By Michael Newman

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Four things that we learned about this weekend’s 3A sectional races.

1 – Naperville North, Yorkville, and Downers Grove South are so closely matched for next week’s 3A Girls race. There are five to six other teams that could also be in the hunt for a trophy.

2 – Katelynne Hart looks primed for a third straight state title after a convincing win at Niles West. A chase after Judy Pendergast’s state record of 15:53.8 is a possibility if the conditions are favorable.

3 – Despite injuries, Wheaton-Warrenville is deep and is the favorite for the team title. It is not a large margin. Seven teams will be in the ix along with the Tigers for a state trophy.

4 – Who wins the Boys individual race next week? I don’t know. I do believe that there are ten individuals that could come away with the state title.

More highlights from the sectional meets can be found below.

Niles West Sectional – There was no question again after the first 200-meters that Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart would win this Girls Sectional race. The junior went through the mile in 5:20 on her way to a 42 second win. Her time of 16:39 set a new course record. Wheaton-Warrenville South’s Samantha Poglitsch used a final 100-meter kick to pass Glenbard West’s Katie Hohe to finish second. Poglitsch ran 17:22 to finish three seconds ahead.

It was New Trier’s pack that was the story in the Girls race. The Lady Trevians placed their top four runners in the first 11 places which gave them a three-point edge 64 to 67 ahead of Wheaton-Warrenville South. York (94 points), Glenbard West (111 points), and Oak Park-River Forest (114 points) were the other state qualifiers in this race.

Only four seconds separated New Trier’s first four runners led by the 7-8 finish from Bridget Forbes and Leah Ulrich. Their top five split was 35 seconds.

Maine South’s Tommy Brady had a 10-meter lead on York’s Ethan Kern entering the track for the final 300-meters of the Boys race. Kern caught him with 100 meters to go as the two ran side-by side to the finish line. Kern’s final surge was the difference as the two runners were separated by 26 hundredths of a second with Kern winning. Both runners were timed at 14:37. Wheaton-Warrensville’s William Hauenstein ran 14:49 to finish third.

Wheaton-Warrenville South was not at full strength but still won the Sectional title with 61 points. Their normal top five runner Sean Maison had a minor injury that hampered him during the race. Maison was the team’s sixth runner placing 30^th. The Tigers depth showed as they placed five runners in the top 22 with Jacob Kluckhohn (7^th), Scott Maison (8^th), Jared Peaslee (21^st), and Ethan Seng (22^nd) finishing behind Hauenstein with a 37 second team split. Glenbard West finished second (89 points) behind the 4-6 finish from Stephen Moody and Rory Cavan. York qualified again for state (102 points) behind Kern’s win and Colin Hill’s 10^th place finish. New Trier (134 points) edged league rival Maine South (137 points) for fourth. Whitney Young finished sixth (150 points) missing back to back team state qualifying by 13 points. The Dolphins still had Sam Rivera (5^th) and Charlie Nevins (11^th) qualify individually.

Waubonsie Valley Sectional – This sectional was deep with quality teams and it showed in both of the races that took place Saturday morning. The top three finishers in the Girls race all broke Sarah Schmitt’s course record of 17:17. Katrina Schlenker of Batavia ran 16:47 to set the new course record winning by 11 seconds ahead of Naperville North’s Alex Morris (16:58) and Alice Abbott of St. Charles East (17:04). Youth showed in this race as four individual qualifiers were freshmen led by St. Charles North’s Rachel Price (4^th), South Elgin’s Naomi Ruff (6^th), Oswego East’s Madison Zarembski (15^th) and Bartlett’s Jenna Buchanan (16^th).

Naperville North tuned up for next week state meet with a strong performance in winning the sectional title with 37 points. The top ranked Huskies placed all of their top seven in the first 14 places with only a 49 second split off Morris. Campbell Petersen led the pack (5^th) followed by Lucy Westlake (8^th), Claire Hill (10^th), and Maggie Gamboa (12^th).

Batavia (118 points), Benet Academy (142 points), Hononegah (150 points) and Oswego (171 points) were the other state team qualifiers. Geneva missed next week’s state meet by 10 points.

Ian Geisler of Huntley had the lead entering the final 200-meters of the Boys race. On came Thomas Shilgalis of Naperville Central who caught Geisler in the final strides of the race. Both runners were timed at 14:49 with Shilgalis the winner by three tenths of a second. The Naperville Central senior’s time of 14:49.1 was the second fastest time ever on the course trailing Olympian medalist Evan Jager who ran 14:41 while running at Jacobs.

St. Charles East got themselves ready for next week’s state meet with a sectional win placing their top five runners in the first 24 and only a 35 second split. The Saints scored 59 points for the win led by Bob Liking finishing fifth. Micah Wilson (8^th), Aidan King (11^th), Bennett Melone (12^th), and Zack Loomis (24^th) followed.

Neuqua Valley finished second (82 points) behind the 3-4 finish of Michael Madiol and Chris Keeley. Oswego East (104 points) and Naperville North (128 points) finished third and fourth. Huntley, who missed qualifying last year, was the final team to advance with 129 points and their fifth-place finish. Naperville Central missed qualifying with 134 points. This field was deep with Geneva (149 points) and Waubonsie Valley (153 points) finishing seventh and eighth.

Hoffman Estates Sectional – The times were fast Saturday morning at Busse Woods and it showed in the Boys race. Hersey’s Josh Methner pulled away from Rolling Meadows’ Eddie Lennon to win the sectional title with a 14:42 time. Lennon was only two seconds back (14:44) placing second.

Methner’s win, along with three Huskie runners in the first five, put the MSL Champs in control winning the sectional title with only 55 points. Ryan Buch finished third (14:46) while teammate Max Svienty finished fifth (14:50). The top three Hersey runners were only separated by eight seconds. Colin Safford (22^nd) and Thomas McCarthy (26^th) were the other team scorers that finished a 42 second split on their top five.

Mundelein made it back to back state appearances finishing second (113 points) behind top ten finishes from Dillon Blake (6^th) and Robert St. Clair (9^th). Barrington (123 points), Lake Zurich (156 points) and Rolling Meadows (168 points) were the other team state qualifiers. This will be the first team appearance at state by Rolling Meadows.

It figured to be a crazy race for the individual and team titles in the Girls race as the results from the regional races showed. The times were also ultra-fast in this race. Freshman Aly Negovetich of Grant Community stamped herself as one of the top 3A runners in the state as she ran 16:30 to win the Girls Individual title. Three runners were under 17-minutes in this race as Round Lake’s Fatima Giron (16:35) and Molly FitzPatrick (16:49) were second and third.

Prospect did not have an individual runner in the top 10 in this race. Boy did they have a pack! The Lady Knights placed five runners between 15^th and 23^rd with only an eight second split to win the sectional title with 89 points. Audrey Ginsberg led her team (15^th) followed by Jenna Baltes (17^th), Emily Hubbard (18^th), Marissa Valentini (21^st), and Julia O’Grady (23^rd).

46 points separated the next six teams with two not making it to state meet. Barrington finished second (125 points) behind Fitzpatrick and the fourth-place finish from Alyssa Norris. Cary-Grove (135 points) and Hersey (153 points) finished third and fourth. Grant Community was the final state qualifying team with 159 points. Fremd was sixth missing by seven points (166 points) while Palatine finished seventh (171 points) missing by 12 points.

Marist Sectional – It was a sweep by Downers Grove South winning both the Boys and Girls Sectional titles.

Brenna Cohoon of Downers Grove South pulled away from McKenna Revord in the final 800-meters to win the sectional title (17:01) ahead of Hinsdale Central’s Mckenna Revord (17:08). It was close for the next three spots as South’s Melissa Weidner (17:13), Argo’s Abby Lopez (17:14), and Kate Dickman of Lyons Township (17:15) were separated by two seconds.

This was a statement race for the Lady Mustangs placed all their runners in the top 15 with five runners finishing in the top 10 as they scored only 29 points. Erin Reidy (6^th), Kennedy Warden (9^th), and Rebecca Diddia (10^th) finished behind Cohoon and Weidner with only a 46 second split between the top five.

Lyons Township also looked strong finishing second with 59 points behind Dickman’s finish and the eighth-place finish from Marta Kogucki. Hinsdale Central (80 points), Downers Grove North (104 points), and Plainfield North (164 points) were the final state team qualifiers from this sectional. Fenwick finished sixth missing qualifying for state by three points.

Tyler Cushing of Bolingbrook won the Boys individual race (14:30) by five seconds ahead of Plainfield South’s Christian Knowlton (14:35). Guillermo Ibarra of Morton, who won the Hinsdale Central Regional last week, was three seconds back finishing third (14:38).

Downers Grove South placed 5 runners in the top 25 to win the Sectional team title 69-86 ahead of crosstown rival Downers Grove North. The Mustangs were led by top ten finishes from Eddie Siuda (6^th) and John Heneghan (8^th). The split on their top five was 35 seconds. North’s second-place finish was highlighted by the 4-5 finish from Matt Moravec and Jack Roberts. It was the major race for Roberts since his race at the Minooka Invitational on September 15.

Lyons Township was without their top runner Jack Ehlert but still qualified for state finishing third with 88 points. Sandburg (105 points) and Hinsdale Central (117 points). Plainfield South missed qualifying for state by three points finishing sixth with 120 points. It was the third straight year that the Cougars have finished sixth in a sectional meet.

Quincy Sectional – Yorkville prepared for next week’s showdown with Naperville North and Downers Grove South with a 1-2-3 sweep in a convincing sectional win with only 21 points. Emily Eberhart ran 17:18 for the win with Kailey Fox and Helena Kleronomos close behind. The three were only separated by three seconds. The Lady Foxes placed their scorers in the top nine with Hailey Simmons (6^th) and Olivia Borowiak (9^th) completing their top five. Their five-runner split was 72 seconds.

Minooka showed improvement as they finished second with 50 points. The Indians placed three runners in the top 10 with Vivian Van Eck (4^th), Julia Dames (5^th), and Kathryn Cichon (10^th). Lockport (130 points), Edwardsville (141 points), and O’Fallon (165 points) were the final qualifying teams. Belleville East finished a great season finishing sixth but missing the state meet by 14 points (179 points).

Charlie Wetzel of Normal West won the Boys Race (15:07) ahead of Edwardsville’s Roland Prenzler (15:12) and Max Hartmann (15:20). Andrew O’Keefe of Granite City missed qualifying for state as an individual qualifier. He finished 14^th overall missing state qualifying by one place.

O’Fallon displayed some good pack running with their second through fifth runners separated by nine seconds to solidify their sectional championship with 86 points. Will Van Alstine led the Panthers with a sixth-place finish. Edwardsville (110 points), Normal University (115 points), Minooka (122 points), and Lockport (126 points) were the other four state qualifying teams. Yorkville missed qualifying for the Boys State Meet by eight points (134 points) finishing sixth.