Illinois HS XC Weekend Highlights - August 28, 2022

Grace Schager 16:31 at St James Farm; Downers Grove North sweeps at EIU Showdown; Plainfield South Boys shine at Normal West

By Michael Newman [email protected]

This was the “first” weekend of the cross-country season in Illinois. It seems that more and more meets continue to pop up giving runners an early idea where they are at fitness-wise.

One of the biggest performances of this past week in a Girls Dual Meet between Wheaton North and Glenbard North. One of the eye-boggling performances came from Grace Schager of Glenbard North. The 3A state champion in the 3200 Meter Run last spring took the lead in the first 100-meters of the race and never looked back.

She ran the second fastest time ever of 16:31.8 on the historic St. James Farm 2.95 mile course. Katelynne Hart ran 16:21.8 to win an IHSA Regional in her sophomore season in 2017. Schager’s margin of victory was more than 3 minutes ahead of Wheaton North’s Janna Postma who ran 19:58.2.

Schager kicks off her big-meet schedule for 2022 starts this Saturday at the Harvey Braus Invitational at Lake Park on September 10. She will race the following week at the Richard Spring Invitational. Her next meet will be this Wednesday at Lake Park in a small quad meet.

Marcellus Mines of Joliet West set the stage in 3A Boys last Monday running 14:43 to win at Yorkville. You can read the recap and watch that race HERE.

Here are highlights from some of the meets that took place throughout Illinois over the past weekend. You can watch videos of the EIU Showdown HERE.

Saturday 8/27 Results

EIU Showdown at Neuqua Valley High School

Pleasant temperatures in the 70’s with high humidity did play a factor in this meet especially during the Boys Varsity Race. Bolingbrook’s Vincent DeFarno, who won at the SWSC Pre-Season Meet last Tuesday, collapsed just after 2-miles. He had to be taken to the hospital but is doing fine. He was in the lead pack at  the time it happened.

#7 Downers Grove North flexed it’s muscles in the Boys Varsity race that included five ranked teams in the field. The Trojans held back on the pace in the first mile passing in 5:04. They started to move in the second mile and secured the win at that point. North placed five runners in the top eight to win with a measly 24 points. Grant Schroder (2nd), Asa Gasper (3rd), and Topher Ferris (4th) were only separated by less than four seconds and led their team. Ryan Eddington (8th) and Caden Weber (9th) followed as the team’s fourth and fifth runners. Their top five split was only 13 seconds.

Zac Close of Neuqua Valley broke away from the pack just after 2-miles and rolled to the win by 12 seconds in 15:00.02 on the 2.95-mile Neuqua Valley Course. He led #11 Neuqua Valley to finish second (53 points) helped by a top 10 finish from teammate Robert Glenn who finished ninth. #9 Plainfield North finished third (95 points) without their top runner Oliver Burns. Ryan Tracey ran 30 seconds faster than last year’s meet to finish 10 overall to lead the Tigers. #27 Bolingbrook finished fourth (117 points) in this seven team meet

Carissa Hamilton of Neuqua Valley stayed with the pack for the first half of the race before deciding to go just before 2-miles. No other runners got close to her for the rest of the race. Hamilton, who was all-state last May in the 3A 1600 Meter Run, to run 18:09.27 for the win. Savanna Franzen of St. Joseph-Ogden finished second (18:29) holding off Downers Grove North’s Claire Pyne by two seconds.

The Girls team from Downers Grove North ran a pack race like the Boys team did the race before. The #9 Trojans placed six runners in the top ten to score only 23 points to claim the team win. Lily Eddington and Karly Harkness finished fourth and fifth behind Pyne. Sydney Hnatiuk (7th), Audrey Casten (9th), and Alayna Todnem (10th) were the next three runners in for North. Their top five split was 48 seconds.

Jacobs finished second (58 points) behind top 10 finishes from Bailey Schwartz (6) and Natalia Maciorowski (8th). #25 Neuqua Valley scored 63 points to finish third. Five teams scored in that race.

Normal West Invitational

#2 Plainfield South opened the season a little short handed with one of their top five runners out. That did not matter in this meet as they placed four runners in the top five to easily win with only 27 points. Zach Balzer of Minooka pushed the pace at the beginning with four Plainfield South runners close to him. Balzer made a surge just after 2-miles that was countered by Plainfield South’s Camyn Viger who took the lead. Viger held off Balzer in the final straight to take the win (15:15) a second ahead of Balzer (15:16).

BJ Sorg (3rd), Dylan Maloney (4th), and Ethan Reynoso (5th) were next for Plainfield South. Their top four split was only 19 seconds. Tyler Anderson was the team’s fifth runner in 16th place and 68 seconds behind Reynoso. #29 Minooka finished second (79 points) ahead of Lincoln-Way Central (100 points) and 2A #13 Champaign Central (103 points).

Gabriella McCollum of Minooka won her second race of the week in the Girls Varsity Race. The senior ran 18:47 to take home the win ahead of Normal West freshman Julie Bach (18:54). Minooka was in control in this race placing their scorers in the top 11 to claim the team title with 29 points. Maya Ledesma (3rd), Gabrielle Kics (4th), Taya Gummerson (10th), and Kylie Myers (11th) were the other scorers for the Indians. Their top five split was 74 seconds. Their split from Ledesma to Myers was 59 seconds. 2A #29 Washington, led by Olivia Nordheilm (5th) and Sophia Ramirez (6th), finished second with 61 points ahead of 2A #9 Dunlap (72 points) and 2A #25 Normal West (93 points).

Mascoutah Kickoff at Mascoutah HS

One of the top 1A runners in the state Elana Rybak of Father McGivney. won convincingly in her first race of the season. The sophomore 1A State Champion for 1600-meters last May ran 18:14 on the three-mile course for a 64 second win ahead of Althoff Catholic’s Eris Nelson (19:18). They were the only two runners under 20-minutes. 1A #4 Father McGivney did not run their entire team in this race.

1A #18 Breese Mater Dei, led by the third-place finish from Isabella Hacker, placed 5 runners in the top 20 to win the Girls team title with 43 points. 1A #29 Pinckneyville, led by the fourth-place finish from Vanessa Teel, finished second (69 points) ahead of Mascoutah (74 points) and Freeburg (86 points).

There was a three-way tie for the top spot in the Boys race. Host Mascoutah, 1A #22 Pinckneyville, and Alton all scored 94 points. They went to the sixth runner which gave the win to Mascoutah ahead of Fox MO and 1A #12 Freeburg (132 points). Isaac Teel of Pinckneyville opened his season running 15:10 to win the individual title ahead of Columbia’s Ethan Hogan (15:29) and Calvin Range (16:08).

Kane County Meet at Northwestern Medicine XC Course, Geneva

5 runners in the top 22 were enough to give Batavia the team win with 50 points. #26 St. Charles East finished second (64 points) ahead of Hampshire (93 points) and 2A #16 Marmion Academy (118 points). Quinin Lowe of Batavia stormed away from the field to claim the win in 15:35 on the 2.97-mile course. Mitch Garcia of St. Charles East (15:50), Evan Nosek of Kaneland (15:55), Ryan Kries of Burlington Central (16:04), and Connor Carlson of Marmion Academy (16:16) rounded out the individual top five.

#13 Batavia edged #12 St. Charles East 38 for the Girls team title in a battle between the two DuKane Conference rivals. Batavia placed 5 runners in the first 11 places with only a 36 second split on that group. Liliana Bednarek (4th), Ava Thomas (6th), and Brooke Silbernagel (7th) led Batavia. Heather Durrant of Larkin commanded the Girls Individual Race running 18:27 to win by close to one minute. Marley Andelman (19:19) and Brooklyn Walker (19:21) were the top two runners for St. Charles East. The Saints placed 5 runners in the top 19 for their second-place team finish.

McHenry County Championships @ Emricson Park, Woodstock

This was a great meet especially in the Girls race where some of the top 2A teams in the state faced off. It was a 3A team that was in control in the end.

#19 Huntley, led by the 3-5 finish from Breanna and Brittney Burak, placed 5 runners in the top 17 to claim the Girls team title with 44 points. McHenry, another 3A school, had a good team season opener in finishing second with 63 points. 2A #3 Crystal Lake South, who was without their top runner Isabella Gonzalez, scored 68 points to finish third. 2A #4 Crystal Lake Central, who was without their top runner Hadley Ferrero, scored 84 points to finish fourth.

2A #11 Prairie Ridge finished fifth with 87 points. They were led by Rachel Soukup who was the individual winner. The senior ran 18:36 to claim the win by 25 seconds ahead of McHenry’s Danielle Jensen (19:01) and Huntley’s Breanna Burak (19:27).

The Boys individual race was close and won by Crystal Lake Central’s Karson Hollander. The senior ran 16:30 to edge Tommy Nitz of Huntley by three seconds. Will Gelon of Prairie Ridge (16:40) and Ishan Patel of Woodstock (16:44) finished third and fourth. 2A #9 Prairie Ridge edged Huntley 52 – 55 for the team title ahead of 2A #18 Crystal Lake Central (67 points) and 2A #7 Woodstock (77 points).

Rocket Run for the Stars at Alpha Park, Bartonville

Brendan Heitzig of Lincoln opened his season with a win (15:41) ahead of his teammate Jake Bivin by 40 seconds (16:24). It was the pack of 1A #5 St. Teresa that made the difference in their team win. The Bulldogs placed their top 5 in the first 11 spots to take the team title with 31 points ahead of Lincoln (40 points) and Peoria Notre Dame (51 points). Their split on that group was 45 seconds led by the 3-4 finish from Caleb Kernaghan and Evan Cook.

Becca Heitzig of Lincoln dominated the Girls race claiming the individual crown running a fast 18:16. Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Kaitlyn Lee (19:50) and Vivian Rahmel (20:22) finished second and third. 2A #18 Peoria Notre Dame placed 4 runners in the top 9 to edge 1A #8 Sacred Heart-Griffin 34-38 for the Girls team title. A 4-5-6 finish from Eileen Zopel, Julia Mingus, and Grace Yontz led the way for the Irish.

Light It Up Invitational at Clinton HS

Danielle Bierbaum stepped into the spotlight in her first high school race. The Normal U-High freshman won her first race by 42 seconds Saturday night. Her time of 17:05 was 42 seconds ahead of Rochester’s Coleen Zeibert (17:47) and U-High’s Zoe Carter (17:59).

2A #24 Normal University and 2A #29 Rochester both scored 52 points to lead the team chase. U-High won the team title based on a sixth runner tiebreaker. U-High placed their entire top seven in the top 30 with Bierbaum, Carter, and Lana Alcorn (8th) finishing in the top seven. Rochester placed 4 runners in the top 11, 5 within the top 32 places, led by Zeibert, Ashley Zeibert (9th), Natalie Nichols (10th), and Brooke Zeibert (11th). Rochester has three freshmen in the top seven.

1A #3 Normal University ran short handed in this meet with one of their top runners Sachit Munduli on the sidelines still recovering from summer hamstring injuries. It did not matter in this meet for the Pioneers as they placed 5 in the top 24 to score only 42 points for the team win. Clinton (100 points), Shelbyville (128 points), Auburn (133 points), and Heyworth (139 points) rounded out the top five. U-High’s Brandt Henderson ran 15:43 to claim the win by 17 seconds ahead of Dylan Howell of Cerro Gordo-Bement and Sam Springer of Delavan. Arthur-Lovington, who finished second in last year’s 1A State Meet, only ran four runners in this meet.