2023 Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational - An Illinois Preview

By Michael Newman

A number of Illinois schools will cross the border east to run at the Nike XC Town Twilight Meet beginning Saturday at the Lavern Gibson XC Course in Terre, Haute Indiana. The first race will start at 6:00 PM EDT (5 PM CDT) with the Girls Junior Varsity races.

Prospect and Plainfield South ran well in this meet last year on their way to state championships in November. Both squads could again be in the top three in the Championship races.

Here is a look at the two championship races focusing on Illinois teams and athletes.

Watch the race here | Meet Entries | 2022 Results

Girls USA Race of Champions – 9:00 PM EDT

Illinois Runners/Teams

Defending Illinois Class 3A State Champions #4 Prospect has been tested during the first month of this cross country season running against fellow Illinois powers York and Downers Grove North in the past three weeks. The Knights dominated this meet last year winning with 34 points placing their first 4 runners in the top 10. Prospect returns three from that foursome led by Veronica Znajda who ran 16:56 at Detweiller Park to win the Richard Spring Invitational. Teammates Lily Ginsberg and Meg Peterson were within 20-25 seconds of their teammate and should be in the front pack in this race. The key for the Knights is their split between the first three and their pack led by Ireland Wildhart. It started to get closer last week in their race at Palatine. Closing that gap even closer could get Prospect a repeat win. The Knights enter this meet ranked #21 nationally by DyeStat.com.

The last race for #25 O’Fallon was at Detweiller Park when they finished 18th at the Richard Spring Invitational led by the 25th place finish from Ellie Bush. Peoria Notre Dame is one of the top ranked Class 1A team in Illinois and will be the third Illinois team to run in the championship race.

Liv Phillips from Naperville Central will run individually and could contend for a top 10 finish in this race. Phillips comes off her race last week at the Minooka Invitational on the 3-mile Channahon Park course where she won in 17:05 setting a new course record.  Marshall will have three runners in the championship race. Their top runner, Molly Farrell, had a strong race last week at the Woodbridge XC Classic finishing 34th but running 16:50 on the fast three mile course.

Illinois Prairie Conference rivals Erica Woodard of Class 1A defending state champions Tolono Unity along with St. Joseph-Ogden’s Savanna Franzen and Chloe Burkhalter will also run in the championship race.

The only other top 30 nationally ranked team in this race is #29 Hamilton Southeastern IN. The Royals finished second at the Flash Rock Invitational on September 16. They came back last week to win at the Hoosier Crossroads Conference Meet with five runners separated by 52 seconds led by Elizabeth Butler and Maggie Powers.

Noblesville IN finished seven points behind Hamilton Southeastern last week. They had a solid pack with their top four runners separated by 31 seconds and a top five split of only 36 seconds led by their front duo of Summer Rempe and Nadia Perez.

Mason OH is the top ranked team in D1 in their state. They traveled to Detweiller Park for their last race finishing fourth at the Richard Spring Invitational by more than 100 points behind Prospect in that race. The Comets ran a 67 second top 5 split in that race led by the top 10 finish from Efa Paschka.

Carmel IN is coming on strong as they close in on the state series meets in Indiana. The Greyhounds tied with Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran winning on the sixth-runner tie breaker. Carmel, led by freshmen Annabel Pollert and Larkin Taylor, had just a 12 second split on their top 4 runners and a 29 second split on their top five runners.

Homestead IN is ranked #3 by INCCStats.com and could play a factor in this race. The Spartans placed 5 runners in the top 15 to win their race last week at the New Haven Invitational led by Lucy Kramer finishing second and Caterina Perego placing fifth. The team’s top five split in that race was 61 seconds. Don’t forget their #1 runner this season Addison Knobloch who will be one of the individual favorites in this meet.  Indiana #6 North Central of Indianapolis finished fourth at the Flashrock Invitational two weeks ago. They will be powered by Maddie Rocchio and her sister Elizabeth who finished within six seconds of each other.

Other teams in this race include: Fairbanks OH, Madeira OH, Mary Institute-Country Day MO, St. Joseph’s Academy MO, Lafayette Wildwood MO, Rock Bridge MO, Avon IN, Bloomfield (Eastern Green), Bloomington North IN, Bloomington South, Northview IN, East Central IN, Brownsburg IN, Columbus North IN, Edgewood IN, Fort Wayne Carroll IN, Mt Veron Fortville IN, Bishop Chatard IN, Indianapolis Cathedral IN, Franklin Central IN, Plainfield IN, Westfield IN, Yorktown IN, Conner KY, DeSoto KS, Fishers IN, Independence TN, Zionsville IN, Herron IN, North Oldham KY, Liberty North MO, Liberty Wentzville MO

The top four runners in this race have all run under 17:20 for 5 kilometers early in this season. Addison Knobloch of Homestead IN ran 16:59.8 early this season and will be one of the favorites in this race. Knobloch is the top returning runner finishing second last year. Nicki Southerland of Delta IN finished second behind Knobloch at the Marion Invitational on September 2, but has been undefeated since that point including wins at Flash Rock and then last week at the Hoosier Heritage Conference Meet.

Ava Jarrell of Pendelton Heights IN finished second behind Southerland in the last two races could be a factor on Saturday night. Libby Dowty of Indian Creek IN won at the Golden Bear Invitational on September 16 and could surprise some people in this race.

Illinois runners could pack themselves in the top 10 including Liv Phillips and the Prospect trio of Veronica Znajda, Meg Peterson, and Lilly Ginsburg.

The one runner in the two Open races that would have played a factor in the championship race is freshman Isabella Keller of Effingham St. Anthony. By the time this meet is completed, Keller could step into the national spotlight. Keller has run only three races in her young high school career all with wins. She ran 16:53 for 3-miles to win at the Tuscola Classic by 80 seconds. She ran a remarkable 15:58 for 3-miles on the roads at the St. Joseph-Ogden Classic last Saturday.

Other Illinois teams in the open races include Belleville Althoff Catholic, Effingham St. Anthony, O’Fallon’s JV team, Urbana University, Olney Richland County, and St. Joseph-Ogden. Chrisman’s Leah Phipps will also compete in the JV race to start the meet.

Boys USA Race of Champions – 9:30 PM EDT

Illinois Schools

#2 Plainfield South finished third in this race last season on their way to their first state championship. Their vision in this race is the same as last year and could be a factor in the team race. Camyn Viger finished eighth last year in this race and could place higher on Saturday. Viger just missed Josh Methner’s course record by four seconds last week at Palatine and has run 14:23 this season at Detweiller Park. Teammate Dylan Maloney has showed great improvement after a great sophomore season and could be a surprise in the front in this race. The key is keeping a tight split under 10 seconds between their third through fifth runners and staying within 45 seconds of Maloney in this race.

#4 O’Fallon was relegated to the Open race before being moved up to this championship race. The Panthers could be a surprise in this race after finishing third on September 16 at the Richard Spring Invitational. Dylan Ybarra ran 14:20 at Detweiller Park in the Richard Spring race and should be in Saturday’s top 10. Zach Thoman has stayed close to Ybarra this fall and will boost O’Fallon’s chance for a top finish. Eli Greenstreet is the team’s third runner who ran his first race in Peoria. He could be close to Thoman in this race.

Lyons Township was among the top teams in Illinois to start the season. An injury to their #2 runner Cillian Henning has slowed the Lions down. Nick Strayer is the top runner for LT and could be among the top runners in this race. Henning is entered to run in this meet and could be with Strayer in the front. The team had a 15 second split last week at Culver Academies between their second through fifth runners which could boost this team in this race.

The top two teams from last year’s meet Jesuit LA and Carmel IN are back and ready again to challenge for the team title. US #23 Jesuit LA ran two weeks ago at the Southern Showcase finishing second behind Belen Jesuit FL. Juniors Brady Mullin and Leland Crawford were within seven seconds of each other in that race and could finish among the top 10 on Saturday. The top 5 for the Bluejays in that race was 61 seconds and 32 seconds from their third through fifth runners.

US #24 Carmel IN is hot in winning this team title after winning last week at the Culver Academies Invitational. Anthony Provenzano and Kyle Grove finished 2-3 in last week’s race and will have eyes on top 10 finishes. The team’s top 5 split in that race was 67 seconds. The Greyhounds are Indiana’s top ranked team according to INCCStats.com.

Mason OH will figure among the top teams in this race after finishing fourth at the Richard Spring Invitational just 13 points behind O’Fallon who is in this race. Mason is currently ranked #1 according to the OTCCC Coaches Poll. The Comets had a 59 second split in that race led by Max Liao and Jerry Xu who were both under 14:40 for 3-miles. #2 in Ohio St. Xavier OH finished seventh at the Trinity Valkyrie Invitational in Louisville two weeks ago with only a 25 second split on five led by Alex Burns.

Trinity KY won the championship race at Trinity/Valkyre and could be a surprise in this race. Eli Oetken was the team’s top runner who could finish in the top 20 in this race. The Shamrocks had a 54 second split on their top 5 in that race.  Rock Bridge MO was dominant in winning the Gold Division race last week at Gans Creek behind the third place finish from Andrew Hauser. Hauser, who finished second in this race last year, led his team to a 76 second split in their top five. Their second through five runner split in that race was 39 seconds.

 Noblesville IN, ranked #2 in Indiana, is led by Caden Click who helped his team win the Hoosier Crossroads Meet last week. The Millers had a 33 second split on their top 5 runners. IN #3 Zionsville finished second in that race led by Jack Turnbull and Sam Spees. IN #4 Fishers finished just behind Zionsville last week. Matthew Kim and Sam Quagliaroli finished 1-2 last week both running 15:04 for 5k. Top 10 finishes could be in the reach of these two runners on Saturday.

Other teams in the Boys Championship race include: Springboro OH, Eagle Valley CO, The Bolles School FL, Avon IN, Bloomington North IN, Bloomington South IN, Northview IN, Brownsburg IN, Columbus North IN, Hamilton Southeastern IN*, Homestead IN, Greenfield Central IN, Center Grove IN, Franklin Central IN, North Central IN, Perry Meridian IN, Noblesville IN, Wapahani IN, Terre Haute South Vigo, West Lafayette IN, Westfield IN, De Soto KS, Conner KY, Apollo KY, Independence TN, Ravenswood TN, Dublin Scioto OH, North Oldham KY, Cooper KY, Liberty North MO, Frontier Academy CO, Liberty Wentzville MO.

Hauser has run 14:48 this year and will be one of the favorites in the individual race. Miles Ramer of Ravenswood TN ran 14:39 two weeks ago at Southern Showcase entering this meet with the fastest 5k time. Riku Sugie of Thomas Nelson KY finished fourth two weeks ago at Trinity/Valkyrie and will be a runner to watch. Quagliaroni and Kim are coming off strong races and will play a factor in this race along with Anthony Provenzano of Carmel and Cameron Todd of Brebeuf Jesuit IN.

Brady Mullen and Leland Crawford could lead Jesuit to a win with top five finishes in this meet. Illinois runners Camyn Viger, Dylan Maloney, Nick Strayer, and Dylan Ybarra could all play factors in this race.

Illinois Boys teams that will run in the open races include Whitney Young, Effingham St. Anthony, Prospect, Peoria Notre Dame, St. Joseph-Ogden, Urbana University, Peoria Notre Dame, Champaign Centennial, Danville, Louisville North Clay, Marshall, Olney Richland County.