Roadmap to the Illinois XC Weekend - September 9, 2022

By Michael Newman [email protected]

York and Prospect’s Girls teams face off for the first of three straight meets this month Saturday at Lake Park. It will be the top race outside of the races we will see in Peoria. You can read here the preview for the First to the Finish Invitational.

Brief previews of Lake Park, Joliet Central, and Springfield Lanphier can be found below. A listing of some of the top teams that will be competing in Illinois meets can also be found below.

Harvey Braus Invitational @ Lake Park East Campus Course

Girls – 3A: #1 York, #2 Prospect, #6 Downers Grove North, #11 Maine South, #13 Glenbard West, #14 St. Charles East, #16 Huntley, Bartlett, Glenbard North, Lane Tech, Lincoln Park, Maine West, Elgin, Elk Grove, Conant, Glenbrook North, Plainfield East, Lake Park, Schaumburg, Niles North, South Elgin, St. Charles North, Streamwood; 2A: #17 St. Ignatius Prep, #25 Deerfield

Preview – The top Girls race in the state this weekend happens on the fast Lake Park East Campus Course for the 47th time. York and Prospect, the top two ranked teams in Class 3A, will face each other for the first time this year. The gun goes off for the Varsity race which will feature nine ranked teams at 9:00 AM.

The two teams were closely matched in comparing performances last week at two separate meets. York had Bria Bennis winning the individual race at St. Charles East and ahead of the team’s pack by 43 seconds. The split from their second through fifth runners was only 27 seconds. Prospect did not run their frosh/soph runners up last week at Hinsdale. It looks like they might in this race. Hailey Erickson was Prospect’s top runner in winning last week. The split from Erickson to the top two runners from the frosh/soph was 35 seconds. The split between their second through fifth runners was 68 seconds. It will be a battle of the packs. If Prospect wins, they need to close the gap and have four runners in before York’s third runner. If York wins, you will see a tighter pack from whom ever is the top runner. They cannot let Prospect have three runners in before the Dukes’ second runner.

Downers Grove North will challenge for third led by Claire Pyne. Maine South is running their first 3-mile race of the season and will be close to North. Glenbard West and Huntley are teams that you could see in the top five. 2A St. Ignatius had a good opener last week and could also be in that top five.

Grace Schager of Glenbard North is the favorite in this race after running 16:35 on this course almost 10 days ago. The temperatures and the course will be favorable for Schager. How fast will she go? This is a loaded field that will race Saturday morning. Erickson and Bennis won last week and should be near the front. Breanna and Brittney Burak of Huntley ran well last week at St. Charles. Juliet Frum of Glenbrook North was all-state last year as a freshman and will be racing for the first time this fall. Maine South’s Sofia Deluca and Sofia Arcuri will be among the lead pack. St. Ignatius freshman Annika Swan could be a runner that you see finish in the top 10. You could see Prospect and York’s top five both finish in the top 18 in this race.

Boys – #14 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #21 Lane Tech, #24 Jones College Prep, #28 Wheaton North, Bartlett, Glenbard North, Lincoln Park, Maine West, Elgin, Elk Grove, Hoffman Estates, Huntley, Glenbrook North, Plainfield East, Lake Park, South Elgin, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Streamwood, Wheeling

Preview – Four ranked teams led by Wheaton-Warrenville South are in the Boys race starting at 9:30 AM. The Tigers ran a tight pack in last week’s race. The addition of Hinsdale Sophomore race winner Josiah Narayanan to the Varsity level on Saturday will give this team a boost. Chicago Public League teams Lane Tech and Jones Prep open up their 3-mile racing in this meet. The two schools ran 2-mile races last week on Lane Tech’s campus. Will Kozlowski will lead Lane Tech in this race. Hunter Whitney, their all-state runner, is not expected to run on Saturday. Jones Prep will be led by Matthew DeSantis in this race. Sam Berlinghof, their top runner. Is still recovering from a summer injury and will not race this week. Wheaton North and Huntley are teams that could surpass these two schools. DeSantis and Kozlowski along with Tommy Nitz of Huntley and Mitch Garcia of St. Charles East are some of the runners to see up front in this race.

Joliet Central Steelman Invitational @ Channahon Park

Boys – 3A: #20 York, Joliet Central, Joliet West, Benet Academy, Lincoln-Way West, Oswego, Plainfield Central, Romeoville; 2A: #4 Fenwick, Providence Catholic; 1A: Joliet Catholic

Girls – 3A: #20 Neuqua Valley, #28 Oswego Waubonsie Valley, #30 Lincoln-Way East, Joliet Central, Joliet West, Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way West, Plainfield Central, Plainfield South, Romeoville, Andrew; 2A: Fenwick, Providence Catholic; 1A: Joliet Catholic

Preview – We will get an idea what York has in 2022 as they open up their invitational schedule for this season. Fenwick did not have their top runners Grayden Rill and Nathaniel McKillop run last week at Hinsdale. The two should be on the line for the defending 2A state champions. Marcellus Mines of Joliet West has been dominant in the three races he has been in. It should not change in this meet. Brody Nelson of Oswego is running well and could be the runner to lead the chase pack.

Neuqua Valley, Lincoln-Way East, and Oswego will challenge for the Girls team title. Audra Soderlind of Oswego finished third last week at Hinsdale and will be the favorite along with Neuqua Valley’s Carissa Hamilton close at hand.

Lee Halberg Invitational at Lincoln Park, Springfield

Boys – 3A: Decatur MacArthur, Mundelein, Normal Community, Quincy; 2A: #9 Mahomet-Seymour, Bloomington, #23 Chatham-Glenwood, Rochester, Springfield, Springfield Lanphier, Springfield Southeast, #22 Taylorville, Urbana; 1A: #13 Monticello

Girls – 3A: Decatur MacArthur, Normal Community, Quincy; 2A: Bloomington, #3 Chatham-Glenwood, #9 Rochester, #30 Springfield, Springfield Lanphier, Springfield Southeast, Taylorville, Urbana; 1A: #30 Monticello

Preview – Mahomet-Seymour ran strong in winning last week at Charleston and should be the Boys team favorite challenged by Taylorville and Chatham-Glenwood on the rugged Lincoln Park course. The individual race is wide-open with Owen Morgan of Taylorville, Eric McClelland of Quincy, and Ben Wallace of Mahomet-Seymour among the favorites.

Chatham-Glenwood’s strong performance last week at Granite City will carry over to this meet. The addition of three freshmen to Rochester’s top 7 could get the Rockets closer to the front. Mabry Bruhn of Monticello will be one of the favorites along with Coleen Zeibert of Rochester in the individual race. Allison Ince of Normal Community and Olivia Schuering of Quincy are some of the runners to watch in the front.

Forest Park MO XC Festival

Illinois Boys – 3A: Belleville East, O’Fallon; 2A: #5 Marion, #24 Highland; 1A: Althoff Catholic, #12 Benton

Illinois Girls - 3A: Belleville East, O’Fallon; 2A: Highland, Marion; 1A: Althoff Catholic, Benton

Notes – Dylon Nalley of Marion, Gavin Genisio of Benton, and Dylan Ybarra of O’Fallon are some of the top Illinois runners you should see in the championship race Saturday morning in St. Louis. Marion ran a great race at Granite City last week. They should duplicate that effort in this race

Other meets in Illinois

Belleville West Invitational

Boys – 3A: Alton, Belleville West, Collinsville, Granite City; 2A: Mascoutah, #25 Waterloo; 1A: Breese Mater Dei, Columbia

Girls – 3A: Alton, Belleville West, Collinsville, Granite City; 2A: Mascoutah, #11 Waterloo; 1A: Breese Mater Dei, Columbia

DePaul Prep Ram Invitational

Boys – Taft, Leyden, Proviso East, Niles West, Loyola Academy; 2A: Amundsen, Lake View, Senn, Niles Notre Dame; 1A: #5 DePaul Prep, #19 Harvest Christian Academy, #16 Northridge Prep

Girls – #8 Loyola Academy, Leyden, Proviso East, Wheeling; 2A: Fenton, Amundsen, Lake View, Senn; 1A: #7 DePaul Prep, Willows Academy, Harvest Christian Academy, Reginia Dominican

Royal-Cadet Invitational at Marmion Academy XC Course

Boys – 3A: #19 Lincoln-Way East, Geneva, Glenbard East; 2A: #14 Marmion Academy, IMSA

Girls – #26 Oak Park-River Forest Geneva, Hoffman Estates, Glenbard East; 2A: IMSA; 1A: #2 Rosary

Wauconda Invitational at Matthews Middle School

Boys – 3A: Elgin Larkin, Glenbrook South, Warren Township, Libertyville, Stevenson, Maine East, Round Lake; 2A: #7 Crystal Lake Central, Grayslake North, Harvard, Wauconda; 1A: Richmond-Burton

Girls – 3A: Glenbrook South, Warren Township, Mundelein, Maine East, Round Lake; 2A: #10 Crystal Lake Central, #26 Grayslake North, Harvard, Wauconda; 1A: Richmond-Burton

Reavis Invitational

Boys – 3A: #16 Sandburg, BI Eisenhower, Reavis, Mt. Carmel, Homewood-Flossmoor, TF South, Oak Lawn, AA Stagg, Rich Township, Thornwood, Argo; 2A: St. Laurence, TF North, Kenwood Academy, Marist, Solorio Academy, Marian Catholic, Evergreen Park, Oak Forest, Tinley Park

Girls – 3A: #18 Plainfield North, #22 Sandburg, BI Eisenhower, Reavis, Mother McAuley, Homewood-Flossmoor, TF South, Oak Lawn, Stagg, Rich Township, Argo; 2A: St. Laurence TF North, Kenwood Academy, Marist, Solorio Academy, Marian Catholic, Hinsdale South, Evergreen Park, Kaneland, Oak Forest, Tinley Park

Paxton-Buckley-Loda Invitational

Boys - 2A: Rantoul; 1A: Bismarck-Henning, St. Thomas More, Downs Tri-Valley, Herscher, Kankakee McNamara, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Peotone, #30 Tolono Unity

Girls - 2A: Rantoul; 1A: Bismarck-Henning, St. Thomas More, Downs Tri-Valley, Herscher, Kankakee McNamara, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Peotone

Princeton Gary Coates Invitational

Boys – 2A: LaSalle-Peru; 1A: Mercer County, Amboy, Kewanee, Knoxville, Lowpoint-Washburn, Bureau Valley, Fieldcrest, Princeton, Sherrard, Spring Valley Hall, #29 Sterling Newman, Rockridge

Girls – 2A: LaSalle-Peru; 1A: Mercer County, Amboy, Kewanee, Knoxville, Lowpoint-Washburn, Bureau Valley, Fieldcrest, Princeton, Sherrard, Spring Valley Hall, Sterling Newman, Rockridge