Illinois HS XC - Weekend Highlights - October 13, 2019

Lydia Roller rolls to a sub 17 time at East Alton-Wood River (Amy Roller Photo)

By Michael Newman

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The meets on this weekend were hampered by weather a year ago with some of the meets cancelled. It looked that way on Friday when rainy conditions hit the state. That changed to cold and breezy conditions that made racing a premium putting fast times in the background.

That was not the case for two of the top Girls runners in the state Tatum David of Richland County and Lydia Roller of Staunton who went under 17-minutes on 3-mile courses following the seven Girls runners under 17 at the Naperville Twilight Invitational on Wednesday.

NAPERVILLE TWILIGHT COVERAGE

Some teams were not racing this weekend preparing themselves for the big weekends ahead. Here are some of the highlights from this weekend’s meets starting with the races from Roller and David.

East Alton-Wood River Invitational @ Belk Park, Wood River

One of the best performances across the state this weekend belonged to Staunton’s Lydia Roller. This meet is run by “year in school”. Roller put up the fastest time of the day as she ran an amazing 16:37.5 for the fastest time for a Girls runner on this course at this meet. She ran 17:50.6 in last year’s race, an improvement of 73 seconds. Riley Vickrey of Alton Marquette Catholic had the next fastest time (18:54) to win the Girls Senior Division.

Mark Eldridge of Civic Memorial ran 15:49 to win the Boys Senior Division race as well as having the fastest Boys time in this meet. Justin Mumford of Trenton-Wesclin won the Boys Junior Division (15:55) four seconds ahead of division runner-up Theo Paxton of Collinsville (15:59).

Centralia Invitational

Richland County’s Tatum David continues to amaze as we get closer to the state series. The freshman was in a class by herself in this race as she set a Girls course record in crossing the line in 16:42.4. She won by over two minutes ahead of Carbondale’s Madeline Prideaux (18:51). Carbondale won the Girls team title with 31 points placing their first six runners in the top 18 places.

A 1-3 finish by Brooks Harlan and Cory Fleeman helped host Centralia win the Boys team title with 40 points ahead of Marion (49 points) and Richland County (75 points). Harlan ran 15:18.8 for the win with Carbondale’s Tucker Poshard running 15:27 to place second. Fleeman’s time of 15:45 was just ahead of fourth-place Gavin Kirby of Richland County (15:46.1).

Metamora Runnin’ Red Invitational @ Black Partridge Park, Metamora

Sam Lange of Morton has showed that he has been one of the top Class 2A Boys runners so far this season with impressive wins at Detweiller Park. Lange dismantled a good field in the Boys race running a solo 14:25 for the win on the 2.94-mile Black Partridge Park Course. He had run 14:48 last week at Detweiller Park. Last year, 2A State Champion Mathias Powell ran 14:55 to win this race.

Lange’s margin of victory was 35 seconds ahead of four Oswego East runners. The Wolfpack made their debut in this meet a success as Luke Wentz (15:00), Brad Wiggins (15:06), Heriberto Alvarez (15:09), and Nicholas Bozarth (15:10) took the next four spots. Oswego East also had Maverick Lange finish 11th to win the team competition with 25 points with only a top five split of 27 seconds.

Class 1A power Stanford Olympia finished second (107 points) behind Charlie Kistner’s 10th place finish. The Spartans had a top five split of 45 seconds from Kistner to fifth runner Dylan Bennet (38th).

Morton swept the individual titles capped by the win in the Girls race by Emma Skinner. The sophomore made her win look easy as she ran 17:16 to win by 35 seconds ahead of freshman Saniya Mathew of Dunlap (17:51). Another freshman, Maria Stedwell of Peoria Notre Dame, ran 17:56 to finish third.

Class 1A Girls and the team competition looks to be very competitive this fall. Tolono Unity made their case in this meet winning the team competition with 117 points led by the 4 place finish from Kylie Decker (17:57). The Rockets did not have their complete lineup in this race after winning the Illini Prairie Conference title last Tuesday. Unity still had four runners in the top 18 with 50 seconds separating the first four.

Pekin finished second in the team competition (123 points) followed by Dunlap (131 points) and Normal University (146 points).

West Aurora Stampede @ Stuart Sports Complex, Montgomery

This meet had a schedule change warranted by the Park District that runs Stuart Sports Complex. One Varsity race in each gender with 12 runners per team was given the only option to the host school West Aurora if they wanted to host a meet on the grounds. The meet was also moved to 10 AM for the Girls race instead of 8:30 AM because the park district deemed it would be too cold to run the race at the scheduled time. The temperature was 40 degrees at the original start time.

The change of schedule did not seem to bother Waubonsie Valley as they placed five runners in the top 12 including a 19 second split from their top four runners that took second through fifth places. The Warriors scored 26 points to capture the team win ahead of Wheaton North (49 points) and Class 2A defending state champion Chatham-Glenwood (151 points).

Tyler Cushing of Bolingbrook tuned up for next week’s SW Suburban Conference meet with an easy win covering the 3-mile course in 14:57. Then came the Waubonsie Valley pack led by Zach Benziger (15:24), Jackson Bukala (15:29), Wes Beitler (15:36), and Robert Szivak (15:43). Aidan Oster was the team’s fifth runner placing 12th (16:05). Waubonsie’s top five split was 41 seconds.

St. Ignatius Prep placed runners from fourth to sixth places to help them win the Girls team title with 58 points. Wheaton North’s Sophie Daigle ran away from the field crossing the line in a winning 18:05 time. Jenna Buchanan of Bartlett (18:20) and Nia Gibson of Chatham-Glenwood (18:21) finished second and third.

St. Ignatius’ top three runners were separated by 12 seconds led by Rhiannon O’Keefe (4th) followed by Kristina Dalton (5th) and Lexi Affolter (6th). Mia Trotter (21) and Maddie Semmer (22) were the other scorers for the Wolfpack. The team’s top five split was 63 seconds.

Only one point separated the next two teams with Wheaton North (94 points) edged Chatham-Glenwood (95 points) for the second-place spot.

Wheeling Invitational @ Heritage Park, Wheeling

The Barrington Girls team was back at full strength with the return of one of their top runners Molly FitzPatrick who missed the Palatine Invitational and the MSL-West Division title due to a twisted ankle.

Allison Drage and FitzPatrick took the top two spots with teammate Alyssa Norris in fourth. The Fillies scored 27 points to win the Girls team title ahead of Libertyville (83 points) and Evanston (89 points).

Drage ran 18:16 to take the individual win with FitzPatrick next in 18:26. Lake Zurich freshman Brooke Johnston ran 18:31 to finish third. Norris was next in 18:52. Morgan Magro (9th) and Gabby Andrews (11th) were Barrington’s fourth and fifth runners. The team had a 105 second split on their top five runners. Their split from Norris to Andrews was 69 seconds.

Lake Zurich, led by top 10 finishes from Jack Gilboy (3rd) and Jacob Myers (8th), won the Boys team title with 65 points placing five runners in the top 19 with a 31 second split on the group. Barrington (75 points), Deerfield (119 points), and Hersey (132 points) were the next three teams in. Hersey did not run without some of their top runners including Josh Methner and Max Svienty.

The individual finish was close as Antioch’s Charlie Smith came across the winner in 15:34. Jason Polydoris of Highland Park finished second (15:36.7).

Sterling Invitational @ Hoover Park, Sterling

Oswego placed four runners in the top 10 to help them win the Girls team championship with 32 points. Loyola Academy (59 points) and Hononegah (67 points) finished second and third. Freshman Ellie Grammas of Loyola Academy ran 18:32 for the individual win followed by another freshman Audra Soderlind of Oswego finished second (18:40). Oswego’s top four runners were separated by 31 seconds with Rebecca Corbett (4), Peyton Brueck (5), and Ella Hale (7) following Soderlind. Sophia Marasco was Oswego’s fifth runner placing 15th. The team’s top five split was 55 seconds.

Pleasant Valley IA was the Boys team winner (37 points) behind Max Murphy’s individual win. Murphy’s time of 15:27 outdistanced the Dekalb pack of Aidan Donohue (2), Riley Newport (3), and Emmanuel Yepiz (4) by 27 seconds. Oswego (57 points) and DeKalb (65 points) finished second and third.

Jimmy Daniels Olympian Invitational @ Rich Central

Lemont’s Kaylie Politza made her debut in the 2019 cross-country season a successful one after missing almost two months with a stress fracture. She was cleared to run by her doctor and her coach Tim Plotke but with a catch. “She can run with the stipulation that she runs a bit more controlled to see where she is at and get a feel for racing again with no herculean efforts,” said Plotke.

She stayed under control in this race running 18:26 to capture the win with Lincoln-Way East’s Kate Guderjan running 19:02 to finish second. Lemont scored 58 points to win the Girls team title ahead of Lincoln-Way East (76 points) and Marist (80 points).

Brett Gardner of Lincoln-Way East ran a “tempo” race in running 15:34 to win the Boys individual race as he readied himself for the upcoming state series. Oak Lawn’s Jadon Pirkl finished second (15:42). Lincoln-Way East scored 34 points to win the Boys team title ahead of Palatine’s JV team (88 points).

Bremen Invitational @ Midlothian Meadows (10/11)

Lincoln-Way Central’s Jared Kreis managed the sloppy conditions at Midlothian Meadows quite well Friday afternoon as he tuned up for next week’s conference meet running 15:43 for the win. Joliet Central’s Jay Dworak (16:08) and Julian Watson of Hinsdale South (16:29) finished second and third. Lincoln-Way Central (47 points) was the Boys team champion.

Reavis scored 37 points to win the Girls team title ahead of Joliet Central (47 points) and Hinsdale South (72 points). Freshman Abby Petersen of Hinsdale South ran 20:21 for the individual win.

Prairie Central Hawk Invitational

The individual win from Anna Perry and a third-place finish from Alexi Fogo helped Eureka capture the team title with 57 points over a tough Class 1A field. Perry’s winning time of 17:38 was 10 seconds ahead of Urbana University’s Kate Ahmari (17:48) with the Shelbyville duo of Ailey Mitchell (18:27) and Gabrielle Spain (18:43) finishing fourth and fifth.

The team battle was close behind Eureka who placed five runners in the top 27 to capture the win. St. Joseph-Ogden finished second (58 points) led by Hannah Rajlich’s seventh-place finish. The Lady Spartans placed their scorers in before 15th place with only a 33 second split. Urbana University scored 78 points to finish third.

Both the team and individual races were close in the Boys Varsity competition. Area rivals Ryder James of Paxton-Buckley-Loda and Drew Rogers of Herscher ran another close race against each other. Rogers had the edge in this race as he ran 15:04 for the individual win as James ran 15:06 to finish second.

One point separated the top two teams in this meet. Herscher, behind the win from Rogers and four other runners in the top 31 helped their team with the win with 69 points. Urbana University, behind the 3-4 finish from Aryan Lalwani and Henry Kraatz, scored 70 points to finish second. Paxton-Buckley-Loda (101 points), Eureka (104 points), and St. Joseph-Ogden (107 points) were the other teams that placed in the top five.

Cumberland Invitational @ Lakeland Community College

Benton put three runners in the top five led by the individual win from Amelia McLain to capture the Girls team title with 33 points. Marshall (39 points) and St. Teresa (82 points) finished second and third. McLain easily won the individual race running 18:49. Marshall’s Isabel Arthur ran 19:46 to finish second.

Benton’s Reece Johnson ran 15:54 to capture the win in the Boys Varsity race. He was 16 seconds ahead of second-place Layton Hall of Arthur-Lovington. Benton, behind Johnson’s win and four runners in the top 15 (5 in the top 32) scored 61 points to capture the team win. Arthur-Lovington, with five runners in the top 29, finished second with 79 points.