Illinois HS XC Weekend Highlights - September 4, 2022

 

York Girls, Downers North Boys steamroll to wins at Leavey; Becca Heitzig 17:17 at Rochester; Naperville North Girls prevail at Pleasant Valley IA; Newport breezes to win at Plainfield Central

 

By Michael Newman [email protected]

 

The meets in the first real weekend of cross-country in Illinois were simply awesome. Were any definitive questions answered over the past few days? Not really. We did get hints of what some of the top runners looked like and how some teams are shaping up.

 

The Hornet-Red Devil Invitational did not fail to disappoint as it was the top meet of the weekend. You can watch videos from that meet on this link or read the recap of all that action by clicking on this link.

 

Here is a look of highlights of some of the meets that took place across the state over the weekend.

 

St. Charles Jeff Leavey Invitational

Defending 3A champions York started where they left off last November dominating in their opening race of the season Saturday at Northwestern Medicine XC Course in Geneva. York, the top ranked 3A Girls team in the state to start the 2022 season, place 5 runners in the top 9 to easily win the team championships with only 27 points. #12 St. Charles East (109 points), and #19 Huntley (114 points) finished second and third.

 

Bria Bennis of York pulled away from the field on this 2.97-mile course. Bennis ran 17:43 to win by 12 seconds ahead of Prairie Ridge senior Rachel Soukup (17:55) and Breanna Burak of Huntley (18:06).

 

York’s inner pack behind Bennis only had a 26 second from their second through fifth runners with Katherine Klimek (4th), Brooke Berger (5th), Michaela Quinn (8th), and Maggie Quinn (9th). Their top five runner split was only 70 seconds.

 

#7 Downers Grove North also dominated in the Boys Varsity race putting their top five in the first spots to easily win with 20 points. Seven points separated the next four teams with Huntley (96 points) edging ahead of #26 St. Charles East (100 points), Jacobs (102 points) and 2A #16 Marmion Academy (103 points).

 

Tommy Nitz of Huntley finished ahead of the Downers Grove North pack running 15:11 to capture the win. Topher Ferris led his team’s pack running 15:13 to finish second. Caden Weber, Asa Gaspar, Grant Schroeder, and Ryan Eddington were the next four runners across the line for the Trojans. North’s top five split was 42 seconds. Their split from Weber to Eddington was 29 seconds.

 

Pleasant Valley Spartan Classic

This is the traditional beginning meet for Illinois power #3 Naperville North on this labor day weekend. The team this week was hit by illness with as many as 20 runners out during the week. The Huskies still prevailed in this Iowa meet held at Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf. North placed 5 runners among the top 18 to win with only 43 points. Iowa powers Johnston (69 points) and Pleasant Valley (87 points) finished second and third. Pleasant Valley’s Grace Boleyn ran 19:00 on this ultra-hill heavy 5k course to win ahead of Johnston’s Olivia Verde (19:00) and Alyx Woodley (19:21).

 

The shorthanded team from Naperville North still ran a great pack race to earn the win. Julie Piot led the way running 19:22 to finish fourth. Freshman twins Rianna and Shania Tandon were 19 seconds behind Piot finishing sixth and seventh separated only by a second. Logan Brennan was also in the top 10 finishing ninth running 19:52. Samantha Falkman was the team’s fifth runner finishing 18th. The top five split for the Huskies was 80 seconds. Their split in their top four runners was 30 seconds.

 

#23 Wheaton North was close to the win in the Boys Varsity race. Johnston IA edged Iowa City 66-69 for the team win. Wheaton North scored 73 points to finish third. Ford Washburn of Iowa City was in command of this race running 15:48 to win the individual race ahead of Jaxson Plumb of Johnston IA (16:07).

 

Wheaton North had three runners finish in the top 10 led by Caleb Youngstedt in seventh followed by Aidan Murphy and Ben Shebar who finished ninth and tenth. The Falcons top five split was 83 seconds.

 

John Kurtz Early Bird Invitational

#9 Downers Grove North put 4 runners in the top 9 with only a 28 second split to easily win the Girls Varsity team title with only 33 points. #24 Oak Park-River-Forest (98 points) and 2A #2 Grayslake Central (118 points) finished second and third. Katie Stabb of Oak Park-River Forest started off her season with a convincing win. The junior’s time of 18:30 was 22 seconds ahead of Downers Grove North’s Claire Pyne (18:52). Pyne’s teammate Lilly Eddington (18:58) was another six seconds back. Taft’s Hannah Diete (19:05) finished fourth.

 

North’s Karly Harkness (5th), Sydney Hnatiuk (9th), and Alayna Todnem (18th) rounded out their team’s top five. Their top five split was 64 seconds.

 

Liam Newhart ran 15:32 to win the individual Boys title and led #4 Oak Park-River Forest to the team title. It was a close finish with Mario Torres of Buffalo Grove (15:33) and Trey Sato (15:37) of Grayslake Central finishing second and third.

 

Oak Park-River Forest put 5 runners in the top 12 to win only 34 points. #17 Hersey ran a great team race finishing second with 57 points. 2A top ranked Grayslake Central scored 111 points to finish third ahead of Conant (132 points). 1A #1 DePaul Prep scored 166 points to finish fifth.

 

OPRF’s pack behind individual winner Newhart was led by Nick Parrell (7th) followed by Daniel Johnson (10th), Michael Michelotti (11th), and Owen Augustine (12th). Their split on those four runners was only 20 seconds. Their overall pack split on five was 45 seconds. Hersey put 3 runners in the top 10 with Liam Naughton (4th), Cameron Donner (5th), and Rob Geissenberger (6th) separated by only 12 seconds.

 

Mike Kuharic Invitational

Both the individual and team race Saturday at Lyons Township’s South campus course were close. Nick Strayer unleashed a powerful kick down the final straight to win on his home 5k course with a 15:32 time. Cooper Marrs of Riverside-Brookfield showed his fitness level running 15:34 to finish second. There was a 25 second gap before Luca Arcuri of Maine South (15:59), Cillian Henning of Lyons Township (16:03), and Carter Smoot of Downers Grove South (16:06) came in between third through fifth.

 

#12 Maine South edged host #9 Lyons Township 61-67 for the team title finishing ahead of #28 Downers Grove South (76 points) and 2A #3 Riverside-Brookfield (100 points). Maine South had a 56 second split on their top five based off Arcuri’s finish. Lyons Township put four runners in the top 19, but their fifth runner placed 43rd. Lyons would have won the team title with two sophomore runners that finished the top three in that race would have moved into the team’s fourth and sixth spots.

 

#6 Lyons Township dominated the Girls team race even though their top runner Catherine Sommerfeld did not race in this meet. 5 runners in the top 8 with 4 runners in the top 5 sealed the win for the Lions with 22 points. Shannon Cranny and Charlotte Lange led that pack that was separated by only four seconds. Their overall split on five was 37 seconds.

 

Sandburg finished second (63 points) ahead of #20 Lincoln-Way East (93 points). Sandburg freshman Lindsey Gerhardstein ran 18:59 to claim the individual win by 45 seconds ahead of Cranny.

 

Granite City Invitational

Times were fast Saturday at Wilson Park like they usually are especially in the Boys Varsity 3-mile race. Ian Kerney of Rock Bridge pulled away from Marion’s Dylan Nalley at the end to win the race (14:34.2) ahead of Nalley (14:38). Kerney’s teammate Andrew Hauser was the only other runner under 15-minutes running 14:47.5 to finish third. Dylan Ybarra of O’Fallon (15:03) and Ethan Hogan of Columbia (15:15) finished fourth and fifth.

 

Missouri teams took the top two places in the team race. Rock Bridge MO ran 42 points to win with a 16 second split from their third through fifth runners. They are running big out of state meets to get themselves ready for the NXR Midwest Regional November. They will race at Lavern Gibson National XC Course on October 1 for the Nike Twilight Meet.

 

St. Louis University MO scored 71 points to finish second ahead of Marion (111 points), 2A #30 Bethalto Civic Memorial (187 points), and #16 O’Fallon (200 points).

 

It was close also in the Girls race as Rock Bridge edged 2A #11 Chatham-Glenwood 73-78. #16 Edwardsville (106 points), 2A #19 Waterloo (107 points), and O’Fallon (132 points). Carolyn Ford of Rock Bridge ran 17:16 to win by 60 seconds ahead of Hannah Meiser of Civic Memorial. Rock Bridge freshman Mae Walker ran 18:20 to finish third.

Chatham-Glenwood had a 79 second split on their top five that included two freshmen in the group. Rachel Behrens led the Titans with a fifth-place overall finish.

 

Plainfield Central Wildcat Invitational

Riley Newport of DeKalb made it look easy winning his second race of the week. Newport was timed in 15:07 to win by 44 seconds ahead of Jeremiah Lanum of Bradley Bourbonnais (15:51) and another nine seconds ahead of Waubonsie Valley’s Austin McInturff (16:02). Waubonsie Valley had 5 runners in the top 11 with a 39 second spit to win the Boys team title with 38 points. #14 DeKalb scored 60 points to finish second.

 

#28 Lockport placed 4 runners in the top 8 to easily win the Girls team title with 40 points. Waubonsie Valley scored 80 points to finish second. Madeline Mellin of Bradley-Bourbonnais 18:40 in winning the Girls individual race. Waubonsie Valley’s Lilly Baibak ran 18:58 to finish second.

 

Silver Streak Invitational

2A #12 Morton made a huge statement in this meet. The Potters, who finished third in last fall’s state meet, put 5 runners in the top 11 with a 73 second split to easy win the Boys team title with 33 points. 2A #15 Dunlap was a distant second with 86 points. Dale Johnson of Sterling pulled away from the pack to run 15:36 and win the individual race. Morton’s Josh Weeks (15:51) and Chase Sauder (16:24) finished second and third.

 

2A #9 Dunlap ran a 50 second split wile putting 5 runners in the top 12 to win the Girls team title with 32 points. Normal West (85 points) finished second with Morton and Peoria Notre Dame both scoring 109 points. Wethersfield’s Kennady Anderson ran 18:39 to claim the individual title ahead of freshmen Julie Bach of Normal West (18:51) and Avery Rump of Fort Madison IA (19:11) who finished second and third.

 

Crystal Lake South Invitational

Brooke Johnston of Lake Zurich started her senior season with an easy win on the hills of Veteran Acres Park in Crystal Lake. Johnston ran 18:49 for the individual win by 20 seconds ahead of Danielle Jensen of McHenry (19:09). Bella Gonzalez of Crystal Lake South ran 19:19 to finish third. 2A #3 Crystal Lake South scored 54 points to win the Girls team championship ahead of McHenry (71 points) and Cary-Grove (77 points).

 

Orlando Hernandez of Belvidere North ran 16:46 to win the Boys race title ahead of Rory Gaan of Fremd (16:50) and Evan Horgan of Belvidere North (17:01). Fremd placed 5 runners in the top 16 to claim the Boys team title with 44 points. 2A #5 Belvidere North was just six points back scoring 50 to finish second. 2A #7 Woodstock scored 66 points to finish third.

 

Rochester Invitational

Becca Heitzig of Lincoln dominated this field running one of the fastest times in the state this early in the season. The junior was clocked at 17:17 to win the Girls race in this meet at Community Park over a great field. Colleen Zeibert of Rochester ran 17:58 to finish second. Louisa Wilson of Williamsville looked strong in running 18:17 to place third ahead of Liberty’s Arianna Neisen (18:23). Rochester’s team has looked strong  the first couple of weeks this season. The 2A #29 Rockets placed 4 runners in the top 11 in scoring 41 points to win the team title ahead of 1A #7 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (76 points), 1A #23 Williamsville (112 points), 1A #15 Pleasant Plains (122 points), and 1A #19 Clinton who rounded out the top five.

 

Lincoln edged Taylorville 65-67 for the Boys team title. Brenden Heitzig made it another sweep for their family running 14:59 to claim the win by 36 seconds ahead of teammate Jake Bivin.

 

Oregon XC Open

Winnebago swept the first three places in the Girls Varsity race. Marissa Roggensack led the team sweep for Bago running 19:53 in claiming the individual win. Kaylee Woolery (20:10) and Grace Erb (20:22) finished second and third. Winnebago did not run five runners and were not scored in the team standings. 1A #22 Rock Falls scored 69 points in winning the Girls team title with 1A #26 Rockford Christian (113 points) and Sherrard (135 points).

 

1A area powers went at it in the Boys race. #14 Riverdale placed 3 runners in the top 5 and 5 in the top 29 to win the team title 50-61 ahead of #4 Rockford Christian. Tommy Murray of Riverdale ran 16:18 for the win 12 seconds ahead of Weston Forward of Rockford Christian.

 

HCA Fall Harvest Classic

Eight seconds separated the top three runners in the Boys race. Daniel Winkelman was a “rude” host on his home course running 16:26 to win the individual title ahead of Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic (16:30) and Jaden Frederick of Glenbard South (16:34).

 

1A #5 St. Teresa, led by a 4-5-6 finish from Caleb Kernaghan, Evan Cook, and Martin Velchek, edged 2A #6 Glenbard South 44-47 for the team title. 1A #19 Aurora Central Catholic (53 points) and 1A #10 Harvest Christian Academy (91 points) finished third and fourth.

 

Anna Enderle of Chicago Christian ran 20:49 to claim the win in the Girls race ahead of Nora McCabe of Regina Dominican. Chicago Christian put three runners in the top five to claim the team title with 31 points. 1A #16 Willows Academy (64 points) and Elk Grove (113 points) finished second and third.

 

Charleston Invitational

Julian Baker of Mt. Zion claimed the individual title in the Boys race. His winning time of 15:53 was 13 seconds ahead of Logan Beckmier of Arthur-Lovington (16:03) and another three seconds ahead of Champaign Central freshman Logan Mathias (16:06). 2A #13 Champaign Central, led by Mathias and sixth-place finisher Peter Smith, put their scorers in the top 22 with a 59 second split to score 55 points for the team win. 2A #28 Mahomet-Seymour (80 points) finished second ahead of Mt. Zion (125 points) and Effingham (127 points).

 

2A #12 Mt Zion placed 5 runners in the top 15 led by the third-place finish from Sofia Munoz to claim the Girls team title with 43 points. Effingham scored 109 points to finish second. Shelbyville freshman Tessa Bowers dominated the individual race running 18:38 for the win. Ava Boyd of Mahomet-Seymour finished second (19:13) ahead of Mt. Zion’s Munoz (19:20).

 

Rich Dust Invitational

Marcellus Mines of Joliet West cruised to his second win of the season Saturday at North Creek Meadow. Mines ran 15:41 on the 5k course winning by 30 seconds ahead of Jose Lozano of Reavis (16:11) and Gerry Cushing of Lincoln-Way East (16:13). #30 Lincoln-Way East placed 5 runners in the top 15 to win the team title with 40 points. Stagg scored 96 points to finish second. Mia Nutile and Abigail Frias finished 1-2 to lead Oak Forest to the Girls team title with 46 points. Reavis scored 70 points to finish second. Nutile’s winning time was 22:04 eight seconds ahead of her teammate.