Illinois HS XC - Weekend Highlights - September 30, 2019

By Michael Newman

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While some teams faced muddy courses and other teams traveled out of state, there was still some great performances throughout the state in less than perfect conditions.

You can read about the action here from the Palatine Invitational Meet of Champions.

Here are some of the highlights from some of the team’s this past weekend.

Cover Photo: ©2019 Laura Duffy

Desert Twilight Classic @ Casa Grande Sports Complex AZ

Downers Grove South had a good race in Arizona finishing third overall in the Girls sweepstakes race scoring 123 points. Niwot CO, who finished fifth last December at Nike Cross Nationals, placed five runners in the top 26 to capture the championship with 80 points. Another Colorado school, Cherokee Trail, scored 97 points to finish second.

Downers Grove South got out nicely putting all their scorers in the top 35 at 1-mile. Niwot made a good charge to the front in the final mile to secure the win.

Brenna Cohoon led the Lady Mustangs moving into the top ten in the final mile of the race to finish ninth overall. The same held true for Erin Reidy as she moved from 24th in the final mile to finish 19th. Sophia McNerney (27th), Kennedy Warden (32th), and Alex Spang (49th). The team had a 77 second split on their top five runners. The split from Reidy to Sprang was 40 seconds.

“It’s been such an awesome weekend,” Cohoon said in a September 28 post on Twitter. “I’m feeling so grateful I get to race alongside these ladies and can’t wait for what the rest of this season will bring.”

Roy Griak Invitational @ University of Minnesota

Saturday afternoon was another good afternoon outside of the state for Illinois runners.  Rosary High School sophomore Lianna Surtz showed that she belongs on the national stage with a strong third-place finish in the Girls Gold Division race. Surtz was just edged at the line behind Anna Fenske of Farmington MN who ran 18:08.6 compared to the 18:08.9 time of Surtz. Cherry Creek CO sophomore Riley Stewart ran 17:29.3 to capture the individual title. Lydia Roller of Staunton also had a strong race running 19:07.5 to finish 22nd.

Naperville North had another good Minnesota performance finishing second overall in the Girls Gold Division with 165 points. Cherry Creek CO has been running strong early this season and made a statement in this race placing five runners in the top 38 scoring only 75 points.

The Lady Huskies were without one of their top five runners Campbell Petersen in this race. Maggie Gamboa led the team finishing sixth overall. Audrey Mendrys (19th), Molly Morton (41st), Kate Donaldson (59th), and Lucy Westlake (60th) were the team’s other scorers. North had a 92 second split on their top five as well as a 48 second split from Mendrys to Westlake.

Batavia had a strong showing in their first time in this meet as they scored 246 points to finish sixth. Katrina Schlenker finished 12th overall in her second race of the season. Mia Gianfrancesco and Jenna Schifferer finished together in 26th and 27th. Katie Cole (102nd) and Audrey Pellico (109th) were the Bulldogs other scorers.

Culver Academies Invitational

Lyons Township (134 points) and Neuqua Valley (166 points) finished fourth and fifth in the Boys Open race Saturday morning. Fort Wayne Concordia IN scored 38 points for the team title. Reece Gibson of Concordia Lutheran ran 16:28.6 in sloppy conditions on the 5k course for the win with Lyons Township’s Jack Ehlert running 16:36 to finish second. Sawyer Madell was the Lions second runner placing 12th. Neuqua Valley was led by the 15th place finish from Aidan Stone. The Wildcats’ top runner Nicolas Dovalovsky did not race on Saturday.

Neuqua Valley finished fourth in the Girls Open race led by the 10th place finish from Maria Widmann.

Midwest Invitational @ Janesville WI

Hinsdale Central stepped over north of the border and came away with the team win in the Girls team title in this meet. The Red Devilettes placed four in the top ten to accomplish that scoring 85 points for the win ahead of Homestead WI (109 points) and Arrowhead WI (119 points). Emma Watcke and McKenna Revord led Central finishing second and third while Catie McCabe and Louisa Bronson finished together in ninth and tenth.

Springfield Invitational @ Lincoln Park, Springfield

Soft conditions on the Lincoln Park 3-mile course slowed things down a bit in the Boys race. Taylorville’s Chris Cherry won the Boys race (16:02) with Jeremiah Perry of Granite City (16:15) and Kyle Boughter of Springfield (16:15) finishing second and third. Chatham-Glenwood, without their #1 runner Graham Turk, had Cameron Smith (9th) and Drew Verenski (10th) finish in the top 10 to lead the Titans to the team win with 62 points. Mascoutah (79 points) and Springfield (135 points) finished second and third.

Caroline Jachino of Pleasant Plains ran away from the pack in the Girls race running 18:49 for the win. Williamsville’s Caroline Gwaltney ran 18:57 to finish second while Chatham Glenwood’s Nia Gibson ran 19:13 to place third. Chatham-Glenwood completed the team sweep winning with 61 points placing five runners in the top 17. Highland (79 points) and Mascoutah (107 points) finished second and third.

St. Joseph-Ogden Spartan Classic

The St. Joseph streets were full of high school runners once again running fast times in this meet. Four runners were under 18-minutes in an extremely fast Girls race. Freshman Mabry Bruhn of Monticello showed again why she is one of the top Class 1A runners in the state covering the 3-mile course in 17:27 for the win. Ailey Mitchell of Shelbyville ran strong in running 17:33 to finish second ahead of Urbana U-High’s Kate Ahmari (17:37) and Monticello’s Rachel Koon (17:52).

Despite Monticello placing two runners in the top four, Tolono Unity had the edge in the team race placing five runners in the top 14 scoring 48 points for the win. The Rockets were led by the 5-6 finish from Kylie Decker and Evelyn Atkins. Tolono had a 35 second split on their top five runners. Monticello (63 points), St. Joseph-Ogden (106 points), and Urbana University (134 points) were the next three teams in.

A second and fourth place finishes from Aryan Lalwani and Henry Kraatz helped Urbana University capture the Boys team title. U-High had 5 runners in the top 31 with a 100 second top five split to score 81 points for the win. Monticello placed second (90 points) behind the sixth-place finish from Josh Baysore. St. Joseph-Ogden (132 points), El Paso-Gridley (138 points), and Deer Creek-Mackinaw (153 points) were the next three teams in the standings. Ryder James of Paxton-Buckley-Loda ran a swift 14:55 to win the Boys race ahead of Lalwani and Layton Hall of Arthur-Lovington who both ran 15:02.

Rock River Run @ Hoover Park, Sterling

Yorkville tuned up for this Saturday’s Nike Valley Twilight meet placing five runners in the top 11 while scoring 31 points for the team win. The Lady Foxes were led by the individual win from Helena Kleronomos who ran 18:20 for the win. Rock Falls’ Bailee Fortney ran 18:36 to finish second. Dixon (87 points) finished second while Rock Falls and Belvidere North both scored 97 points finishing third and fourth.

Austin Adams of Kaneland continued a strong senior season winning the Boys Varsity race running 15:33 for the title. His win along with the fourth-place finish from Daniel Occhipinti helped Kaneland win the team title with 48 points. Yorkville, led by Ivan Westcott’s third-place finish, scored 51 points to finish second ahead of Dixon (72 points) and Sycamore (136 points).

Loyola Lakefront Invitational @ Montrose Beach, Chicago

The Waubonsie Valley Boys team was way too much for the rest of the field in the Boys race leaving some of their sophomore runners race in the lower level while placing five runners in the top 26 in the Varsity race. The Warriors scored 57 points for the win led by the 3-4 finish from Jackson Bukala and Wes Beitler. Waubonsie Valley’s sophomore team scored a perfect 15 points to win their level. Marist scored 152 points to finish a distant second while Marmion Academy placed third (168 points).

Guillermo Ibarra of Morton ran 16:01 on the 5k course for the individual win finishing 20 seconds ahead of Marist’s Thomas Leonard.

Ava Parekh of Latin School commanded the Girls Varsity race running 18:19 for the individual win. Ashley Heidenrich of Waubonsie Valley ran 18:44 to finish second. It was close for the team title as Oak Park-River Forest, led by Josephine Welin’s third-place finish, edged Metea Valley 65-66 for the team title. Metea Valley was led by Sophia Sandy’s fourth-place finish. Latin School placed third (91 points).

HCA Mid-Season Classic @ Harvest Christian Academy

Weather conditions put some areas of the course under water but still making the racing a fun one. Carly Manchester of IC Catholic Prep ran 19:56 to win the Girls race by less than a second ahead of Colette Kinsella from Nazareth Academy. West Chicago scored 85 points to win the team title with IC Catholic Prep (94 points) and Harvest Christian Academy (98 points) finishing second and third.

The finish of the Boys Varsity race was a photo-finish with Charlie Smith of Antioch edging Harvest Christian Academy’s Matthew Olech for the win. Both runners were timed at 16:31.8. Harvest Christian Academy edged Wheaton St. Francis 49-50 for the team title.

Freeburg Invitational @ Smithson Park

DuQuoin had Gaby Alongi finish fourth while having two other runners in the top 10 helping them win the Girls team title with 76 points. Triad (82 points) and Roxana (127 points) finished second and third. Roxana’s Janelynn Wirth won the Girls individual race (18:35) by just one second ahead of Freeburg’s Breanna Chandler.

It was close in both the Boys team and individual races. Troy Triad scored 74 points for the team win led by Drake Bleier’s sixth-place finish. Centralia was a close second (76 points) behind the individual win from Brooks Harlan. His time of 15:28 was 11 seconds faster than Carbondale’s Tucker Poshard. Waterloo (127 points), Freeburg (155 points), and Carbondale (174 points) placed third through fifth.

Mattoon Invitational (September 25)

This meet went back to running through the roads of downtown Mattoon like the race was contested in the 70’s and 80’s. Weather the course was on grass or pavement, it did not matter to Tatum David. The Richland County freshman was in control of the Girls race running 16:52 for 3-miles winning by over two minutes ahead of Marshall’s Isabel Arthur. Marshall scored 34 points for the team win ahead of Mt. Zion (72 points).

The Boys race was close as Richland County’s Gavin Kirby ran 15:21 to claim the individual title ahead of Robinson’s Negus Bogard (15:23). Richland County scored 73 points to win the team title ahead of host Mattoon (120 points).

Winnebago Roger Schmitt Invitational @ Fuller Forest Preserve

Even though the race was only three kilometers, the performance by Winnebago, the top Girls team in Class 1A and one of the top teams in the state, displayed their dominance putting runners in the first five spots and seven in the top nine to only win their own invite with a perfect 15 points. Natalia Martino led the Indians with the individual win (12:07) while the team had a 27 second split on their top five.