Illinois High School XC Conference Meet Highlights

 

Meets for October 14, 2023

 

Photo – Michaela and Maggie Quinn finish 1-2 in York win Saturday at WSC-Silver

 

By Michael Newman

 

Here is a look at Saturday’s Conference Meets. The Bulldog XC Classic and the Patriot Invitational are also included in this article. You can read more about the Weekday Conference Meets here.

 

WSC-Silver Conference @ Proviso West HS, Hillside – The rain slowly passed Hillside by the time the Varsity races took place just after 2PM. The winds, however, picked up. Conditions were not the best on the Proviso West XC 3.04-mile campus course.

 

#1 York pulled away on the final mile of the race taking the first four-places in scoring 18 points to win their fourth straight conference title. #4 Downers Grove North ran shorthanded in this race scoring 47 points to finish second. One of their top runners this season, Mckenzie Willard, was diagnosed after the Naperville Twilight Invitational on October 4 with a stress fracture. The junior will be out for the rest of the season. Downers Grove North also was missing top seven runner Audrey Casten in this race.

 

The first half of the race showed a pack of four York runners, four Downers Grove North deciding who would take the lead. The move came after just two miles when York’s Michaela Quinn and Maggie Quinn bolted away from the rest of the pack. Michaela edged away from her sister in the final 150-meters to win with a 18:50 time. Maggie followed her older sister running 18:52 to finish second. Katherine Klimek (19:03) and Anna McGrail (19:05) finished third and fourth. Maggie Owens was the team’s fifth runner with a 19:18 time to place eight. The Dukes had a 28 second split on their top five runners.

 

Alayna Todnem led the Trojans running 19:05 to finish fifth. Lily Eddington (6th), Ava Gilley (7th), Sarah Paul (9th), and Sydney Hnatiuk (20th) rounded out their team’s top five. The split on the team’s first four runners was 26 seconds. Their overall top five split was 67 seconds.

 

#13 Lyons Township finished third (97 points) followed by #14 Hinsdale Central (108 points), Oak Park-River Forest (130 points), and #21 Glenbard West (136 points).

 

The outcome of the Boys Varsity race was not decided until the final mile. A pack of three runners from Downers Grove North (Ryan Eddington, Phillip Cupial, Grant Schroder) led the way with Lyons Township’s Nick Strayer and Cillian Henning part of the eight runner pack. Just 15-meters behind was Aden Bandukwala of Hinsdale Central who seemed to be struggling with the course conditions. He found his footing in the final mile taking the lead and holding on to win individually with a 15:57 time. Philip Cupial led Downers Grove North by finishing second (16:00).

 

The #1 Trojans placed 4 runners in the top 9 to win the conference title with 37 points. North was without their #2 runner Caden Weber in this race. Grant Schroder and Ryan Eddington finished fifth and sixth at the team’s second and third runners. Will Surratt (9th) and Brady Travers (17th) rounded out their team’s top five. The overall split in this race was 45 seconds.

 

#10 Lyons Township has rebounded ever since the return of one of their top runners, Cillian Henning. Henning finished third, Nick Strayer finished fourth as the Lions scored 56 points to finish second. Ben Wuggazer (10th), John O’Halloran (14th), and Charles Ciesla (25th) were part of their top five that had a 70 second split. Their split between Wuggazer and Ciesla in this race was 45 seconds.

 

#6 Oak Park-River Forest finished third (68 points) behind the seventh place finish from Liam O’Connor. #18 Hinsdale Central finished fourth (105 points). York finished fifth led by Zach Saltiel finishing eighth. #27 Glenbard West finished sixth (128 points). Bandukwala was one of three Hinsdale Central runners that won individual Boys races in this meet with Henry Miller winning the Freshman race and Michael Gamboa winning the sophomore race.

 

Mid Suburban League @ Busse Woods, Schaumburg – The Girls race in this meet was figured to be close. Heavy rain slowed the runners down a little but two of the top Girls teams in the state were hard to separate. Defending State Champion #2 Prospect put runners in three of the first four places to win over #3 Barrington 33-35. Veronica Znajda of Prospect pulled away to win the individual title running 17:29 to win by 13 seconds ahead of Barrington’s Scout Storms (17:42). Prospect’s Meg Peterson and Lily Ginsberg both ran 17:53 to finish third and fourth. Mia Sirois was Barrington’s second runner as she finished fifth with a 17:56 time.

 

Prospect ended up placing 5 runners in the top 13 in this race with Kaitlin Skelton and Ireland Wildhart finishing 12-13 both timed at 18:52. The Knights’ top five split was 83 seconds. The 1-3 split was just 24 seconds. The gap between Ginsberg and Skelton was 59 seconds. Barrington also ran great with 5 runners placing in the first 11 runners. Sabrina Roach was the Fillies’ third runners finishing 7th followed by Angelica Hil (10th) and Kaleigh Burns (11th). Barrington’s top five split in this race was 70 seconds.

 

#7 Hersey finished third (71 points) behind top 10 finishes from Margaretha Grabske (6th) and Alexa Izenstark (8th). Palatine (134 points) and Schaumburg (168 points) finished fourth and fifth.

 

#8 Barrington dominated the Boys race placing 5 runners in the top 10 to capture the league title with 30 points. #3 Hersey finished second (64 points) while #13 Fremd scored 85 points to finish third. Joe Bregenzer led the Broncos to win individually timed at 15:08. Rory Gaan of Fremd finished second (15:11) ahead of Alex Krieg of Palatine (15:17).

 

Barrington had a 46 second split off Bregenzer. Justin Hurtado followed in fifth followed by Ethan Scott (6th), Mark McGinn (8th), and Manasyu Chaudhari (10th). Hersey did not have their best race of the season with one of their top runners Liam Naughton as the seventh runner finishing 32nd. Zach Frayder ran 15:37 to lead the team finishing fourth overall. Rob Geissenberger (12th), Cameron Donner (13th), and Aj Svienty (15th) were separated by just two seconds. Mateus Salomao finished 20th as the team’s fifth runner. Hersey’s top five split was still at 31 seconds.  Fremd in third place was pushed by Gaan’s finish and Jack Jennings finishing eighth.

 

#15 Palatine scored 110 points to finish fourth behind top 10 finishes from Krieg and Carter Hayes placing ninth. #14 Prospect finished fifth (116 points) ahead of #17 Conant (141 points).

 

DuPage Valley Conference @ Waubonsie Valley – Liv Phillips of Naperville Central took the lead from the start never pressured after that as she ran 17:54 to win the individual race ahead of Julie Piot from  Naperville North (18:21). Shania Tandon of North ran 19:00 to finish third. Freshman Mia Bertolini of Waubonsie Valley ran great on her home course as she finished along side North’s Rianna Tandon in fourth and fifth timed in 19:19. #5 Naperville North looks ready for the state series 5 runners in the top 10, 7 runners in 13 to score 28 points in winning the team title. Brynn Pfeiffer was North’s fourth runner finishing eighth followed by Emma Berres running 19:41 to finish tenth. The team’s top five split was 80 seconds. The split from Shania Tandon to Berres was 41 seconds.

 

#6 Naperville Central scored 44 points to finish second behind the Phillips win and top ten finishes from Abby Mogg (6th) and Lola Satre-Morales (7th). #27 Metea Valley scored 94 points to finish third.

 

Zac Close of Neuqua Valley had the lead throughout the Boys race timed at 15:27 to win by 17 seconds ahead of Tyler Browning of Naperville Central (15:44). Ammar Bhanpuri of Naperville North ran 15:57 to finish third. #9 Neuqua Valley held off #19 Naperville Central 38-45 for the team title. Metea Valley scored 91 points to finish third. Robert Glenn joined Close in the top five by finishing fourth overall. The Wildcats had 5 runners in the top 14 led by Tony Hinderliter (8th) followed by Anthony Pastore (11th) and Joshua Nauman (14th). Neuqua’s top five split was 67 seconds. Their split from Glenn to Nauman was 28 seconds. Central was powered by Patrick Clune (6th) and Foster Shelbert (9th) finishing in the top 10 behind Browning.

 

DuKane Conference @ Lake Park East Campus, Roselle – Heavy winds and a hard drizzle did not affect the runners in both Varsity races. It did not seem to bother Nicole Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South as she rolled to seemingly easy win in the Girls race. Poglitsch is emerging as one of the top runners in Class 3A this season. She showed that in this race taking the lead early, growing the lead at 1.5 miles to 20 seconds, and finishing in 17:31.9 to win by almost 40 seconds ahead of Sofia Borter of Geneva (18:10.8) and Emily Offutt of Wheaton North (18:10.9). #9 Wheaton North was in command early in the race. The Falcons ended up placing 5 runners in the top 15 to win the conference title with 46 points. #19 Wheaton-Warrenville South edged #17 Batavia 74-77 for second-place.

 

Maddie Romaine joined Offutt in the top five running 18:38 to finish fourth. Ema Eissler (10th), and freshmen Ceres Moraites (14th) and June Rectenwald (15th) followed. The Falcons had a top five split of 66 seconds. Wheaton-Warrenville South had Frida Martinez (11th) and Jenna Bachara (12th) as their second and third runners behind Poglitsch. Batavia was led by Gwen Krodel finishing seventh.

 

Jedidiah Wilson of St. Charles East and Josiah Narayanan of Wheaton-Warrenville South ran side-by side in the first two mile of the Boys Varsity race. Wilson charged up the hill just after the 2 -mile mark and pulled away to run 15:11.9 in claiming the conference title. Narayanan ran 15:23 to finish second with Aidan Murphy of Wheaton North placing third (15:30.

 

It was pack running by both #11 Wheaton-Warrenville South and #20 St. Charles East to decide the team title. South placed 4 runners in the top 12, 5 in the top 21. The Saints did have the advantage 5 runners in the top 17 that gave them the advantage winning 39-45. Wheaton North with 66 points finished ahead of #26 Batavia (76 points). Wilson was followed by his teammates Oscar Frontjes (5th), Greyson Ellensohn (7th), Adrian Ahuati (9th), and Michael Wilson (17th). East’s top 5 split was 62 seconds. The split from Frontjes to Michael Wilson was 36 seconds.

 

Aiden Noel was the Tigers’ second runner behind Narayanan finishing 4th. Angelo Ruggio (6th), Jayden Bauer (12th), and Samuel Purdue (21st) were also part of South’s top five that had a 61 second split.

 

Big 12 Conference @ Detweiller Park, Peoria – Joey Yaros won the Boys individual race to help Normal Community win the Boys conference title with 46 points. 1A #5 Peoria Notre Dame scored 58 points to finish second ahead of 2A #30 Champaign Central (65 points) and Normal West (77 points). Yaros ran 15:18 for the win ahead of Champaign Central’s Caleb Mathias (15:28) and Fynn Bright (15:47). Notre Dame freshman Maxwell Kirby placed fourth (15:48) ahead of Huson Coady of Urbana (15:51).

 

Julie Bach of Normal West pulled away to run 18:09 to win the Girls individual race. Farah Scott of Champaign Centennial finished second (18:32) ahead of Ali Ince of Normal Community (18:36) and Aleigha Garrison of Champaign Central (18:38). The top three teams were separated by just eight points. Normal West (1-7-10-27-28) had the edge scoring 66 points for the team title. 1A #5 Peoria Notre Dame (13-15-17-18-19) scored 72 points to finish second. #22 Champaign Centennial (2-5-16-26-32) finished third (74 points).

 

Big Northern Conference @ Oregon Park West – Weston Forward of Rockford Christian was in control of the Boys race winning it with a 16:07 time on this 5000-meter course. Nicolai Martino of Winnebago ran 16:30 to finish second with Aaron Conderman of Dixon placing third (16:45). 2A #23 Dixon had 5 runners in the top 16 to win the conference title with 41 points and a 75 second top five split. 1A #11 Rockford Christian finished second (57 points) with 1A #13 Winnebago scoring 63 points to finish third.

 

2A #10 Dixon packed it up in the Girls race led by the second-place finish from Kamryn Rogers and five more runners finishing from fifth to ninth to win the team title with 28 points. 1A #16 Winnebago finish second (69 points) ahead of Rock Falls (92 points). Ariel Hernandez of Rock Falls ran 19:53 for the win by 13 seconds ahead of Dixon’s Rogers (20:06). Morgan Capriola of Winnebago ran 20:29 to finish third.

 

Cahokia Conference Meet @ Randolph State Recreation Area, Chester – Three division races were scored in this meet. Ethan Hogan of Columbia ran 15:49 to win the Mississippi division title ahead of Caiden Beer of Salem (16:25) and Zachary Duffie of Freeburg (16:48). Freeburg put 5 runners in the 16 to win the divisional team title with 42 points ahead of Salem (51 points) and Roxana (57 points). Okawville had 5 runners in the top 12 to win the Illinois Division to win with 29 points finishing ahead of Red Bud (64 points) and Sparta (75 points). Ryker Obermeier of Okawville ran 17:48.8 for the win ahead of Gabe Coffman of Chester (18:17). Steeleville placed their top 7 in the first 9 places to win the Kaskaskia title with 19 points. New Athens scored 56 points to finish second. Clayton Cratch of Steeleville ran 16:06 to win the individual race.

 

Freeburg placed 5 runners in the top 12 to win the Mississippi Division ahead of Roxana (58 points) and Salem (67 points). Roxana had the first two places as Raelee Kimbro and Gianna Stassi finished 1-2 both running 20:02. Okawville put their top 5 runners in the first 9 places to win the Illinois Division with 15 points. Only two teams scored in this race. Caroline Tepe of Okawville ran 19:18 to roll to the win by almost two minutes ahead of teammate Lydia Luechtefeld (21:13). Dupo was the only team to score in the Kaskaskia Division. Rylan Reiss of Steelville ran 22:27 to win the divisional title.

 

Central State Eight @ Community Park, Jacksonville – The Girls race was close and had a great finish. Becca Heitzig of Lincoln set a new course record set by Nicole Benson in 2007 by two seconds running 16:33 .7 to win by almost seven seconds ahead of Natalie Bierbaum of Normal University (16:40). It was all Chatham-Glenwood in deciding the team winner. The #1 team in Class 2A placed 5 runners in the top 9 to win the team title with just 22 points. Ali Londrigan led their pack running 17:13 to finish third. She was followed by Ashlyn Chopra (4th), Brenna Sloman (5th), Ally Knudson (6th), and Sophie Rentmeister (9th). The top five split for the Titans was 73 seconds. The split from Londrigan to Knudson was 52 seconds. 2A #13 Rochester finished second (61 points) led by top 10 finishes from Brooke Zeibert (7th), Ashley Zeibert (8th), and Natalie Nichols (10th). Springfield was ahead of 2A #7 Normal University 83-85 for third place. U-High was without two of their top runners Zoe Carter and Lana Alcorn.

 

It was all 2A #5 Normal University in the Boys race as they finished in six of the top seven places in winning the Boys title with 18 points. Mason Hart led the Pioneers running 14:55 to claim the individual win. Connor Hartman was 10 seconds behind his teammate running 15:05 to finish second. Joey McGinn of Decatur MacArthur COOP broke up the U-High pack running 15:06 to finish third. Landen Alcorn, Mitchell Hayes, Sean Kaeb, and Jacob Bauchmoyer finished next all separated by 33 seconds. Their top five split was 39 seconds. 2A #19 Chatham-Glenwood finished second (69 points) led by top 10 finishes from Ayden Groves (8th) and Will Patzia (10th).

 

Central Suburban League @ Vernon Hills HS – Ben Crane won the individual race to help #7 New Trier win the Boys League title with 60 points. #12 Highland Park edged #24 Deerfield 76-77 for second-place. Crane’s winning time of 15:45 was 11 seconds ahead of second-place Brian Hatoum of Highland Park (15:56). Owynn Garrelts of Maine South ran 16:12 to finish third. New Trier was missing one of their top five runners Atticus Miller in this race. The Trevians still ended up putting 5 runners in the top 20 for the win. Felix Hekster finished sixth as the team’s second runner followed by Joey Papanicholas (14th), Walter Garrett (19th), and Michael Moran (20th). The team’s top five split was 76 seconds. Their split from 2-5 was 27 seconds.

 

#26 Maine South placed 4 runners in the top 12 to help them win the Girls League championship with 60 points. #22 New Trier finished second with 87 points followed by Evanston (100 points) and Vernon Hills (117 points). Anna Lester of Vernon Hills ran 18:44 to win the individual race ahead of Kaitlyn Burns of Glenbrook South (18:57) and Maria Polyakov of Glenbrook North (19:01). Olivia DeLuca led Maine South by running 19:15 to finish fourth. Tessie Bradley was the team’s second runner finishing ninth. New Trier was without their top runner Josie Cahill in this race. The Trevians were led by Hannah Falk who finished sixth overall. Stella Davis finished fifth to lead Evanston.

 

Chicago Catholic League @ Loyola Munz Campus Course, Glenview – Matthew Conroy of St. Ignatius College Prep tuned up for the upcoming state series meets running 15:21 to capture the league title by 29 seconds ahead of Luis Flores of St. Laurence (15:50). Gavin O’Connor of Brother Rice (15:53), John Daffenberg (16:02), and Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic (16:14.4) were part of the top five finishers. 2A #13 Marmion Academy edges 2A #6 St. Ignatius College Prep 45-54 for the League Championship. 2A #24 St. Francis (106 points) and Fenwick (108 points) finished third and fourth.

 

Marmion place five runners in the top 15 with a 39 second split on the group. Daffenberg led three runners in the top 10 ahead of Michael Whitacre (8th) and Robert Gramley (10th). St. Ignatius College Prep placed 5 runners in the top 19 led by Conroy and followed by Henry Fink (9th) and Brandon Mendoza (11th). Their top 5 split off Conroy was 85 seconds. Their 2-5 split in this race was just 14 seconds.

 

Chicago Public League Championships @ Washington Park – Mohamed Abdullahi of Mather ran away with the Boys Individual title Saturday morning in the rain at Chicago’s Washington Park. Abdullahi’s winning time of 15:09 was five seconds ahead of Will Kozlowski of Lane Tech (15:14). Sam Berlinghof of Jones College Prep finished third (15:22) ahead of Gavin Lee of Payton Prep (15:23 and Hirsi Hirsi of Mather (15:31). #23 Lane Tech took charge placing 5 runners in the top 12 to win the Boys City title with 39 points. Kozlowski was followed in the Champions’ finish by Brendan Banish (6th), Paul Neely (9th), Anan Bauman (10th), and Tristan Wong (12th) with a 46 second overall split. 2A #11 Payton had their highest finish ever in this meet by finishing second with 56 points led by top 10 finishes from Lee and Gabriel Cooper (7th).

 

It was a team sweep for Lane Tech as they scored 44 points to win the Girls City title ahead of Jones College Prep (68 points) and Payton College Prep (93 points). Lulu Ton-That of Northside Prep was the Girl individual winner timed in 18:24 and winning by 20 seconds ahead of Hannah Diete of Taft. Freshman Ainsley Carter led Lane Tech running 19:23 to finish third. Lucy McNally was also in the top five for the Champions as she finished fifth. Lane Tech’s top five split in this race was 45 seconds with 5 runners in the top 15.

 

East Suburban Catholic Conference @ Lewis University – Benet Academy swept both the Boys and Girls Varsity team titles in this meet. The 2A #12 Redwings placed three runners in the top 10 to score 43 points to win the Girls team title. Marist scored 58 points to finish second ahead of Carmel Catholic (75 points) and 2A #11 Nazareth Academy (76 points). Claire Blotnik of Joliet Academy ran 18:12 on this 2.98 mile course to win the individual title four seconds ahead of Delilah Helenhouse of Benet Academy (18:16). Abby McClorey of Marist finished third (18:30) ahead of Izzy Bing of Carmel Catholic (18:33) and Benet Academy’s Keira Jenke (18:39) and Payton Mathelier (18:43).

 

2A #2 Benet Academy swept the first four individual places on their way to score 19 points to win the Boys team title. Niles Notre Dame (77 points) finished second ahead of Carmel Catholic (81 points) and Marist (88 points). Finn Richards led the charge to the finish line by running 15:21 to win the individual title. Aiden Hulett (15:43), Jacob Malloy (15:45), and Charlie Phelan (15:50) followed Richards in the Benet pack. Matthew McKee of Marist finished fifth as the first “non-Benet” runner to cross the line. Daniel Shannon in tenth was Benet’s fifth runner. Benet Academy had a 29 second split in their first four runners, 67 seconds on their top five runners.

 

Fox Valley Conference @ Plato Park, Elgin – Tommy Nitz of Huntley ran 15:19 to repeat as the Boys Conference Individual winner by 10 seconds ahead of Will Gelon of Prairie Ridge (15:29). 2A #16 Prairie Ridge packed it up placing their next four runners between 12th and 19th to win the team title with 68 points. #25 Jacobs placed three runners in the top six and finished second with 72 points. Huntley (100 points) and Crystal Lake Central (109 points) finished third and fourth. Prairie Ridge’s second runner Evan Gilleland finished 12th followed by Gerrit Dam, Kevin DeGroot, and Eddy Klimkowski who finished between 17th through 19th. Their top five split was 49 seconds from Gelon. Their 2-5 split was just 10 seconds. Max Sudrzynski (3rd), Matthew Andreano (5th), and Andrew Beyer (6th) led Jacobs separated by just 7 seconds. Their top five split (25-33) was 83 seconds.

 

#20 Huntley placed 5 runners in the top 14 to win the Girls team title with 44 points. 2A #24 Crystal Lake Central finished second (67 points) ahead of 2A #5 Crystal Lake South (71 points) and #25 Hampshire (94 points. Danielle Jensen of McHenry was the clear winner of the Girls race timed in 17:50. Hadley Ferrero of Crystal Lake Central finished second in 18:24 ahead of freshmen Haley Rahman of Huntley (18:25) and Skyler Ferrero of Crystal Lake Central (18:42). Huntley’s top five in this race was 49 seconds.

 

Girls Catholic Athletic Conference @ Loyola Munz Campus Course, Glenview – Annika Swan ran 18:15 for the individual win and helped 2A #3 St. Ignatius College Prep win the Red Division team title with 59 points. 2A #23 DePaul College Prep (79 points) finished second ahead of #29 Loyola Academy (81 points). Swan had a winning time of 18:15 to win by 18 seconds ahead of Sydney Gertsen of Montini Catholic. Freshmen Emily Stecky of DePaul College Prep (18:39) and Juliana Gamboa of Fenwick (18:44) finished third and fourth. St. Ignatius College Prep placed 5 more runners behind Swan in the top 18. The split in that group was 25 seconds.

 

2A #6 St. Francis scored 30 points to win the White Division title ahead of IC Catholic Prep (48 points) and 1A #28 Aurora Central Catholic (73 points). Cecilia Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic ran 18:41 to win the White division individual race. St. Francis put 5 runners in the top 11 led by freshman Elena Mamminga running 19:00 to finish second and Erin Hinsdale running 19:18 to finish fourth.

 

Heart of Illinois Conference @ Lower Lake Park, Eureka – Eureka made it a sweep winning both the Boys and Girls team titles in this meet. 1A #4 Eureka placed 5 runners in the top 9 to score 22 points in winning the Girls team title. Meika Bender of Eureka ran 17:57 for the win by a margin of 52 seconds ahead of teammate Bre Lehman. 1A #6 El Paso-Gridley finished second with 46 points led by the third-place finish from Caroline Wettstein (18:51). Dean Witzig of El Paso-Gridley won the Boys race with a 15:24 time. The 2-3-4 finish from Andrew Perry, Brady Monk, and Carson Lehman along with having 5 runners finish in the top 10 helped 1A #3 Eureka win the team title with 26 points. Their top five split in this race was 46 seconds. 1A #14 El Paso-Gridley scored 45 points to finish second.

 

Illinois Central Eight Conference @ Eastwood Golf Course, Streator – 1A #24 Herscher scored 21 points to win the Boys team title placing 5 runners in the top 7. Manteno finished second (45 points) behind the individual win from Benjamin Froeschle (16:13). He finished five seconds ahead of Herscher’s Jackson Kruse (16:18). Herscher’s top five split was 66 seconds. In the Girls race, Herscher placed 5 runners in the top 9 to score 19 points with Lisle finishing second with 61 points. Celeste Richards of Peotone ran 19:20 for the individual win by 15 seconds ahead of Brooklyn Flores of Wilmington (19:35). Gianna High of Herscher ran 19:45 to finish third.

 

Interstate Eight Conference @ Morris HS – 2A #17 Kaneland placed 4 runner in the top 8, 5 runners in the top 14 to win the team title with 31 points. 2A #22 Sycamore (45 points) and Morris (54 points) finished second and third. Kaneland put 3 runners in the top 5 to distance themselves ahead of the rest of the field. Evan Nosek led the Knights running 15:33 to win the individual race by 22 seconds ahead of Naif Al Harby of Sycamore (15:55). Cuyler Swanson of Morris and David Valkanov of Sycamore both ran 16:00 finishing third and fourth. Evan Whildin of Kaneland finished fifth (16:07).

 

Morris placed 4 runners in the top 8 to help them win the Girls team title with 34 points. Kaneland scored 59 points to finish second. Makensi Martin of Morris easily won the Girls individual race. The junior was timed at 19:34 winning by 37 seconds ahead of Layla Janisch of Sycamore and another five seconds ahead of Danielle Bower of Kaneland (20:16).

 

Kishwaukee River Conference @ Emricson Park, Woodstock – The extremely wet conditions on the Emricson Park did not seem to bother Sundara Weber of Sandwich in her first race on this course. Weber overwhelmed the rest of the field running 18:56 for the conference win. She won by 2:14 ahead of Alexia Spatz of Richmond-Burton (21:10). Woodstock scored 38 points to win the team title finishing ahead of Sandwich (53 points) and Richmond-Burton (76 points).

 

2A #4 Woodstock were “impolite” hosts in the Boys race putting all 7 of their runners in the top 8 to easily repeat as Boys champions with just 16 points. Richmond-Burton (79 points), Woodstock North (87 points), and Marengo (90 points) finished second through fourth. Ishan Patel ran 16:24 to win the race and lead Woodstock. His brother Aryan ran 17:14 to finish second.

 

Metro Suburban Conference @ Westmont HS – This is the final year of this meet and the conference. All four teams that raced on Saturday will join the Upstate Eight Conference next fall.  #16 Riverside-Brookfield made it a memorable meet taking the first seven places to easily win with a perfect 15 points. Ridgewood was the closest to the Bulldogs finishing 61 points to finish second. Cooper Marrs led the RB pack running 17:16 for the win. Their top five split was just five seconds. Their top seven split was 15 seconds. Three teams scored in the Girls race as Riverside-Brookfield won the Girls team title with 19 points. Elmwood Park finished second with 47 points. Kyla Babb of Westmont ran 20:36 to win individually ahead of Gianna Gelb of Riverside-Brookfield (21:10).

 

Northern Illinois 10 Conference @ Kieselburg Forest Preserve, Roscoe – 2A #24 Boylan Catholic put four runners in the first ten places to help them win the Girls team title with 36 points. Rockton Hononegah scored 55 points to finish second ahead of Machesney Park Harlem (87 points) and Belvidere North (95 points). Reese Kohnle of Boylan Catholic ran 18:45 for the win with Kylie Simpson of Hononegah (18:53) and Madison Harmsen of Guilford (18:54) finishing second and third.

 

Rockton Hononegah scored 34 points to win the Boys team title placing 5 runners in the top 15. Rockford Guilford with 62 points finished second ahead of Machesney Park Harlem (66 points) and Belvidere North (76 points). Landon Bachta of Guilford ran 15:58 to win the Boys race ahead of Nicolo Altamore of Hononegah (16:05) and Jesse Kramer of Belvidere North (16:07).

 

Northern Lake County Conference @ Bulldog Athletic Complex – The Boys team race had to come down to a sixth runner tiebreak to determine the conference title. Grant Community and Lakes Community ended the meet tied with 49 points. Memphis Roman finished 17th overall for Grant, Brady Mock finished 25th for Lakes to give Grant the conference title. 2A #8 Grayslake Central scored 52 points behind individual race winner Trey Sato. His time of 15:50 was 30 seconds ahead of Jackson Summy of Lakes (16:20) and Daniel Campos of Round Lake (16:24).

 

2A #4 Grayslake Central placed 5 runners in the top 10 with a 68 second split was enough to repeat as conference champions with 29 points. 2A #20 Lakes Community finished second (69 points) led by the individual win from Madison Twarling. The senior ran 18:57 for the win 11 seconds ahead of Ava Henne of Grayslake Central. 2A #28 Antioch scored 75 points to finish third.

 

North Suburban Conference @ Warren Township-O’Plaine Campus Course – Lake Zurich was the school that came home with the top hardware in both the Boys and Girls races. Stevenson swept the first two places in the Boys race as Dylan Zimmerman ran 15:46 for the win with teammate Adam Foley running 15:51 to finish second. Lake Zurich, led by the fourth-place finish from freshman Luke Marshall placed their next four runners between 7th and 10th to win the team title with 38 points with only a 20 second split on their group. Stevenson (49 points), Libertyville (60 points), and Mundelein (77 points) were the next three teams.

 

Lake Zurich placed 5 runners in the top 18 to win the Girls team title with 52 points. Warren Township (64 points) and 2A #16 Lake Forest (67 points) finished second and third. Kaylee Wilson of Warren Township ran 18:22 to win her first year of high school running. Another freshman, Celia Blaylock of Lake Zurich, ran 18:34 in finishing second.

 

NUIC Conference @ Pecatonica Middle School – East Dubuque led by the fourth-place finish of Arthur Horn, placed four runners from fourth through seventh to win the team title with 23 points. Forreston scored 67 points to finish second. Aiden Ruiz of Dakota ran 16:59 to edge Roscoe Davies of West Carroll (17:00) to win the Boys individual race. Ryan Pieper of Stockton ran 17:04 to finish third. Avery Engle of East Dubuque was in full control of the Girls race running 20:54 to win. The senior won by almost two minutes ahead of Kennedy Burkholder of Lanark Eastland who scored 22 points to win the team title.

 

South Suburban Blue Conference @ Conkey Woods – Oak Forest edges 2A #29 Lemont 27-35 for the Boys team title. Oak Forest placed 5 runners in the top 11, Lemont placed 5 runners in the top 15. Jack Davey of Lemont ran 15:45 to claim the individual Boys title. The next three places went to Oak Forest led by Colin O’Brien (15:56) followed by Parker Griffin (16:11) and Nick Manso (16:25). Led by the 1-3 finish from Niki Tselios and Maggie Davey, Lemont scored 27 points in winning the Girls team title ahead of Bremen (47 points). Tselios with a 18:40 winning time had a 64 second margin ahead of second-place Julie Macias of Bremen.

 

South Suburban Red Conference @ Bedford Park District Complex – Reavis edged HL Richards 46-53 to win the Boys Division title. Rocco Cipolla of Evergreen Park ran 16:23 for the individual title finishing ahead of Santiago Chavez of Reavis (16:55) with his teammate Jose Flores two seconds behind (16:57). Reavis also won the Girls Division title with 26 points finishing ahead of Argo (51 points) and Oak Lawn (76 points). Valeria Marquez-Enriquez of Argo ran 20:28 to win by 22 seconds ahead of the Reavis duo of Mia Chavez (20:50) and Delyanna Arocho (20:59).

 

Southland Athletic Conference @ Thornwood HS – Bloom Township scored 46 points to win the Boys Conference title ahead of Thornton (58 points) and Thornwood (98 points). Jojo Poku of Crete-Monee was first timed at 17:43 for the win. Cormontie Robinson of Thornridge ran 17:57 to finish second ahead of Bloom Township’s Antonio Gutierrez (18:12) and Jonathan Tavares (18:18). Thornton edged Rich Township 58-61 for the team title ahead of Thornwood (66 points) and Crete-Monee (72 points). Addison Perkins of Thornwood won by more than a minute crossing the finish line in 21:02. Evelyn Stolzenbach of Crete-Monee ran 22:25 to finish second.

 

Southwest Suburban Conference @ Lockport Township East Campus – This meet was scored as two divisions. #22 Sandburg placed 5 runners in the top 15 to win the Blue Divisional title with 37 points. #21 Lincoln-Way East scored 56 points to finish second. Grant Giblin of Sandburg ran 15:48 to win the individual race ahead of Michael O’Brien of Lincoln-Way East (16:04) and John Hockenberry of Homewood-Flossmoor (16:09). Luke Atzman of Sandburg (16:11) and Habtamu Epley of Homewood-Flossmoor (16:11) rounded out the top five finishers. Lincoln-Way Central placed 5 runners in the top 12 to win the Red Division with 32 points. Bradley-Bourbonnais was the closest team to the Knights scoring 69 points to finish second. Jeremiah Lanum of Bradley-Bourbonnais ran 15:50 to win the divisional title eight seconds ahead of Luke Barham of AA Stagg (15:58).

 

#12 Sandburg finished in the first three places in the Blue Division to win the team title with 26 points. #18 Lincoln-Way East scored 36 points to finish second. Lindsey Gerhardstein led Sandburg running 18:26 to win ahead of teammates Ava Giblin (19:21) and Katie Roche (19:27).  Lincoln-Way East’s first finisher was Kara Waishwell running 20:00 to finish fourth. #24 Lincoln-Way Central was in full control in the Red Division race putting all seven runners in the top 11 to score 20 points for the team win. AA Stagg scored 57 points to finish second. Freshmen Brea Counihan and Mia Forystek led the way for Central. Counihan ran 18:51 for the individual win while Mia Forystek ran 19:35 in placing second. Madeline Mellin of Bradley-Bourbonnais finished third with a 19:43 time.

 

Upstate Eight Conference @ Bartlett HS – 2A #2 Glenbard South placed their first four runners in the top nine to help them win the Boys team title with 44 points. South Elgin (89 points), Aurora East (96 points), and Elgin (97 points) finished second through fourth overall. The Raiders top runner Jaden Frederick did not race in this meet. Cole Tupper of Elgin ran 15:30 to win by seven seconds ahead of Tim Jochum of Glenbard South (15:37). Tom Jochum (5th), Lucas Newman (8th), Michael Bailey (9th), and Ben Zima (21st) were part of the Glenbard South pack. Their top five split in this race was 97 seconds. Their top four split was 49 seconds.

 

Aurora East won the Girls Varsity title with 54 points ahead of Glenbard East (64 points)  and Bartlett (66 points). Sophia Baumert of Streamwood ran 18:44 in winning the individual race. Josslyn Wade of Fenon (18:54) and Alessandra Gregory of Bartlett (18:57) finished second and third.

 

WSC-Gold Conference @ Katherine Legge Memorial, Hinsdale – Cross country races at Katerine Legge Memorial had eliminated the creek crossing on the course. For the runners on Saturday, it seemed like they ran in the creek considering how rainy the conditions were on Saturday. Downers Grove South won their 25^th straight  Girls Divisional title. Holly Johnson won the individual race while leading 6 runners in the top 9. The Mustangs scored 23 points for the win ahead of Willowbrook (53 points) and Leyden  (79 points). Johnson’s time of 20:01 was just two seconds ahead of Amelie Ojeda of Willowbrook (20:03). South’s Sophie Ring ran 20:44 to finish third.

 

Downers Grove South edged Berwyn-Cicero Morton 28-37 for the Boys team title. Josh Poeschel led the Mustangs running 15:56 to win ahead of teammate Ethan Traugott (16:36). Morton’s Alex Rodriguez ran 16:45 to finish third. South placed 5 runners in the first 13 with a 101 second split. Morton put 5 runners in the top 12 with a 46 second split.

 

Bulldog XC Classic Invitational @ Sacred Heart Parish Grounds – Isabella Keller of Effingham St. Anthony tuned up for the upcoming state series by running 16:51 to win by two minutes ahead of Mt. Zion’s Avery Sommer (18:51). Evan Cook of Decatur St. Teresa ran 15:37 to win the Boys Individual race ahead of Alex Gordon of Effingham (16:08) and Cameron Roedl of Toledo Cumberland (16:14).

 

Peoria Heights Patriot Invitational @ Detweiller Park, Peoria – The finish race on the state meet course before the state meet took place Saturday afternoon. The Girls race in this meet was the spotlight race. Elena Rybak of Father McGivney pulled away to run 17:11 for the win. Tessa Bowers of Shelbyville and Molly Farrell finished second and third both timed at 17:19. McKenzie Pound of Tolono Unity ran 17:47 to finish fourth. Emily Downing of Cambridge and Louisa Wilson of Williamsville both were timed in 18:07 to finish fifth and sixth.

 

1A #1 Tolono Unity was the class of the field scoring just 44 points to win the team title. The Rockets were led by Pound followed by Erica Woodard (9th), Emily Decker (10th), Olivia Shike (19th), and Olivia Shike (19th) and Ashlyn Denney (24th). 1A #8 Delavan scored 122 points to finish second ahead of 1A #11 Pleasant Plains (149 points), 1A #12 Knoxville (175 points), and 1A #27 Lowpoint-Washburn (216 points).

 

1A #4 Elmwood, behind the individual win from Isaiah Hill, scored 77 points to win the Boys team title ahead of 1A #7 St. Joseph-Ogden (154 points) who held out some of their top runners including Carson Maroon. Hill’s winning time of 15:18 was 11 seconds ahead of St. Joseph-Ogden’s Aden Armstrong (15:29). Sam Springer of Delavan finished third (15:36) followed by Charlie Link of Erie-Prophetstown and Elijah Teefey of Pleasant Plains who both ran 15:41.

 

1A #10 Pleasant Plains scored 155 points to finish third. 1A #15 Petersburg PORTA scored 201 points to finish fourth ahead of 1A #20 Riverdale (210 points), 1A #23 Erie-Prophetstown (222 points), and 1A #12 Georgetown Notre Dame de La Salette (238 points).