might be needed to hold off Lyons Township and Naperville Central in this meet.

#6 Downers Grove South – The one team that could challenge for a top three finish. The Mustangs ran at full strength Saturday in Peoria winning the team title. The time before was at Fenton to start the season on September 4. In the Peoria meet, Sophia McNerney and Holly Johnson finished 1-2 in the race to lead the team. Kelsey Casella finished 9th to give the team a 34 second split on their top three. Then , they had a 79 second split before Madi Sisson crossed the line. Nora Joy and Rachel Rodi are the team’s fifth and sixth runners. Their strength comes from their top three runners. Moving the pack closer moves the team up.

#9 Lyons Township – The Lions have been coming on strong in recent weeks including finishing fifth at Palatine on September 25. Catherine Sommerfeld is a strong #1 runner for the team and could be in the top 10 in this race. They have a strong pack behind Sommerfeld that includes Abby Deuter, Scarlett Lestina, Shannon Cranny, and Anna Bylsma. Only 22 seconds separated that pack in the Palatine meet. The split between Sommerfeld and the pack was 80 seconds. Lyons should be in the top 5 teams in this meet. It would mean keeping Sommerfeld in the top 10 and closing the gap between her and the pack.

#13 Naperville Central – The Redhawks have been a surprise most of the season with strong races to start the year at Hinsdale and Peoria. Liv Phillips has the top runner for Central all season with sophomores Kate Tueting and Ava Hendren lead the pack behind Phillips. Addison George and Lola Satre-Morales give this team a solid top five. Phillips should be among the top 15 in this race. Keeping Tueting and Hendren close to Phillips will be something to watch. The top five split under 75 seconds solidifies the team’s finish in the top five.

#14 Glenbard West – The Hilltoppers raced last in the Falcon Flight Classic last Saturday. Their last team invitational race was at the Richard Spring Invitational on September 18 when they finished 13. They did that keeping some runners in the Frosh/Soph race. Audrey Allman is a runner that you should see in the front pack Wednesday night. Anna Nicoley gives West a solid second runner. Maggie Hibbard, Devyn Carr, Maia Kaslewicz, and Carlin Hass give the Hilltoppers a solid pack behind their first two runners. The team ran a 68 second split from their second through fifth runners in the Peoria race. Watch that pack split drop in this race..

#17 Wheaton-Warrenville South – A team that lost runners to graduation from last year. The Lady Tigers have gone from rebuild to reload mode with a chance to be a factor among the top teams in this meet. Freshman Nicole Poglitsch has stepped up at the team’s top runner at Palatine and could be a surprise in the top 20 in this race. Annie Macabobby provides senior leadership as the team’s second runner. Freshman Ashlyn Adams along with underclassmen Peyton Fleming, Kira Mothershed, and Jenna Bachara give the team a solid pack to build off in races. The team could have a split under 65 seconds in this race. That could put them in the hunt for a top five team finish.

#22 Downers Grove North – The Trojans have run solid races including their race at St. Charles North last Saturday and before that the Palatine Invitational on September 25 when they sixth. Ashley Novak and Claire Pyne are interchangeable in the front for North. The pack is young behind the two with sophomores Karley Harkness and Sydney Hnatiuk along with freshman Audrey Casten within 32 seconds of each other. The team should have a top five split under 50 seconds in this race but no real “star” runner that figures to be in the top 20. Novak and/or Pyne in the top 50 could push this team into the top five in the final standings

#28 Plainfield North – The Tigers should be among the top 10 teams in this meet. North’s last race resulted in a second-place finish at the Naperville Girls Invitational. Elise Czarniewski and Michelle Masis gives this team a solid 1-2 in the front. Claire Wilson, Aminah Hussain, and Kaitlyn Ward are solid as the team’s third through fifth runners. North could have a split of under 50 seconds on that group. The key will be getting a runner in the top 30 in this race.

#30 Batavia – A team that we could see in the top five in this meet. Katrina Schlenker leads the Bulldogs and could be one of the top five individual runners Wednesday night. Liliana Bednarek leads their pack that could include Ava Thomas, Sasha Semansion, and Olivia Gebhardt. The team had a 44 second split on their second through fifth runners in their race at the Roy Griak Invitational on September 24. The split between Schlenker and the pack was 104 seconds in that race. Those times need to decrease for Batavia to finish in the top half of this meet.

Metea Valley – The Mustangs have been ranked in the top 30 this season. They could be a surprise in this meet. They raced at St. Charles North last Saturday. They won the Mid-Season Classic at Harvest Christian Academy behind Keely Behr’s individual win and Sarah Maggio placing third. Sophomores Maya Hall, Kamea Baker, and Zoe Kirkman were also a part of the team’s top five in that meet. Behr could be in the top 15 in this race with Maggio a possibility in the top 25. Their three through five pack is tight at under 20 seconds. The gap of between 90 to 100 seconds between the first two and the pack could be problems in this race and might prevent them from finishing in the top 10.

Neuqua Valley – The Wildcats ran in the flight meet at Wheaton North last Saturday. They finished eighth at Culver IN on September 25 led by Ashley Robinson. Carissa Hamilton will lead the pack behind Robinson that could include Alyssa Mead, Gretchen Leland, and Alyssa Mead.

Lane Tech – The Indians last big race meet came at the Richard Spring Invitational on September 18 when they finished 29th in the 63-team field. Kate Roarty and Kylie Shraiberg were their top two runners in the Peoria race and are runners that you could see leading Lane Tech. Olivia Ide, Audrey Burmeiseter, and Caroline McCarthy could be runners that could be in the top five for this team.

Geneva – The Vikings ran a 70 second split on their top five when they finished 11th out of 16 teams at Saturday’s St. Charles North Invitational. McKenna Mertes and Agnes Bolender were under 21-minutes in the race and should be the team’s top runners in this race. Seniors Lily Ryan and Julianna Longo along with junior Rebecca Spezzano you should also see in their top five.

Waubonsie Valley – Their last race was at the Wheaton North Falcon Flight Classic on Saturday. Lily Babiak ran 18:14 in Saturday’s race and could be among the top 50 runners in this race. Carmen Solis, Payton Green, Jackson Dowell, and Anna Riggs are also possibilities to run in their top five in this race.

Team Summary – Naperville North and Minooka were separated by only 15 points when the two squads last met in Peoria in September. Does the gap widen or get narrower in this race? Yorkville ran great in Minnesota. Will they step it up even more on Wednesday night? Downers Grove South is coming off a big race Saturday at Peoria and could win with their strength in the front. They just need their fourth and fifth runners in between the above three teams. Lyons Township and Naperville Central are good. They could be a surprise in this race.

The Individual Race – Meet organizers did an excellent job of loading up this race with some of the top Girls runners in the state. Ava Parekh of Latin School comes into this race as the one runner to watch in the front. The last two races for Parekh have been great with a 16:27 win at the Richard Spring Invitational on September 18 and then less than a week later finishing second in the Gold Division race at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota. Parekh ran 16:33 as a sophomore in this meet in 2019 when she finished second behind Katelynne Hart. Judy Pendergast ran 16:15.2 in the inaugural race on this Naperville North Campus course to set the course and meet record in 2015. The record still stands. Does it come down in this race?

There are plenty of runners in this race that could push Parekh from the start. Mary Grace Hegberg of St. Viator was a last-minute entry on Monday. Hegberg pushed the pace at Palatine with Josephine Welin before finishing third in that race. Hegberg comes off a win at Niles West last Saturday where she was 30 seconds ahead of Northside Prep’s Elia Ton-That running 17:25. Ton-That is also in this field. She started off her season running a solo 17:15 at First to the Finish at the beginning of September. She could be ready to break another huge race on Wednesday night. Grace Schager of Glenbard South broke the 17-minute barrier at the Richard Spring Invitational on September 18 running 16:42. She is going to be in that front pack.

The one runner to keep an eye on in this race is Evelyn Hett from Jones Prep. This junior is coming off a 17:26 time that placed her fifth at the Palatine Invitational more than a week ago. I think we could see a big race from her in this meet. Another junior to watch for is Caroline Schoen of Homewood-Flossmoor who just ran 17:22 at Peoria last Saturday to finish third. Her personal best could also drop in this race. Louisa Diamond of Benet Academy is another last-minute entry. Diamond’s last race was a third-place finish at the Naperville Girls Invitational on September 24.

That’s just the individual entries in this meet. There are so many team runners that could influence the top 10 in this race. Audrey Allman of Glenbard West enters this meet having run 17:04 at Richard Spring. Alman’s last race was an eighth-place finish Saturday at Wheaton North. Sophia McNerney and Holly Johnson of Downers Grove South are coming off a 1-2 finish on Saturday at Peoria where McNerney ran 17:13 for the win. Johnson has run under 17:20 twice this fall including running 17:15 at Richard Spring. Teammate Kelsey Casella could be in the top 15 in this race. Lucy Westlake of Naperville North ran 17:27 to win the 3A race at First to the Finish. She will be in the mix in the front in this race. Catherine Sommerfeld of Lyons Township, Katrina Schlenker of Batavia, and Anna Hunter of Yorkville will be runners pushing for a finish in the top 10.

Some of the other runners to keep an eye on include Sarah Maggio of Metea Valley, Minooka’s Jocelyn Host and Gabrielle McCollum, Liv Phillips and Kate Tueting of Naperville Central, Nicole Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South, and Sophie Golobitsch of Naperville North.

Boys (18 Teams) – 8:00 PM

#4 Hinsdale Central – The Red Devils last raced at the Palatine Invitational where they finished second behind New Trier. Danny Watcke has been the team’s top runner all season. He was sick when he ran in the Palatine race and finished 11th overall. He should be in the front in this race. Colby Revord was the team’s 2 runner in the Palatine race and was only 10 seconds behind Watcke. At the First to the Finish Race, that gap was 53 seconds. Hinsdale ran a 9 second split on their second through fifth runners in that race. Colin Hill, Grant Miller, Aden Bandukwala, Revord, Jessie Gamboa, and Abhinav Reddy should all be in the top seven and any of them could be in the top five. Watcke was 49 seconds ahead of the pack in the Peoria meet. That split needs to come down 10 seconds with the same kind of pack split for the Red Devils to secure the team win.

#7 Downers Grove North – The last big invitational that the Trojans ran in was the First to the Finish Invitational on September 11. They finished one point behind Hinsdale Central. They did compete in the Minooka Flight Invitational the following week. North ran this kind of schedule two years ago and ran well in this race. Roy Llewellyn should be in the top five in this race. He ran 15:03 in Peoria. The split between Llewellyn and then their next two runners Topher Ferris and Karan Shetty was 28 seconds. It could be closer in this meet. It was only nine seconds at the St Charles meet on September 4. Sophomores Ryan Eddington and Caden Weber give the team a strong fourth and fifth runners. The split on five in Peoria was 72 seconds. The split the previous week at St. Charles was 50 seconds. Their top three should be closer together on Wednesday. The key is having three runners in before Hinsdale’s second and their fourth runner in before Hinsdale Central’s fourth runner to win this meet.

#8 Neuqua Valley – A team to keep an eye on in this race especially after their race in Peoria last Saturday. The Wildcats only ran five in that race finishing fourth due to tiebreaker procedures. New Trier and Warren Township that finished that placed ahead of them had the same point total. Noah Schalliol, Ryan Palmer, Zac Close, and Charlie Rook were only separated by 20 seconds in the Peoria race. Nick Rohlwing finished 39th giving the team a 36 second split. The team’s split at Culver the week before was 38 seconds. Neuqua Valley will be in the hunt for the win but will need to move the team up just a little bit to accomplish that.

#10 Lyons Township – A team that is coming on strong and will only get stronger as we get close to the state series. The Lions last race was at Culver Academies on September 25 finishing ahead of Neuqua Valley. Charlie McLawhorn has been the team’s top runner all season and will be in the mix to finish in the top 10 here. Seniors Hayden Constas and Finn Gallagher are a solid part of the team’s top five. The addition of sophomores Nicholas Strayer and Cillian Henning into that top five group make this team even stronger. The top five split in the Culver race was 47 seconds with only 17 seconds between Constas and Gallagher. A similar type of race in this meet could have them leaving Naperville with the team title.

#11 Downers Grove South – Another team that is coming on strong and could surprise some teams in this meet. The Mustangs finished sixth at Peoria behind Tim Neumann’s sixth-place finish. Neumann should be among the lead pack in this race. The magic of the improvement of this team has been some solid pack running especially in the Peoria race. Their second through seventh runners, Nick Motuelle, Carter Smott, Jacob Curulewski, Joey Puccillo, Josh Poeschel, and Jeffrey Spirek were all within 13 seconds of each other on Saturday. The gap between Neumann and the group was 67 seconds. This is a meet with some many teams that have great packs. This group needs to be within 54 seconds of Neumann in order to finish in the top three or win the meet.

#14 Waubonsie Valley – The Warriors will be shorthanded in this meet. One of their top five runners Aidan Oster has a minor injury and will be rested in this meet. He should be ready to go for their conference race and the state series. Waubonsie relies on tight pack running and will need that, especially in this meet. Angel Solis, Jacob Tukker, and Ethan Marshall were separated by two seconds in Saturday’s race. Their total split was 47 seconds in the race with Chris Miserendino and Andres Perez the team’s fourth and fifth runners. The team split when they finished fourth in Peoria on September 11 was only 28 seconds with Solis finishing 12th overall. Solis could be in the top fifteen with his two teammates within at least 10 seconds of him. Their top five split needs to be under 35 seconds if this team wants to contend for the team win.

#20 Minooka – Minooka should be at full strength for this meet as one of their top five runners Emerson Fayman is back after missing the past two meets due to a minor injury. Zachary Balzer and Daniel Schalk are the top two runners for this team and could be in the top fifteen in this race. The team had a 60 second split at Schaumburg on September 25 without Fayman. Cole Kics, Hayden Host, and Alex Forster were in the top five in that race. Their split at First to the Finish with Fayman as the team’s third runner was also 60 seconds. We could see Host run in the sophomore race. There is a history of this program running their younger runners in lower-level races. A team to keep an eye on that could finish in the top five.

#21 Plainfield North – The Tigers have not run their varsity top seven in a team invitational since the First to the Finish Invitational on September 11. North did run their top runners in the Minooka Flight meet the following week. Oliver Burns won at Minooka and finished fourth at Peoria and will be a treat to win in this race. The team had a 40 second split in the pack behind Burns in the Peoria race with Cooper Shelton leading the pack and Ryan Tracey, Josh Furnish, and Suchir Sumant following behind. The split between Burns and the pack was 59 seconds in that race. That gap needs to close in this meet for the team to be among the top five team finishers.

#25 Naperville Central – The Redhawks raced on Saturday in the St. Charles North Invitational where they finished third overall behind Wheaton-Warrenville South and Naperville Central. Nicholas Keeling finished second in that race and could challenge for a top 15 finish on Wednesday. The team’s overall split in that race was 72 seconds with a gap of 33 seconds between second runner Luke Noren and fifth runner Thomas Mask. Owen Foster and Lucas De La Cruz were also a part of that top five.

#27 Oak Park-River Forest – The Huskies last raced at the Palatine Invitational on September 25 where they finished 17th. They did this without two of their sophomores Michael Michelotti and David Johnson finishing in the top 10 in the sophomore race. The two runners would have been a part of the team’s Varsity top five. Liam Newhart was the team’s top runner at Palatine. Nicholas Parrell, Aden Weiss, and Owen Augustine could be runners that you see in the team’s top five in this race.

#29 Naperville North – The second-place finish for the Huskies at the Locktoberfest Invitational on Saturday was a tune-up for Wednesday’s race on their home course. Gabe Ryan is the team’s top runner that could find himself in the top five in this race. Here is another team that has a tight second through fifth runner pack. Addisu Wolski, Peter Harrison, Harrison Boelke, and Colin Corcoran were only separated by 6 seconds in the Lockport race. Sixth runner Gabe Russell was just another four seconds behind. The gap between Ryan and that pack is 47 seconds. The Huskies just need to run a similar type of race on their home course to be among the top five teams in this race.

Yorkville – The Foxes had a breakout race at the Roy Griak Invitational in September where they finished 19 out of 47 teams in the Gold Division race. Seniors Brody Ferko, Nick Clever, and Nathan Summers were all within 23 seconds of each other. Ben Whaley and Hayden Reyes were the team’s fourth and fifth runners. Yorkville had a 46 second split on their top five in that race. A similar race like their Minnesota run with the pack moving closer to the front could put this team in the top half of the standings.

Lane Tech – The last big invitational race for the Indians came over two weeks ago at the Richard Spring Invitational where they finished 19 in the 61-team field. Hunter Whitney has stepped up as the team’s top runner and could finish in the top 25 in this race. There was a 42 second split between their next four runners of Will Kozlowski, Jack Klein, Ian Yeagle, and Tommy Stecz. Their overall top five split at Peoria was 84 seconds. That needs to come down if this team has intentions of finishing in the top 10 Wednesday night.

Jones College Prep – The last race where their top seven ran was at Palatine on September 25. The Eagles finished 18th overall in that race. Sophomore Samuel Berlinghof stepped up in that race as the team’s top runner with senior Alan Menninger just 13 seconds behind him. Alexander Leonard, Sam Mortensen, and Alexander Papadopoulos were the team’s top three runners in the Junior Varsity race and could give Jones a boost in their top five in this race.

Glenbard West – This program did not run their top runners at Lockport on Saturday. The last big race for the Hilltoppers is when they finished fifth at Kaneland on September 18. Michael Miller and Patrick Adduci were the team’s top runners in that race. Their third through five pack of Owen Reifel, Sullivan Monteith, and Austin Nielsen had only an eight second split with an overall top five split of 49 seconds.

Batavia – The last big race for the Bulldogs is when they finished seventh at Bartlett on September 25. Quintin Lowe has been the team’s top runner. He finished fourth at Bartlett and could be in the top 20 in this race. The pack behind Lowe of Colin Knowles, Anders Nyland, Jonah Fallon, and Francesco Benelli only had a 24 second split between the four runners. The gap between Lowe and the pack in that race was 60 seconds.

Geneva – Nathan Lehman and Anthony Ross have been the team’s top runners in the past couple of meets. Juniors Andrew Warcup, Jack Kuehl, and David Roeder keeping close together and keeping their top five split under 60 seconds could mean a surprise for the other teams ahead of them.

Metea Valley – Benjamin Lamsma has been the team’s top runner throughout the season. He could finish in the top 30 in this race. The Mustangs have a good sophomore squad with Nathan Behr, Rameez Abrar, Austin Brown, and Rohan Aleti a possibility to push for the Sophomore team title in this meet.

Team Summary – The scenario is the same as on the overall state level. There are so many teams that are so close together on a racing level. It is something that we are going to see in Wednesday night’s race. Hinsdale Central is the top ranked team in this race and will need a top five finish from Daniel Watcke and a pack close to him. Downers Grove North could have three runners in the first 10. It will then come down to the relationship of where the rest of their pack lands in comparison to their WSCS rival. Neuqua Valley ran a great pack race in Peoria. Can they get that pack to North’s top three? Lyons Township, Downers Grove South, and Waubonsie Valley all have great pack running teams that could be among the first three teams. It could be 20 points that separates the first five teams. It will be that close in this race.

The Individual Race – The Boys Course record is 14:27.2 set by Thomas Shilgalis in this 2017 meet. It is a record that could be threatened on Wednesday. Drew Rogers of Herscher is the only individual invitee in the Boys field and could be the runner to take this record down. This will be Rogers’ third race in the last eight days. He ran a solo but sensational 15:45 on a rough Furrow Farm course to win on September 28. He ran a tactical race on Saturday at Lisle when he ran 15:25 on the Community Park 5-kilometer course to take the win. Rogers only has a 14:51 3-mile best this fall at Paxton-Buckley-Loda on September 11. That time should be much faster in this race.

The question will be how tactical the pace is in the first mile on this fast course. Tim Neumann of Downers Grove South finished sixth last Saturday in Peoria running 14:38. He could be one of those runners that pushes the pace. Oliver Burns of Plainfield North has not raced since the Minooka Invitational on September 18 when he won the championship flight. Burns ran 14:57 to finish fourth in a tactical race at First to the Finish the week before. Burns will be running faster in this meet. Daniel Watcke of Hinsdale Central started out his season strong winning at the Hornet Red-Devil Invitational and First to the Finish in the first two weeks of the season. Watcke was sick when he finished 11th at Palatine more than a week ago. He will be challenging for the win in this race.

Charlie McLawhorn of Lyons Township, Gabe Ryan of Naperville North, and Roy Llewellyn of Downers Grove North are runners that you could see in the top five. Hunter Whitney of Lane Tech, Noah Schalliol of Neuqua Valley, Nicholas Keeling of Naperville Central, Samuel Berlinghof of Jones Prep, and Zachary Belzer of Minooka are some of the other runners that you might see finish in the top 10.