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Illinois HS XC Weekend Highlights - September 14, 2020Published by
Illinois HS XC Weekend Highlights - September 14, 2020
By Michael Newman
The beautiful running conditions that we got on Friday afternoon turned to a steady rain on Saturday for most of the meets in half of the state. There were some noteworthy took place on both of those days. Here are highlights from some of the meets that took place on Friday and Saturday
Sandburg All-Together Invitational Recap
September 11 Weekday Highlights
2020 IL HS XC Race / Interview Videos
Lake Park Quad @ Lake Park East Campus Course
The last four times that Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South and Katrina Schlenker of Batavia have raced against each other, Poglitsch had won each of those races outkicking the Batavia junior for the win. The race on Saturday morning finished a little bit differently.
Schlenker made a move just after two-miles that Poglitsch could not answer. The Batavia runner went on for the win crossing the rain soaked finish line in 17:25. Poglitsch ran 17:42 to finish second.
The strategy looked the same after the start of the race as the two runners broke away from the rest of the pack. Poglitsch and Schlenker went through the first mile in 5:43 neither willing to push the pack in soggy conditions. The two were together at the halfway point when Batavia Coach Chad Hillman yelled to his star runner “You are close to that point. Get your mind ready.”
“I knew I was going to run against Sam this week. Our strategy was to push sooner than later,” Schlenker said. “I tried to get as much as a lead as possible after the two-mile. I relaxed down the hill, and then pushed as hard as possible to the finish.”
The pack of Wheaton-Warrenville South was the key for them in winning this four team meet with 27 points placing six runners in the first ten places. Batavia placed three runners in the first five places in scoring 34 points to place second.
Wheaton North’s Will Roth broke away from Batavia’s Ryan Mansour just after the halfway point in the race. He pulled away to run 15:43 for the win. Mansour ran 15:54 to finish second.
Wheaton North was without one of their top runners Ryan Schreiner who was involved with ACT testing on Saturday. The Falcons still managed a tie with cross town rival Wheaton-Warrenville South. Both schools scored 35 points. The Tigers won the quad on a sixth-runner tiebreaker led by the three-four finish by Michael Atkins and Michael Macabobby.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda Invitational
There are some runners that enter their second season of running that experience a “sophomore slump”. That is certainly not the case for Monticello’s Mabry Bruhn. She won her third straight race of the season dominating this field on the PBL school grounds course.
Her time of 17:19.1 is the second fastest time in the state so far this season. It also broke a course record set by former St. Joseph-Ogden state champion Chelsea Blasse by 33 seconds (17:52).
This meet was run in three waves that allowed teams to run together in race competition. Teammate Rachel Koon ran 18:10 to finish second. Gabriella Moreman of Bismarck-Henning, who finished fifth overall, ran 18:55 to win the second wave of races. Hometown runner Trixie Johnson of Paxton-Buckley-Loda won Wave #1 and finished eighth overall.
Monticello is continuing to show why they were ranked second in the ILXCTF.com Pre-Season rankings. The Lady Sages crushed the field scoring only 24 points for the win and placing fiver runners in the first 11.
Tolono Unity scored 45 points to finish second behind the third-place finish from Erica Woodard. The Rockets were without some of their top runners due to ACT testing.
Five waves were part of the Boys race. Just as last week at Chrisman, Layton Hall of Arthur-Lovington and Ryder James were part of the opening wave of races and running against each other. This is the third time the two runners have raced against each other as in many weeks. Hall and James tested each other during the middle mile seeing which runner would break first.
James made a move just before two-miles that Hall could not counter. The winning margin was 20 seconds for James as he ran 15:18 to garner the win. Hall finished second overall (15:38). Eli Mojonnier of Bismarck-Henning finished third overall (16:15) winning the second wave by 31 seconds ahead of Connor Price of Iroquois West. Josh Baysore of Monticello finished fourth overall winning the third wave.
Arthur-Lovington edged St. Joseph-Ogden 57-61 to win the Boys team title placing five runners in the first 20. The Spartans placed five runners in the first 17 led by freshman Carson Maroon who placed sixth. Their top five runner split was 46 seconds.
Grant Saturday Quad @ Grant HS
Grant’s Aly Negovetich did not match her 17:18 time that she ran Thursday on her home course. The junior did stay undefeated this season by running 18:07 on a rain soaked course to gather the win.
Vernon Hills was impressive in this meet placing five runners in the first ten to score 30 points for the team win. Rose Sheridan and Anna Todd finished second and third to lead the Cougars. Zion-Benton scored 48 to points to place second led by Audrey Luell and her fourth-place finish.
Grant’s Boys team took five of the first six places to win with 18 points behind Colton Romig’s win (17:19) and teammate Charlie Hamann’s second-place finish.
St. Charles East / Naperville Central Boys Dual @ St. Charles East
In this DVC / DuKane crossover meet on Friday afternoon, Micah Wilson defended his home turf pulling away early to run 14:54 for the win. His coach Chris Bosworth said the course length was just over three-miles (3.03 miles). Teammate Luke Schildmeyer ran 15:06 to finish second finishing just three seconds ahead of Naperville Central’s Arthur Graham by three seconds.
The Saints placed five runners in the top eight to win 22-37. The split on their top five runners was 64 seconds. Naperville Central did look good with Graham, Nicholas Keeling, and Brandon Kamp among the first six runners.
Prospect / Barrington Girls Dual @ Prospect HS
The Lady Knights packed it up placing their five scorers in the first six places to easily win this dual meet 16-46 ahead of Barrington. 18 seconds separated Prospect’s top four runners led by Cameron Kalaway running 18:51 for the individual win.
Yorkville / Minooka Dual @ Yorkville HS
Two of the top teams in the Southwest Prairie Conference faced off in this high powered dual meet. Yorkville’s Girls team placed their top seven runners in the first ten places to win 22-37 ahead of Minooka. Haley Simmons ran 17:58 for the Lady Foxes to capture the individual win ahead of Minooka’s Gabby Kics by eight seconds. Yorkville’s scorers were all in the top seven with only a 41 second split.
Yorkville was also in charge in the Boys race taking the first three places in winning 20-39. Ivan Westcott led the 1-2-3 sweep for the Foxes running 15:10 for the win just ahead of teammates Austin Popplewell (15:11) and Colin Kachlic (15:23). Yorkville’s top five split was 51 seconds.
Belleville West Invitational
Ryan Watts of Edwardsville had a convincing race for the second week in a row easily winning the Boys race on the Belleville West campus. Watts’ winning time of 14:53 was 43 seconds ahead of Belleville East’s Byron Jones. The win by Watts help his team win the team title with 37 points. Mascoutah (61 points) and O’Fallon (64 points) finished second and third.
The Tigers placed five runners in the top 15 to help with their win. Their split from second runner Geordan Patrylak (6th) and fifth-runner Jacob Grandone (15) was 45 seconds.
O’Fallon’s Peyton Schieppe won for the second week in a row in this Girls race. Her winning time of 17:44 was just five seconds ahead of second-place finish from Alyssa Elliott of Belleville West.
Riley Knoyle along with sisters Makenna and Maya Lueking finished third through fifth to help Edwardsville win the Girls race with 31 points. O’Fallon scored 39 points to finish second in this nine-team meet.
Liberty Invitational @ Uhland Acres, Liberty
Conditions for this meet were not inviting. That did not matter to Hamilton/Warsaw’s Miles Sheppard. The junior was in charge in this race as he ran 15:27 to win the Boys race by 74 seconds ahead of Liberty’s Cannen Wolf. Hamilton/Warsaw was without two of their top seven runners, but still won this four team meet (28 points) ahead of Franklin (41 points).
Lane Tech Multi-Team Invitational
Jones Prep, behind the individual win from Aaron Hou, put five runners in the top seven to win this six team meet with 21 points. Whitney Young (79 points) and Lane Tech (82 points) finished second and third. Hou’s winning time of 16:08 was 14 seconds ahead of Whitney Young’s Daniel Murphy. Jones Prep’s top five split was only 28 seconds.
Lane Tech and Jones Prep both scored 32 points in the Girls race. Lane Tech won on the sixth-runner tiebreak. Jones Prep took the top two places led by Evelyn Helt with a 19:58 winning time. Teammate Julia Benes was eight seconds behind in second. Lane Tech was led by the three-four finish from Olivia Ide and Fiona Glascott.
Waubonsie Valley Triangular Meet (BOYS and GIRLS)
Conditions were perfect on Friday when the Girls teams ran. Saturday rain hit the area making finding a dry spot on the course nearly impossible.
Three time defending 3A state champions Naperville North was an easy winner in the Girls race. The Lady Huskies took the first seven places with a perfect 15-50 score. Maggie Gamboa ran 17:58 for the win with Audrey Mendrys just five seconds back in second. North had a 54 second split on their top five.
The Boys meet on Saturday found Naperville North winning the team matchup over Waubonsie Valley 23-33 with Metea Valley scoring 80 points to finish third. The Huskies placed four runners in the first six runners. Chase Burrell ran 15:54 for the individual win 11 seconds ahead of teammates Julian Head (16:05) and Tommy Paltzer (16:10). Waubonsie Valley was impressive placing six runner in ahead of Naperville North’s fifth runner. Aidan Oster and Zach Benziger finished fourth and fifth to lead the Warriors. Their top five split was only 32 seconds.
Sacred Heart-Griffin Quad @ Lincoln Park, Springfield
Matt Herren of Rochester used a strong final 200-meter kick to the finish in winning the Boys individual race. His winning time of 16:37 was just three seconds ahead of Chatham-Glenwood’s Aidan Peterson. The Titans took the next five places behind Herren to win this quad with 20 points. Rochester scored 47 points to finish second. Glenwood’s top five split was 54 seconds. Their split from their second runner Thomas Herbst to fifth runner Lleyton Turk was only 22 seconds.
Chatham-Glenwood also won the Girls race 20-45 ahead of Sacred-Heart Griffin. Rochester’s Colleen Zeibert was timed at 19:20 over the three-mile water-logged course at Lincoln Park for the win ahead of Glenwood freshman Ava Gorrie by 14 seconds.
Fenwick Triangular Meet @ Fenwick Priory, River Forest
This triangular between three of the top programs in the GCAC / Chicago Catholic League placed five runners in the top eight for the team win (22 points) showed how good Loyola Academy’s Girls team could be this fall. The Lady Ramblers placed five runners in the top eight to capture the team win (20 points) ahead of St. Ignatius (49 points) and Fenwick (51 points). Freshman Morgan Mackie of Loyola ran 18:22 for the individual victory winning by 13 seconds ahead of Bella Daley from Fenwick.
Zach Kiley and Brian Moore finished together in 16:10 to lead five St. Ignatius runners in before Fenwick’s first runner crossed the line. The Wolfpack ran only a 14 second split in their top five to win 15-47 ahead of Fenwick.
Downers Grove North / Hinsdale Central Boys Dual @ Greene Valley FP, Naperville
It was close between these traditional WSC-Silver powers. Downers Grove North had the edge 24-31 ahead of Hinsdale Central placing five runners in the top eight with only a 30 second split on that group. Hinsdale Central sophomore Daniel Watcke ran 15:46 for the win finishing nine seconds ahead of North’s Evan Cummins.
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