Parekh, Georges as expected, win in ShaZam Championships D2 individual races

Close team finish nets Chatham-Glenwood Girls team title; Morton freshmen lead team to Boys Title

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

Division II Boys Results | Division II Girls Results

There were things at the second day of the ShaZam XC Club Championships that were supposed to happen. The saying of “expect the unexpected” came into play when the Division II (2A) team championships were being decided. Let us make it clear that this is not a state championship like we would have seen this weekend at Detweiller Park. #1 Benet Academy did not enter a full lineup after winning over #2 Latin School last week in Chicago. Latin School had four of their top five runners in the lineup but had to substitute #4 runner Bea Parr because of an injury. That effected their finish in the team standings. It was expected to be a challenge between the top 2A Boys teams with #1 St. Ignatius and #2 Chatham-Glenwood. Things changed as one of the St. Ignatius runners was spiked while another was tripped and fell losing places. The race for the meet title changed dramatically.

Five points separated the first four teams in what was one of the tightest team finishes that we have seen in a big meet. #8 Chatham-Glenwood had the slight edge in their win with 123 points. #3 Vernon Hills was second with 125 points. Three of the first four teams in this Division are from Lake County showing how strong their area has become in Girls’ Cross Country running. A shorthanded Latin School team finished seventh overall.

#3 Morton and #15 Mahomet-Seymour stepped up in a big way in the Boys team title race. Morton used a 59 second split to win the team title with 104 points. Mahomet-Seymour finished second (154 points). It was close for third with #2 Chatham-Glenwood (168) points holding off #14 Wheaton St. Francis.

The individual races played out as expected. Ava Parekh of Latin School pulled away to win the Girls race. The same held true in the Boys race as pre-meet favorite Wilson Georges of Limestone made an early move the gave him the championship.

Division II Girls Team Recap

When you have the first four teams finishing within five points, the dynamics of who did what the right way become extremely interesting. #8 Chatham-Glenwood kept their top five split under 60 seconds (59 seconds) in their team win with 123 points. The Lady Titans placed five runners in the first 51 places to accomplish that win. Ava Gorrie was the team’s top runner finishing 14 in the championship flight and 18th overall. Reagan Weichold was the team’s second runner finishing seventh in the third flight and 23rd overall. Emma Leahy (31st), Carly Wilcoxen (47th), and Abby Teaman (51st) were the team’s third through fifth runners. Their raw team score before individual runners were removed was 170 points.

Two points from Chatham-Glenwood was #3 Vernon Hills with 125 points. The Cougars placed three runners in the first 16 runners. Their split of 137 second on their top five hurt their chances for the win. Vernon Hills had Reina Hill lead the way finishing seventh overall. Rose Sheridan (13th) and Anna Todd (16th) finished just ahead of Glenwood’s top runner. The key was that Glenwood had five runners in before fourth runner Jadyn Parker finished in 52nd place. Ashlee Shoemaker was the team’s fifth runner in 79th place. Vernon Hills had the team title won with 167 points. Removing the individual runners put Glenwood ahead of Vernon Hills.

#10 Grayslake Central missed second by one point scoring 126 points. Their fantastic freshman Bella Domier finished third in the championship race, fifth overall. The Rams placed five runners in the top 56. Sarah Armstrong led the pack finishing 30th. Sofia Witt (40), Brynn Sato (42), and Madelyn Struck followed. Their split from second runner Armstrong to Struck was only 37 seconds. Vernon Hills had the edge with their first three runners in after Domier, then fourth runner Parker in before Struck. Central’s raw team score was 173 points.

#5 Lakes Community had the low points with Brooke Stromsland finishing second overall. The team scored 128 points to finish fourth. Their strength was a 21 second split from their second through fourth runners. Madison Twarling was the team’s second runner finishing 22nd. Alexandra Bryant (29th) and Paige-Elicia Caruth (36th) was the Eagles’ third and fourth runner. There was a 68 second split between Caruth and fifth runner Rebecca Runyan who finished 86th. Their overall raw score was also173 points.

#9 Prairie Ridge once again finished their season on a strong note finishing fifth (156 points) led by the 10 place finish from Rachel Soukup. #2 Latin School, led by the individual win from Ava Parekh, finished sixth with 177 points.

Girls Division II Individual Race Recaps

There were no surprises when the gun went off to start the Championship Flight. Brooke Stromsland of Lakes Community and Ava Parekh of Latin School shot away from the pack making this an automatic one on one race. Parekh had the slight edge at the mile (5:33) with Stromsland about two seconds back. Colleen Zeibert of Rochester was 10 seconds behind in third with Bella Domier of Grayslake Central and Kaitlin Skeate of Bloomington another 3 seconds behind. Parekh started to make the surge at the mile and continued it in the middle mile opening a 15 second lead on Stromsland while passing the point in 11:17. Parekh was in cruise control after that passing 3-miles in 17:06 on her winning the race crossing the line with a 17:39 time. Stromsland ran 18:01 to finish second 22 seconds behind Parekh. Domier was another 30 seconds back in third.

It was a team battle between Latin School and Vernon Hills in the Flight 3 race. It was the Latin School duo of Marianne Mihas and Olivia Syftestad that took charge in the first mile of the race passing that point in 5:56. Vernon Hills duo of Reina Hill and Anna Todd was eight seconds back. That lead continued to grow throughout the rest of the race. Syftestad and Mihas both ran 18:39 with Syftestad winning by half a second. Hill finished seventh overall, third in this race, running 18:54.

Flight 2 was wide-open from the start as McKenna Fellows of Latin School led a pack of 10 or more runners through a 6:22 opening mile. The dynamics of the race changed in the second mile as Alex Bryant of Lakes Community taking the lead and opening her advantage. Bryant passed 2-miles in 12:58 with Sofia Witt of Grayslake Central her closest competition five seconds behind. That margin grew in the final mile for Bryant as she ran 20:04 to win by 13 seconds ahead of Witt (20:17). Bridget Jewel of Prairie Ridge moved from sixth in the final mile to run 20:25 to finish third.

Abby Teaman of Chatham-Glenwood took the lead by the first mile in the Flight 1 race. It was a lead that she would never give back. Her time of 20:36 gave her a 35 second win ahead of Vernon Hills’ Ashlee Shoemaker (21:11) and Selah Parnham of Morton (21:21).

Boys Division II Team Recap

It was supposed to be a battle between the two pre-season favorites in Class 2A Chatham-Glenwood and St. Ignatius for the team title. That never materialized with an off day by St. Ignatius with a number of things going on. Someone forgot to tell Morton of those plans. The Potters came into this meet with some confidence after winning the sectional title on a sixth-runner tiebreak. #4 Morton did not need a tiebreak on Saturday afternoon winning with 104 points. It was their two freshmen Josh Weeks and Yonas Wuethrich that was the difference in this meet. The Potters placed five runners in the top 44 with only a 59 seconds separating those runners. Weeks led the team finishing sixth overall in the championship fight. Wuethrich finished fourth in Flight #3, 15th overall as the team’s second runner. Only eight seconds separated their next three runners with Keegan Anderson (35), Cade Zobrist (37), and Chase Sauder (44) finishing close together. Luke Kunz (75) and Tristan Sturhahn (103) were the team’s sixth and seven runners. Morton fans should be optimistic for 2021. All seven runners in this race were underclassmen.

#15 Mahomet-Seymour did not have their best race last week at their sectional race at Olney. The Bulldogs finished fourth in that race and looking for a bounce back race to end the season. They did not have a runner finish in the top 10. A solid pack directed them to a second-place finish (154 points as they placed five runners in the top 56 to put them in that position. Kyle Nofziger was the team’s top runner finishing 18th. Joseph Scheele (27), Hayden Grotelueschen (42nd), Taylor Fan (54th), and Jonah Singer (56th) were separated by only 30 seconds. Their top five split was 43 seconds. All of their top five were underclassmen and should be back for 2021.

#2 Chatham-Glenwood ran a better race than they did the week before when they finished second at the Olney Sectional. It still just placed them third (168 points) mainly because Morton and Mahomet-Seymour ran so well in this meet. The key for the Titans was a strong first three runners in the front placing in the top 30. Cameron Smith finished third in Flight #3 and 14 overall to lead Glenwood. Fellow seniors Aidan Peterson (19th) and Thomas Herbst (30th) followed. There was a 34 second gap before fourth runner Drew Verenski crossed the line in 71st. Samson Dessalines (84th) was the team’s fifth runner. Their top five split was 62 seconds. That gap between three and four gave the opportunity for both Morton and Mahomet-Seymour. Both teams had five runners in before Glenwood’s Verenski.

#14 Wheaton St. Francis finished fourth (173 points) behind the 16 place finish from Luke Orwig. The Spartans had a 37 second split through four runners but ended up with five runners in the top 90. #3 Metamora was fifth (184 points) behind the second-place finish from Ian O’Laughlin. Olney Sectional champion #7 Mascoutah finished sixth (189 points) led by the 25th place finish from Lance Miller.

Division II Boys Individual Race Recap

It was not a case if Wilson Georges of Limestone would win the Championship Race. It was when and how he would do it. The junior came in undefeated and would be the clear favorite before the gun went off. Georges is the full package where he could blow the race open early or sit on a nervous competitors shoulder to release a potent kick.

He had the confidence entering this meet. Before the state series, he ran a solo 9:27 time trial for 3200-meters displaying what kind of shape he is in. Georges controlled the race from the start as he played with the pack leading at the mile in a controlled 4:56. Peter Walsdorf of Marian Central, Ian O’Laughlin of Metamora, Chris Cherry of Taylorville, and Alex Partlow of Carbondale were among the front runners in that pack. Georges made his move in the second mile just like he would be at Detweiller Park heading into the triangle.

Georges’ surge separated the pack in this race as he passed 2-miles in 10:06. It was slower than usual, but this course had been running slow all weekend. He had opened up a 12 second lead on a pack led by Partlow and fellow Carbondale teammate Tucker Poshard. It was not a matter if Georges win, but by how much. The bigger question was who would finish second. Georges maintained his distance and lead in the final mile crossing the line in 15:46 for five-kilometers for the meet win. O’Laughlin moved in the final mile to try to close the gap but finished second (15:59). It was a place that he was accustomed to. Georges and O’Laughlin had raced against each other all season with Georges always having the edge.

There were surprises in the next five spots in this race. Michael Schumacher of St. Viator ran his best race of the year in finishing third (15:59) 1 seconds behind O’Laughlin. Poshard maintained his position in finishing fourth (16:11). Niklas Anderson of Benet Academy (16:15), Josh Weeks of Morton (16:16), and Julian Watson of Hinsdale South (16:18) finished in the next three places.

Flight 3 produced won of the top moments in this meet. Riverside-Brookfield could not compete in the state series due to their top seven being quarantined. This meet gave the Bulldogs’ runners one more chance to race this fall. Nick Kiley of St. Ignatius led a group of runners through a 5:12 opening mile. Hunter Roedell charged to the lead after that point stringing out that pack. Roedell was the leader at 2-miles (10:39) wit Riverside-Brookfield’s Paul Proteau within a second of the lead. Roedell surged in the final mile opening up a three second lead with 200-meters left in the race. Proteau never gave up as he found another gear in the final stretch passing the Metamora runner to win this race in 16:25. Roedell was next (16:26) with Cameron Smith of Glenwood (16:34) and Yonas Wuethrich of Morton (16:35) finished third and fourth.

Samson Dessalines of Chatham-Glenwood pushed the opening mile of the Flight 2 race in 5:14 with a group of runners close behind including Jordan Eddy of Mascoutah and John Robinson of Benet Academy. Moves started to happen in the middle of the race with Keegan Anderson of Morton taking the lead with Robinson four seconds behind and Dessalines another two seconds back in third. Robinson closed the gap on the lead in the final kilometer of the race passing Anderson and opening a two second lead with 200-meters to go. Robinson exploded down the stretch in winning this race with a 16:59 time. Anderson ended up eight seconds back in third (17:07). Hayden Grotelueschen of Mahomet-Seymour and Andrew Hernandez of St. Francis were both timed in 17:14 finishing third and fourth. Chase Sauder of Morton was one second back in fifth (17:15).

Mascoutah’s Kristian Knecht led wire to wire in his Flight 1 win. Knecht’s time of 17:16 was 16 seconds ahead of Luke Kunz of Morton (17:16) and another two seconds ahead of Jack Rhymer of St. Ignatius (17:34).