Behind the ILXCTF.com XC Rankings - September 7, 2022

 

By Michael Newman [email protected]

 

My process of figuring out what team should be ranked where has evolved since I started doing it for myself now for close to 25 years now. It’s not throwing darts at team names or picking school names out of a hat. I wish it was that easy. Back then, it gave me an idea of teams to watch or a writing tool for me if you want to call it that.

 

There is a cycle that goes on with cross country in this state when we see a mass number of all-state runners graduating setting off a chain reaction for teams across the state in which anything goes with the rankings. Then I end up writing and explaining why teams went were or things I see that could factor in when we get to the state series.

 

You are reading this now. So, that chain reaction is setting up.

 

For me, it is a matter of looking back at courses and how they compare to Detweiller. I have a grading code for that. I look at splits of teams and how they compare to other teams that are close in quality to them. Add some sugar, spice, some grass from Detweiller Park, and mix them all together and I come up with my weekly charts.

 

The inexperience of some teams are showing early. It is only one week of major meets but there is this trend that is developing. The next four weeks with some meets held at Detweiller Park will give us a better idea of which teams we could see in November.

 

Remember, it does not matter where you start but where you finish when you cross the line in November.

 

Here is my explanation for this week. You can follow each week’s ILXCTF Rankings on our RANKINGS PAGE

 

3A Boys

I thought we would see two or three teams break away from the rest of the field. Right now, there is one team solidly at the top, five more tams lurking behind, and then close to 17 teams that are within 25 to 30 seconds team time wise within each other. Things will be changing dramatically this month.

 

Hinsdale Central solidified their position at the top with a good (not great) race last Saturday on their home course. I look now and kick myself that I did not rank Downers Grove North higher. A great race at Neuqua Valley along with a solid win last week at St. Charles puts them ahead of Plainfield South. The two teams match up nicely and should provide a close race in Peoria. Neuqua Valley, Oswego East and Palatine ran well at Hinsdale. I can’t wait to see Alex Krieg run three-miles soon. The freshman set the 1.93 mile course at Legge. He has it and could push the Pirates near a trophy.

 

Barrington was the biggest moving team this week up into the top 10 after winning the Lake County Meet last Wednesday. Three teams moved into this week’s top 30. St. Ignatius Prep stepped up to #18 after an impressive run at Lewis University. West Aurora had solid runs at the Aurora City Championships and then last week at Lyons and entered at #23. Batavia did not have Kane County Champion Quintin Lowe in their lineup at Hinsdale, but their win at Kane County moved them into the #30 spot.

 

3A Girls

There was a huge point margin between the top two ranked teams in the state with York and Prospect at the end of last year. It has become exceedingly close after the two teams race for the first time last week on different courses. York was looking to see who would step into a top seven spot now that Maggie Owens is on the sidelines (for now) with an injury. They found some answers last week.

 

Prospect only ran five runners in the varsity race at Hinsdale but won by 17 points. What was even more impressive is that their top two runners in the Frosh/Soph race, Meg Peterson, and Veronica Znajda, were within 35 seconds of individual varsity race winner Hailey Erickson. Both teams have extraordinary deep teams. The question will be if Prospect will keep their young runners on the lower level in this week’s race against York at Lake Park. I could have put either team at #1. For now, it is York. We will have a better answer in the next two weeks when the two teams race at Lake Park and Detweiller Park.

 

Naperville North did not run at full strength last week at Pleasant Valley, but still won that high powered regional meet. They are closer than you think to York and Prospect. They will have a challenge of their own this weekend at Detweiller Park with three of the four ranked teams behind them ready for the challenge. #4 Lyons Township packed it up for an easy win in their home course. They did that without their top runner Catherine Sommerfeld. Minooka and Yorkville were separated by four points in their opening meet of the season. Minooka finished second behind Prospect last week.

 

Palatine was the big moving team last week ending up at #10 after starting with a pre-season ranking of #30. Their third-place finish was impressive. They race at Richard Spring in two weeks. Naperville Central was without their top three runner Ava Hendren now for two weeks. They dropped five spots this week but stay in the top 10. Hinsdale Central did not have their top runner Catie McCabe finish last week but still edged up a couple of spots. Once McCabe is at full strength and the return of sophomore Gabby Thanos, this team could be tough. The talk around Glen Ellyn was they would not have the front runner like they have been used to. Glenbard West ran a great pack race last week at Hinsdale and moved from #26 to #13.

 

There were five teams that moved into the top 30 this week. Plainfield North has not run their full team together keeping their Frosh/Soph runners running in the lower level races. Their combined performances at Neuqua Valley and then at the Plainfield City Championships move them up to #18. Their next three meets are at Reavis, Minooka, and then the Naperville Girls Invitational before running at Naperville Twilight in October.

 

Sandburg moved into the top 30 with a strong race at Lyons Township. Hononegah and Benet Academy move into the top 30 after strong races at St. Charles East. Metea Valley lost their last year’s top three runners to graduation. Their second race of the season at Hinsdale was evidence enough to move the Mustangs into the top 30 in Class 3A.

 

2A Boys

When we get to November, I still think that this Boys classification is wide-open. The first two weeks of the season demonstrates that. How wide-open? When you have three teams outside of the top 30 jump into the top 10, then you have to scratch your head.

 

Grayslake Central ran two solid races last week against good 3A teams at Lake County and third on Saturday at Fenton solidifies their position on top in Class 2A. I do not see this team moving from the top spot for a while unless injuries and illnesses hit the Rams. They will be challenged Saturday in Peoria.

 

Riverside-Brookfield is a team I don’t see leaving the top five this season led by Cooper Marrs and Jack O’Brien. The duo led the Bulldogs to a third-place finish at Lyons Township behind two 3A ranked teams. They will also be at Peoria and could get close to Grayslake Central. Champaign Central moves to their highest ranked spot ever with their win Saturday at Charleston. Last year’s state champion Fenwick did not run their top two runners Grayden Rill and Nathaniel McKillop last week at Hinsdale. They do not drop down much after finishing at the bottom of the varsity standings in that meet. Hopefully, we see the Friars at full strength this week at Joliet Central.

 

Let’s talk about the three teams that came out of “nowhere” to jump into the top 10. Marion, behind Dylon Nalley’s sub 14:40 effort last week at Granite City, looked strong enough to move to #5 this week after finishing second at Wilson Park. Deerfield stunned me after looking at their results at both Lake County and Hinsdale last week for close to 30 minutes after compiling the rankings. The Warriors lost their entire top seven from last year’s state team. Yet here they are again where they could be in contention for a trophy. We will get an indication of how good they could be this weekend in Peoria. Lincoln also shocked me but their win last week at Rochester is legitimate enough to move them in the top 10. Guess where they will be racing on Saturday?

 

Mahomet-Seymour’s second-place finish behind Champaign Central moved the Bulldogs into the top 10. The addition of two stud freshmen in the top seven helped with that.

 

Four more teams entered into the top 30 this week. It starts with Taylorville (#22) followed by Waterloo (#25), Effingham (#26), and Sterling (#29).

 

2A Girls

The Boys side in Class 2A flip flopped after last week’s meet. It was not as dramatic in Class 2A Girls. There was movement that went on within the top 30 pre-season teams. There were only four schools that entered into the top 30 this week.. Those teams entered from 22 to 30.

 

The showdown at Lake County between Grayslake Central and Lakes Community showed us who top two teams in the state are right now. Grayslake Central did win the county championship. The addition of freshman Ava Henne to their top three make the defending state champions a little bit tougher. Grayslake Central and Lakes will face off again this week in Peoria. There is a big separation heading into this weekend with these two teams and the rest of the pack.

 

Latin School I needed to move down to #15. Their top two runners, Mia Kotler, and Ellie Anderson have lingering injuries that could keep them out in the next two Peoria races. It will keep us guessing for this month how good this team could be.

 

Chatham-Glenwood has two freshmen now in their top five. A strong race at Granite City moves them into #3. Washington has only raced one and then finished ahead of Dunlap at Normal West. Dunlap came back last week at Galesburg with a strong win. The two teams are in the top five and will run in Peoria this week.

 

Dixon with a strong win at Sycamore jump into the top 10. Rochester made a huge jump into the top 10 winning their own invitational. The addition with three good freshman helps them make that move. Normal University moved up with the help of freshman Natalie Bierbaum running 17:05 at Clinton two weeks ago. The Pioneers could move up even more this week at Peoria. It will be interesting to see how she runs in her first time at Detweiller Park.

 

The three Crystal Lake schools moved down this week. Don’t worry, they will move back up as the meets go on this month. Prairie Ridge is the only CL team at Peoria this week. We will get a good idea how the Wolves are in this power packed meet. South will not race in Peoria until the beginning of October. Central does not have a Peoria meet on their schedule.

 

Morton just missed making the pre-season top 30. They are in there now after a good race at Galesburg. Deerfield and Grayslake North made huge jumps after good races at Lake County. Molly McGreal race in the Frosh/Soph race at Fenton gives Trinity a boost and moves them just inside the top 30 at #29.

 

1A Boys

There was some fluctuation within the top 10 in this classification. Where we thought two Chicago schools will rule the roost in Class 1A was flushed down the toilet (for now) after the first two weeks of the season. Three of the top five teams will run, in a way, this week at Peoria. We still may not have an answer who is #1 after that meet. Let us remember that the main goal is getting to that spot in November.

 

Latin School split their team up last week at Hinsdale running some runners up on Varsity and some in the Frosh/Soph race. Akili Parekh ran a strong race indicating her could contend for an individual title. He may not race this week in Peoria. We will find out when the runners step to the line Saturday morning. Latin did not have Ben Gibson race. Put all those runners together and they are the top team in this class.

 

Normal University is without one of their top runners to start the season. Brandt Henderson stepped into the top spot to lead the Pioneers to the team title at Clinton and into #2 statewide. Riverdale and Rockford Christian were separated by only 11 points at the Oregon Open and move in just behind U-High. The four teams running good just a little better than DePaul Prep move them into #5 for now.

 

Aurora Central Catholic jumped into the top 10. The commitment of all-state track runner Patrick Hilby to concentrate on running in the fall gives this team a boost and maybe eventually entering the top five. Elmwood jumped into the top 0 after a good race at the Normal Open.

 

Williamsville made a huge jump into the top 20 after a strong race at Rochester. Clinton and Winnebago have opened their season strong thus moving in the top 30. Effingham St. Anthony, Montini Catholic, and Rock Falls make big jumps in the top 30 after strong opening races. Pleasant Plains, Petersburg PORTA, and Tolono Unity are also new teams now in the top 30.

 

1A Girls

Not much has changed in the top two spots. Tolono Unity looked strong in their opening race at Chrisman and will be tough to move out of the top spot. Rosary has been running against bigger schools so far this season. The Royals have a strong first four runners that could cause damage in 1A races. Their gap between four and five will something to continue to watch.

 

Eureka looked good in their opening race at Metamora. They will challenge Tolono Unity at Peoria on Saturday. Father McGivney will also race in this meet with Elana Rybak leading them. They did not run a full team in their opening meet. We could get a true indication on how good this team could be.

 

Winnebago did not run a full top seven last week at Oregon. They still took the top three individual spots in that race led by Marissa Roggensack, Grace Erb, and Kaylee Woolery. This monster size meet at Peoria could give us an indication of what this team could look like when we get to the state series. Their gap is big between three and four. More runners could put this team into a trophy contender.

 

Marshall, with the addition of freshman Molly Farrell, moved from outside of the top 30 and into the top 10 with Brooklyn Bender and Isabel Arthur part of a strong top three. Chicago Christian had a strong opening race and also move into the top 10.

 

Roxana was not even mentioned in pre-season previews. They opened the season on high note races moving them to #18. Shelbyville also jumped into the top 30 and could move up higher. Anna Jonesboro moved to #21 with Brodie Denny leading the way and the addition of a good group of freshmen. Cambridge, Sandwich, and Herscher are new teams we see in the top 30. Monticello is a mystery right now. They dropped out of the top 10 this week and just stay in the top 30.