Three Illinois Teams Beat Top-Ranked Wayzata MN Girls

By Michael Newman

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If Illinois girls teams had the goal of making a national statement Saturday in Minnesota at the Roy Griak Invitational, that's what Yorkville, Naperville North, and Downers Grove South achieved.

They came. They saw. They conquered.

The Yorkville girls captured the Gold Division title with 104 points to lead a top-three Illinois sweep ahead of No. 1-ranked Wayzata MN. Naperville North was only nine points back in second (113 points), while Downers Grove South scored 170 points to finish third.

Wayzata MN finished fourth with 185 points.

Emily Covert of Washburn MN was in control throughout, running 17:28 on the 5K course for the win. She finished 22 seconds ahead of Math & Science Academy MN’s Tierney Wolfgram who ran 17:50.7 to finish second.

When asked if he was impressed by the way that the Illinois teams ran on the Les Bolstad Golf Course, Naperville North coach Dan Iverson simply said, “Boy, I’d say that!”

“Illinois teams ran great today at Griak,” Yorkville coach Chris Muth said. “Yorkville might have come up on top today, but Naperville North and Downers Grove South are very special programs with hall of fame coaches. We ran as a true team for the first time this year.”

Yorkville’s top four runners were separated by only 24 seconds in this race, led by the 13th-place finish from Helena Kleronomos. Emily Eberhart was two seconds back in 16th place. Kailey Fox (18th) and Sara Klemm (24th) followed. Hailey Simmons stepped up for the Lady Foxes as the team’s fifth runner placing 50th. Olivia Borowiak, who has been in the team’s top five to this point, was injured but still finished 62nd overall.

“Olivia, who has been dealing with a quad injury, put the team first and gutted it out,” Muth added. “She will get a little time off to heal up for the state series moving forward.”

The split for Yorkville’s top five runners was 61 seconds.

“I was really impressed with the way we kept the meet in perspective,” Muth commented. “Keeping the race in the correct perspective can change the perspective of the race. When they realize that the most important thing isn’t a defining time or a finishing place on the team, but instead focus on being the best version of themselves as teammates and young adults makes the biggest impact. Today was a great example of that, and that makes me prouder than winning this meet.”

Naperville North was strong in its second race of the season, showing room for improvement. All of the team's scorers finished in the top 40 led by Campbell Petersen’s seventh-place finish. The sophomore was the fastest of all Illinois runners. Alex Morris led the Lady Huskies' pack with a 22nd-place finish. Claire Hill and Maggie Gamboa finished together in 30th and 31st place. Audrey Mendys was the team’s fifth runner as she placed 36th. Lucy Westlake (39th) and Megan Driscoll (40th) were next.

“I thought we ran very well. It wasn’t perfect, but the fact it wasn’t perfect makes me excited. We have room to grow here. Putting seven in the top 40 is extremely good in this meet. And this was a very deep year up here,” Iverson said. “The story here is Yorkville. They were awesome. Could not have been more impressed with them.”

Downers Grove South’s third-place finish was paced by top 20 finishes from Brenna Cohoon (14th) and Erin Reidy (19th). Then came their pack with Melissa Weidner (42nd), Becky Versaskas (46th), and Rebecca Diddia (67th).

“Our pack blew up after the start. This is the first time in the last three seasons that we didn’t have a pack to rely on. I’m really proud of how the girls adapted and pushed through,” South coach Doug Plunkett said. “Cohoon ran a strong race as expected, and Reidy is gaining confidence each time out. Weidner has been sick, but she might have run the bravest race on our team pushing through. We’ve got to get our pack back together to score better in the 4-5 spots. Third place in this meet is great, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of in losing to two great programs like Naperville North and Yorkville. We feel that we could have given them a better race.”

Now the three teams head home and will get ready for a quick turnaround for the high-powered Naperville Twilight Meet on Naperville North’s campus. Eight of the top teams in Illinois will be in attendance.

“I can’t express how impressed I was with the top Illinois teams this weekend. The state series is going to be something special to be a part of,” Muth concluded. “Now we have a quick turnaround for Twilight.”