Illinois HS XC Weekend Highlights - October 2, 2023

By Michael Newman

Here is a look at some of the meets that took place over the past weekend. You can also look at the recap from the Peoria HS Invitational and the recap focusing on Illinois runners at the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational.

(Photo – Downers Grove North after winning at Solorio on Saturday – Bruce Ritter Photo)

Wheaton North Flight Classic @ St. James Farm, Wheaton – York became the first team in this storied meet history to win all seven flights of the Varsity races. The top ranked York Girls team won with 7 points. Hersey scored 23 points to finish second. Katherine Klimek of York completed the sweep running 17:36 on this 2.95 mile course to win the championship race ahead of Sofia Borter of Geneva (17:43) and Margaretha Grabske of Hersey (17:58).

Maggie Owens ran 18:03 to win by 25 seconds ahead of Hersey’s Alexa Izenstark (18:28) to win Flight #2. Michaela Quinn ran 18:06 to win by 31 seconds in winning Flight #3. Anna McGrail (18:19), Maggie Quinn (18:30), Sophia Galiano-Sanchez (18:35), and GiGi Hill (18:58) were York’s other flight winners. Hill had the largest margin of victory winning Flight #7 by 43 seconds.

Locktoberfest Invitational @ Dellwood Park – Runners took to the hilly Dellwood Park 5k course for the annual Boys-only meet. Cooper Marrs claimed the individual win to help Riverside-Brookfield win the team title 68-79 ahead of Lincoln-Way East. This was the first appearance at the meet for the Bulldogs. RB placed 5 runners in the top 25 to win this meet with a 74 second split on their scorers and a 32 second split on their 2-5 pack led by Jack O’Brien’s seventh-place finish. Lockport Township (103 points) finished third ahead of Wheaton North (108 points) and Lincoln-Way Central (124 points).

Marrs was the only runner under 16-minutes in this race winning with a 15:57 time. Michael O’Brien of Lincoln-Way East (16:21) finished second with Evan Jensen of Lincoln-Way Central (16:23), Nathan Powley of Lockport (16:24), and Braden Hoff of Lincoln-Way Central (16:27) finishing in the top five.

Solorio Sun Warrior Invitational @ Marquette Park – Downers Grove North placed 7 runners in the top 9 running the first two miles under control before pushing the final mile to win easily with 20 points. Annika Swan of St. Ignatius College Prep pulled away from the DGN pack running 17:40 to claim the win. Then came the Trojans pack with Lily Eddington in 17:48, McKenzie Willard, Sara Paul , Audrey Casten, and Alayna Todnem coming across the line separated by 21 seconds. Lulu Ton-That of Northside Prep broke up the pack finishing seventh running 18:12. St. Ignatius College Prep scored 62 points to finish second ahead of Nazareth Academy (108 points). Wheaton-Warrenville South finished fourth (112 points) without their top two runners Nicole Poglitsch and Frida Martinez in their lineup.

Willowbrook won the Boys team title (39 points) placing 4 runners in the top 10. Andrew (52 points) and Kenwood Academy (99 points) finished second and third. Reese DeVriendt of Andrew had a convincing individual win with a 16:02 winning time. Andrew’s Will Morrey (16:36) and Adriano Quintero of Willowbrook (16:39) finished second and third.

St. Charles North Invitational @ Leroy Oakes FP – Wheaton-Warrenville South did not have one of their top five runners in this race. The Tigers completely controlled this race placing 4 runners in the top 9 to easily win the Boys team title with 40 points. Metea Valley finished second (82 points) ahead of Marmion Academy (95 points) and Prairie Ridge (105 points). South claimed the top 2 spots with Josiah Narayanan running 15:18 to win with teammate Aiden Noel running 15:27 finishing second. Cole Tupper of Elgin (15:30), Will Gelon of Prairie Ridge (15:39), and Jameson Tenopir of Cary-Grove (15:48) were also a part of the top 5 individual finishers.

Lincoln-Way Central edged Metea Valley 55-60 for the Girls team title. Batavia finished third (111 points) ahead of Waubonsie Valley (140 points) and St. Charles North (147 points). Brea Counihan of Lincoln-Way Central ran 18:27 to win with Norah Dorrance of St. Charles North (19:08) and Mia Bertolini of Waubonsie Valley (19:16) finishing second and third.

Pat Savage Invitational @ Niles West XC Campus Course – Deerfield placed 5 runners in the top 21 with a split of just 13 seconds to help them win the Boys team title with 80 points. St. Ignatius College Prep scored 104 points ahead of New Trier’s JV team that scored 131 points to finish third. Vernon Hills (153 points) and Oswego East (167 points) rounded out the top five teams. 43 teams scored in this race.

Matthew Conroy of St. Ignatius College Prep ran a dominating race running 14:51 to win the Boys individual race. He won by 33 seconds ahead of Jeremiah Lanum of Bradley-Bourbonnais (15:24). Niles North’s Evan Parker (15:30) and Ari Elmayan (15:33) finished third and fourth with Luis Flores of St. Laurence running 15:34 to finish fifth. Deerfield was led by Jamie Chandler running 15:45 to finish 11th followed by Dylan Cohen (15th), Dane Brown (16th), Eric Hogenkamp (17th), and Jon Wool (21st).

Lake Forest scored 153 points to win the Girls team title. Mother McAuley (172 points) and Rockton Hononegah (175 points finished second and third. Lake Park (193 points) and Vernon Hills (201 points) rounded out the top five teams. Anna Lester of Vernon Hills took home the top prize in the Girls Individual race running 18:04 to win. Sydney Gertsen of Montini Catholic ran a strong race running 18:09 to finish second. Lucy Schlachtenhaufen of Lake Forest ran 18:20 to finish third with Josslyn Wade of Fenton running 18:28 to finish fourth. Hononegah’s Kyle Simpson and Allyson Niedfeldt finished fifth-sixth both running 18:45.

Elmwood Invitational @ Maple Lane Country Club – Elmwood on their home course won the Boys team title 63-64 ahead of Eureka. Pleasant Plains scored 97 points to finish third. Isaiah Hill pulled away in winning this race on his home course. Hill ran 15:14 to win by 20 seconds ahead of Pleasant Plains super-soph Elijah Teefey (15:34) and another two seconds ahead of Dean Witzig (15:36). Eureka placed 3 runners in the top 10 led by the 4th place finish from Carson Lehman (15:41). The Hornets ended up with 5 runners in the top 27 with a 69 second split. Elmwood  placed 4 runners in between 12th place and 24th place led by Reed Florey. The Trojans had an 87 second top five split off Hill. Their 2-5 split in this race was just 23 seconds.

Eureka’s Meika Bender ran 18:05 to win the individual title ahead of Dusti Smith of Stark County (18:28) and Annabelle LaFary of Delavan (18:43). Bender’s win helped Eureka win the team tile with Knoxville scoring 109 points to finish second. The next four teams were separated by 13 points led by Delavan scoring 140 points finishing ahead of Elmwood (144 points), El Paso-Gridley (150 points), and Pleasant Plains (153 points). Eureka’s second through fifth runners were separated by just 22 seconds with Claire Albertson (18th), Sierra Herrmann (19th), Bre Lehman (20th), and Natali Roth (24th) part of that group.

Robinson Invitational @ Robinson Middle School (Thursday) – Class 1A top ranked Tolono Unity placed 4 runners in the top 8 to easily win the Girls team title with 33 points. The Rockets were without one of their top runners Erica Woodard who ran in the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational on Saturday (Woodard ran 19:13 for 5k to finish 66th in the race). Elena Rybak of Father McGivney was the individual winner running 17:20. She won by 61 seconds ahead of Mackenzie Pound of Unity (18:21). Kaitlyn Hatley of Father McGivney (18:30), Jessica Larsen of Effingham (18:56), and Emily Decker of Unity (19:00) finished in the top five. Effingham scored 67 points to finish second ahead of Robinson (81 points) and Father McGivney (89 points).

Tolono Unity also claimed the Boys team title with 77 points. Newton (113 points) and Father McGivney (119 points) finished second and third. Austin Wesley of Robinson ran 15:38 on the 2.96 mile course to win. Jaxon Dalby of Bluford Webber ran 16:05 to finish second ahead of Eli Crowe of Tolono Unity (16:25) and Alex Crowe of Effingham (16:26).

Lisle Mane Event @ Lisle Community Park – Wheaton St. Francis edged Aurora Central Catholic 65-73 to win the Boys team title in this meet. The top ranked team in Class 2A Glenbard South did not run their top runners in this meet finishing 16 out of 24 teams. Burlington Central (143 points), Reavis (145 points), and Herscher (168 points) finished in the top five. Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic pulled away to run 16:21 on the Community Park 5k course to win individually. Judah McLean of West Chicago (16:39), Ben Bohr of Aurora Central Catholic (16:48), Noah Luke of Chicago Christian (16:52), and Joseph Hillyer of Dundee-Crown (16:56) were part of the top five individual runners. St. Francis put 5 runners in the top 22 with a 46 second split led by Michael Coco finishing seventh.

Wheaton St. Francis placed 4 runners in the top 10 to complete the team sweep as they scored 41 points to win the Girls team title. Hampshire placed 4 runners in between 8th and 13th places to finish second with 51 points. Riverside-Brookfield was a distant third (161 points) ahead of Aurora Central Catholic (171 points) and Burlington Central (193 points). Claire Blotnik of Joliet Catholic ran 19:25 to claim the individual win with Margaret Andrzejewski of St. Francis (19:34) and Cecilia Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic (19:35) finishing second and third.

Antioch Patricia Harland Invitational @ Fox River Park WI – It was all Crystal Lake Central in the Girls race sweeping the first three places to score 25 points to win and finish ahead of Antioch (79 points) and Prairie Ridge (80 points). Hadley Ferrero picked up her first win of the season to help the Tigers to the win. The junior ran 20:13 to win by 13 seconds ahead of her sister Skyler (20:26) and teammate Brynn Matthaei (20:28). Olivia McPherson of Prairie Ridge ran 20:30 to place fourth.

Kaneland put three runners in the top four to help them win the team title in this meet with 41 points with Libertyville scoring 50 points too finish second. Sycamore (86 points) and Crystal Lake Central (91 points) finished third and fourth. Evan Nosek of Kaneland earned the win running 15:59 on this rugged Fox River Park course. Naif Al Harby of Sycamore ran 16:11 to finish second with Kaneland’s David Valkanov (16:25) and Evan Whildin (16:33) pacing third and fourth.

Dan Moy Jacksonville Invitational @ Jacksonville Community Park – Owen Morgan of Taylorville pulled away to win the championship race of this flight style meet. Morgan’s winning time of 15:14 was 13 seconds ahead of second-place Drew Twyman of Triad (15:27). Morgan’s teammate Liam Bennis won Flight #2 (16:07) finishing ahead of Jonathan Janssen of Williamsville (16:31). Taylorville won 6 of the seven flights to score 6 points to win this Flight Meet ahead of Troy Triad (11 points) and Macomb (25 points).

It was the Becca Heitzig show in the Girls Championship race as the Lincoln senior easily took home the individual title. Heitzig ran 17:19 to win by over 100 seconds ahead of second-place Ella Goodman of Taylorville (19:01). Williamsville, who was without their top runner Louisa Wilson in this race, was led by flight winners Hannah Nation and Joelle Wilson scored 8 points to win the Girls title with Rochester scoring 13 points to finish second.

Freeport Invitational @ Highland Community College – Rockford Boylan placed 5 runners in the top 19 to win the Girls team title (45 points) ahead of Winnebago (72 points) and Rock Falls (77 points). Ariel Hernandez of Rock Falls ran 19:23 in winning the individual race ahead of Boylan Catholic’s Natalie Tekampe (19:39) and Johanna Hawley (19:39). Avery Engle of East Dubuque ran 19:53 to place fourth.

Machesney Park Harlem edged Geneseo 56-61 for the Boys team title. Winnebago scored 94 points in finishing third. Dylan Gehl of Geneseo claimed the individual win. Gehl was timed in 15:40 to win by 25 seconds ahead of Nicolai Martino of Winnebago (16:05). Bolan Coen of Boylan Catholic (16:15) and Leo Ramos of MP Harlem (16:22) finished third and fourth.

Tom Oakley Invitational @ Bob Mays Park, Quincy – Thomas Hess ran 17:12 on his home course in winning the Boys Varsity race and lead host Quincy to the team win. The Blue Devils placed 3 runners in the top 5, 5 runners in the 12 to score 30 points to finish ahead of Burlington IA (81 points) and Quincy Notre Dame (115 points). Parker Quinlan of Hamilton-West Hancock (17:28) and Joseph Warning of Quincy Notre Dame (17:29) finished second and third.

Quincy Notre Dame and Quincy both scored 36 points in the Girls race. Notre Dame won the team title on the six runner tiebreak. Olivia Schuering dominated this race. The Quincy senior ran 19:50 in winning the race more than a minute ahead of teammate Keeauna Scheufete (20:56). Briella Neisen of Liberty ran 21:22 to finish third.

LaSalle County Meet @ Eastwood Golf Course – Ottawa placed 5 runners in the top 11 to win the Boys County Championship 40-44 ahead of LaSalle-Peru. Anthony Kelson of Mendota ran 16:21 for the win with teammate Dage Setchell running 17:08 to finish second. Ottawa made it a sweep placing 5 runners in the top 10 winning the Girls County title 34-42 ahead of Seneca. Evelyn O’Connor of Seneca ran 18:20 to absolutely smash the field for the win. She won by over two minutes with Ashlee Lord of LaSalle-Peru (20:36) and Gracie Steffes of Seneca (20:41) finishing second and third. Ottawa was led by a 4-5 finish from Makenzie Blazys (20:47) and Shaylen Quinn (21:04).

Lincoln Prairie Conference Meet @ Lakeland College, Mattoon – Will Fuson running 16:05 for the win with teammate Dylan Howell finishing second (16:39) helped Cerro Gordo-Bement win the conference title with 44 points. Broadlands Heritage (51 points) and Toledo Cumberland (53 points) finished second and third in this five-team race. Clark Roland of Broadlands Heritage ran 16:48 to finish third. Arthur-Lovington won the Girls team title 48-57 ahead of Argenta-Oreana. It was a 1-2 finish that helped Arthur-Lovington to win the team title as Ruby Burton ran 22:23 to win ahead of teammate Kimberly Krutsinger (22:30) and Abby Garcia of Argenta-Oreana (22:39).