Illinois High School Cross Country Weekend Highlights - September 5, 2021

 

 

By Michael Newman

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How can we describe how Saturday was across Illinois? It was rainy in the central and southern portions of the state. Everywhere else? Beautiful! What a way to start this season.

 

There was so much that went on throughout the state and outside of the boundaries for some schools. Here are highlights from some of the meets that took place over this weekend. You can read about the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational and videos at this LINK.

 

 

Mike Kuharic Invitational @ Lyons Township South Campus Course

 

Tim Neumann of Downers Grove South had the final move in winning the Boys race (15:25) ahead of Sandburg’s Declan Tunney by less than a second (15:26). Tunney’s teammate Brock Rice finished third (15:35) ahead of Caden Simone of Lincoln-Way Central (15:39) and Cooper Marrs of Riverside-Brookfield (15:40). Sandburg looked strong in winning the team title with 50 points even though one of their top five runners Grant Giblin won the Sophomore individual race. The Eagles placed 5 runners in the top 25 with a 79 second split. Sean Marquardt (9th), Trent Anderson (15th), and Ibrahim Tineh (25th) were also in the team’s top five. #27 Downers Grove South scored 84 points to finish second behind the win from Neumann. #16 Lyons Township placed third (89 points) led by the 8th place finish from Charlie McLawhorn. #25 Maine South (100 points) and 2A #8 Riverside-Brookfield (118 points) finished fourth and fifth.

 

#12 Lyons Township used an individual win from Catherine Sommerfeld and 5 runners in the top 18 to win the Girls team title with 49 points. Sommerfeld ran 18:35 on this new 5k course to win by 36 seconds ahead of Gianna Arizzi of Lincoln-Way West (19:11). Nazareth Academy’s Collette Kinsella ran 19:27 to place third. #14 Lincoln-Way East finished second (70 points) behind the fourth-place finish from Kate Guderjan. Top 10 finishes from Ava Giblin (5th) and Lily Molloy (7th) helped Sandburg to a third-place finish with 100 points.

 

Jeff Leavey Invitational @ Northwestern Medicine XC Course, Geneva

 

#1 York did not run two of their top runners in this race in Brooke Berger and Michaela Quinn. The Dukes still had enough to start their season winning with 51 points. York placed 6 runners in the top 20 with a 78 second split on their top five runners. It was a tight individual race as Lianna Surtz of Rosary ran 17:46 to claim the win just a second ahead of York’s Katelyn Winton (17:47). Winton’s teammate Katherine Klimek ran 17:55 to finish third. Maggie Owens (11th), Allison Fitzgibbons (16), and Erin Powers (19) rounded out York’s top five. #9 St. Charles East scored 82 points to finish second behind the 12-13 finish from Morgan Sandlund and Marley Adelman. The Saints only had a 39 second split on their top five runners. #29 Barrington finished third (108 points) behind top 10 finishes from Scout Storms (6th) and Kari Drage (9th). Jacobs (121 points) and Huntley (162 points) finished fourth and fifth.

 

#2 Downers Grove North placed 3 runners in the top 4 and 5 in the top 16 to win the Boys team race with 37 points. Prairie Ridge’s Will Gelon used a strong kick to win in a course record of 15:18. Then came the Trojan pack with Roy Llewellyn (15:20) in second followed by Karan Shetty (15:21), and Topher Ferris (15:29). Caden Weber (12th) and Ryan Eddington (16th) were the team’s fourth and fifth runners. North’s top five split was 50 seconds. #13 Waubonsie Valley continues to impress as they scored 55 points to finish second. The Warriors placed 5 runners in the top 15 with only an 18 second split on their top five runners. Ethan Marshall led the way (7th) followed by Angel Solis (8th), Aidan Oster (11th), Andres Perez (14th), and Jacob Tukker (15th). #3 St. Charles East, without their #1 runner Micah Wilson who was on a college visit, still scored 90 points to finish third behind top 10 finishes from Mitch Garcia (6th) and Joseph Xotla (9th). Batavia (111 points) and Jacobs (132 points) finished fourth and fifth.

 

Pleasant Valley Spartan Invitational @ Crow Creek Park, Bettendorf IA

 

Illinois teams went west of the Mississippi River to come away with convincing winds against some good Midwestern schools. #2 Naperville North placed 5 runners in the first 13 to easily win with 43 points ahead of national power Edina MN (86 points) and Iowa schools Pleasant Valley (86 points) and Johnston (98 points). Grace Boleyn of Pleasant Valley ran 18:37 for the individual win ahead of Johnston’s Olivia Verde (19:08) and Lucy Westlake of Naperville North (19:16). Freshman Emma Berres (6th), Julie Piot (10th), Logan Brennan (12th), and Marissa Magana (13th) were part of a top five that had a 44 second split. Sophie Golobitsch ran 19:30 to win the JV race. She would have been the team’s second runner in the varsity race.

 

#21 Wheaton North opened their season scoring 65 points to win the Boys race ahead of Johnston IA (84 points), Edina MN (86 points) and Iowa City IA (92 points). Alex McKane of Iowa City West ran 16:19 to claim the individual win. Wheaton North looked strong in the front with 3 runners in the top 5. Ryan Zydek led the way for the Falcons running 16:28 to finish second. Ryan Schreiner was seven seconds behind his teammate in 3rd followed by Caleb Youngstedt (5th), Ben Shebar (17th), and Jonah Noyles (38th). 25 seconds separated their top three runners. Their top five split was 89 seconds.

 

Kurtz Early Bird Invitational @ Fenton HS, Bensenville

 

Aly Negovetich of Grant won for the second time this week but was challenged for the win in the process. Negovetich was pushed in this race by Anna Harden of Hersey and Downers Grove South freshman Holly Johnson. Negovetich came across the line first (17:35) with Johnson (17:44) and Harden (17:49) following. Downers Grove South’s Sophia McNerney finished fourth (18:00). The top five finishes from Johnson and McNerney along with Kelsey Casella in 7th helped #3 Downers Grove South win with 62 points. Madi Sisson (22nd) and Alex Spang (29th) rounded out South’s top five. Their top five split was 135 seconds but only 48 seconds on their top three. 2A #5 Grayslake Central (95 points), #16 Downers Grove North (107 points), 2A #1 Vernon Hills (113 points), and #25 Hersey (132 points). #8 Oak Park-River Forest finished sixth (147 points) as their top runner Josephine Welin did not compete in this meet.

 

Connor Oiler, Sean Safford, and Johnny Lifka finished 1-2-3 to help Hersey win their opening invitational of the season with 36 points. The Huskies had 5 runners in the top 16 with a 48 second split. Sophomores Liam Naughton (14th) and Cameron Donner (16th) rounded out their top five. #23 Oak Park-River Forest finished second (57 points) behind top 10 finishes from Liam Newhart (8th) and Owen Augustine (9th). 2A #4 Grayslake Central (122 points), Glenbard West (125 points), and 1A #22 DePaul Prep (153 points) rounded out the top five.

 

Oregon Open @ Oregon Park West

 

1A #1 Winnebago did not have their full line-up in their opening race of the season. They still swept the first three places to win with 67 points. Grace Erb led her team winning the individual race in 19:40. Teammates Marissa Roggensack (19:52) and Sophia Martino (20:220 followed. 1A #18 Sherrard (112 points) and 1A #13 Wheaton Academy (128 points) finished second and third.

 

1A #12 Rockford Christian, behind top 10 finishes from Weston Forward (3rd), Ethan Walsh (7th), and Aidan Sosnowski (8), helped them win the team title 62 to 73 ahead of 1A #3 Riverdale. The Royal Lions placed 5 runners in the top 28 to help them to the win. Riverdale’s Tommy Murray ran 16:34 for the individual win by 27 seconds ahead of Matthew Torres of IMSA.

 

Granite City Invitational @ Wilson Park, Granite City

 

Alex Partlow of Carbondale threw down a second great race within the past week. The senior ran 14:42 in wet grounds to win the Boys championship by 33 seconds ahead of Byron Jones of Belleville East (15:15). Fiker Rosen of Quincy (15:25) and Dylan Ybarra of O’Fallon (15:26) finished third and fourth. St. Louis University (MO) claimed the team title with 60 points. #4 Edwardsville was not at full strength, but still finished second with 91 points. Geordan Patrylak and Ryan Watts ran under control throughout and together as they finished 5th and 6th. Ryan Lutjohan (9th), Jacob Grandone (32nd), and Jack Draper (64th) were also a part of their top five which had a 94 second split on their top five. O’Fallon scored 100 points to finish third led by Ybarra’s finish.

 

10 points separated the top three teams in the Girls race. #23 O’Fallon and #11 Edwardsville had to go the sixth runner to decide the team champ with both scoring 82 points with O’Fallon claiming the win. O’Fallon’s Peyton Schieppe ran a quick 17:36 to claim the win ahead of Eris Nelson of Althoff Catholic (18:11), Julia Monson of O’Fallon (18:24), and Alyssa Elliott of Belleville West (18:40). O’Fallon placed 3 runners in the first 11 and 5 runners in the top 42. Edwardsville, still without Riley Knoyle, were led by Emily Nuttall and Maya Lueking finished 8th and 9th. The Tigers placed 5 runners in the top 25. 2A #2 Chatham-Glenwood placed an impressive third (92 points) paced by Nia Gibson (13th) and Ava Gorrie (14th). The Titans placed 5 in the top 30 with only a 23 second split.

 

Silver Streaks Invitational @ Lake Storey Park, Galesburg

 

2A #1 Morton put 3 runners in the top 5 and 5 runners in the 16 to easily win the Boys title with only 40 points. Dale Johnson of Sterling ran 16:09 to claim the individual win by 16 seconds ahead of Morton’s Josh Weeks (16:25). Cade Zobrist (4th), Yonas Wuthrich (5th), Chase Sauder (13th), and Layton Knoop (16th) rounded out Morton’s top five that had a 66 second split on the group. 2A #19 Metamora finished second (101 points) with 2A #20 Dunlap placing third (116 points). 2A #10 Dunlap placed 4 runners in the top 8 to win the Girls title with 53 points. Saniya Mathew (3rd), Abbie Gleason (4th), and Kate Robertson (5th) were only separated by 10 seconds to lead Dunlap. 2A #8 Dixon finished second (88 points) followed by Normal West (90 points). Maddie Miller of East Moline ran 19:06 for the win ahead of Dixon’s Emma Smith.

 

Charleston HS Invitational @ EIU Panther Trail, Charleston

 

Four seconds separated the top 3 runners in the Boys race. A final kick from Eli Mojonnier of Bismarck-Henning gave him the win (15:36) with Mahomet-Seymour’s Joseph Scheele (15:39) and Kyle Nofziger (15:40) close behind. 2A #3 Mahomet Seymour looked strong in their opening meet with 4 runners in the top 8 in winning with 33 points. Hayden Grotelueschen (7th), Jonah Singer (8th), and Ben Wallace (16th) were also a part of their team’s top five that had a 76 second split. Champaign Central (102 points) and 1A #7 Arthur-Lovington 127 points) finished second and third.

 

Mahomet-Seymour’s #7 2A Girls team made it a sweep for the Bulldogs. They placed 5 runners in the first 17 behind Ava Boyd’s third-place finish. Their top five split was only 71 seconds. 2A #18 Mt. Zion was a close second with 43 points led by Hailey Betzer finishing fourth. Newton’s Rylea Borgic ran 19:30 to claim the win with Gabriela Moreman of Bismarck-Henning finishing second (19:38). Boyd ran 19:42 in her third-place finish.

 

Racine Case Horlick Invitational @ UW-Parkside, Kenosha WI

 

#12 Oswego went north of the border and came back with a championship trophy. The Panthers placed 6 runners in the top 10 to easily win the Boys meet with only 29 points. Wisconsin schools Notre Dame (96 points) and Marquette University (99 points) finished second and third. Oswego only had a 27 second split on their top five led by the third-place finish from Ethan Forsell. Balin Doud (4th), Benjamin Forsell (6), Benjamin Huey (7th), and Braden Cardamone (9th) rounded out the team’s top five.

 

Libertyville was paced by a 2-4 finish from Bree Ponchak and Sheila Tucker to help them win the team title with 42 points. #20 Oswego finished second (88 points) behind Audra Soderlind’s individual win. Her time of 19:22 on the 5k course was 18 seconds faster than that of Ponchak (19:40).

 

Crystal Lake South Invitational @ Veteran Acres Park, Crystal Lake

 

This meet had the closest team finish of the weekend. 2A #4 Crystal Lake South, paced by the third-place finish from Bella Gonzalez, put 5 runners in the top 30 to win with 70 points. Hononegah, who placed 5 runners in the top 22, and 3A #30 Lake Zurich who had 5 runners in the top 37 and 3 in the top 13, both scored 71 points to finish second and third. Brooke Johnson of Lake Zurich covered the 3.05-mile course at hilly Veteran Acres in 18:39 to win by 62 seconds ahead of Jocelyn Onstot of Cary-Grove.

 

2A #16 Belvidere North is a team to keep an eye on this fall. They scored 46 points to win the Boys race placing 5 runners in the top 14. North’s Evan Horgan ran 16:33 to win by four seconds ahead of Glenbrook South’s Brian Hiltebrand (16:37). Fremd (76 points) and Woodstock (85 points) finished second and third.

 

Canton Invitational @ Big Creek Park, Canton

 

Wilson Georges of Limestone tuned up for next week’s race at Detweiller Park with a convincing win in this meet. Georges’ time of 15:42 was 103 seconds ahead of teammate Reece Dusek in second. Pekin scored 41 points in winning the Boys team title. Pekin also won the Girls title with 25 points placing 5 runners in the first 13. Kaitlyn Burge of Deer Creek-Mackinaw ran 20:56 to win the Girls race.

 

St. Ignatius Connelly Invitational @ Lewis University, Romeoville

 

#5 Loyola dominated this meet placing 5 runners in the top 6 to win with only 17 points. The Ramblers grabbed the first three places led by the individual win from Aidan Simon (15:41) followed by teammates Spencer Werner (15:45) and James Lombardo (15:55). St. Ignatius’ Theo Conroy broke up the pack finishing fourth (16:10). Casey Gibbons (16:11) and Seichi Shinozaki (16:12) rounded out Loyola’s top five with only a 31 second top five split. #6 St. Ignatius placed 5 in the top 15 to finish second (47 points) with only a 17 second split. 2A #16 St. Ignatius scored 37 points to win the Girls team title led by freshman Lizeth Montes’ fourth-place finish. Nikki Chopra and Xochitl Lopez finished 1-2 for Whitney Young. Chopra’s time was 18:47 with her teammate four seconds behind. 1A #19 Joliet Catholic edged Whitney Young 50-52 for second place.

 

Plainfield Central Invitational @ Central HS, Plainfield

 

Naomi Ruff, Angelica Harris, and Roberta Morales finished 1-2-3 to help #18 South Elgin win the Girls meet. Host Plainfield Central scored 55 points to finish second. Ruff’s winning time of 17:38 was 71 seconds ahead of her teammate Harris. The Storm placed 5 runners in the top 15. DeKalb placed 4 runners in the top 6 behind the 1-2 finish from Riley Newport and Alex Boyden to win the Boys title with 27 points. Plainfield Central scored 42 points to finish second. Newport’s winning time of 15:14 was 25 seconds ahead of Boyden.

 

Fall Classic Meet @ Harvest Christian Academy

 

Daniel Winkelman ruled the Boys race on his home course. The Harvest Christian junior ran 16:33 to win by 41 seconds ahead of James Stolfe of Aurora Central Catholic. Glenbard South put 5 in the first 10 to win with 26 points finishing ahead of St. Teresa who scored 41 points. Eva Camp of Harvest Christian Academy ran 20:44 to win the Girls race with Nora McCabe of Reginia Dominican running 21:06 to finish second. It was close in the team race as Glenbard South scored 6 points for the win finishing ahead of Elk Grove and Willows Academy who both scored 69 points to finish second and third.

 

Rich Dust Invitational @ North Creek Meadow, Lansing

 

Joliet West sophomore Marcellus Mines dominated the Boys race winning 15:05 for this 3-mile course at North Creek Meadow. Nolan Rogers of Lincoln-Way East was the closest runner to Mines as he finished second at 15:49. Stagg looked great putting 4 runners in the top 10 to win with 48 points. #22 Lincoln-Way East (62 points) and Marian Catholic (98 points) finished second and third. Reavis edged Oak Forest 44-46 to win the Girls race. TF North’s Bernice Zepeda ran 20:43 to claim the individual win.

 

Rocket Invitational @ Community Park, Rochester

 

Lincoln’s Brenden Heitzig ran 15:34 to claim the Boys individual race ahead of Liberty’s Cannen Wolf and Adam Gribbens of Rochester who were both timed at 16:17. Rochester edged Taylorville 64-67 for the team title with Williamsville finishing third (78 points). Becca Heitzig of Lincoln made it a family sweep as she ran 17:49 to win the Girls individual race. Colleen Zeibert of Rochester (18:05) and Abigail Wolters of Pleasant Plains (19:15) finished second and third. 1A #12 Springfield Sacred-Heart-Griffin won the Girls title (65 points) ahead of Clinton (79 points), Williamsville (83 points), and Rochester (84 points).

 

Chrisman Cow Chip Classic @ Chrisman HS

 

The combination of rain with the “cow-chips” on the course made this meet again interesting. Ryder James of Paxton-Buckley-Loda won the championship race of this flight-oriented meet. James winning time of 16:21 was 34 seconds ahead of Monticello’s Ed Mitchell and another five seconds ahead of Bryson Grant of Iroquois West. 1A #2 St. Joseph-Ogden scored 68 points to win the team title. Kate Ahmari of Urbana University claimed her second win as in many weeks at this meet. Ahmari ran 18:57 to win by 43 seconds ahead of Monticello’s Estella Miller (19:40). 1A #3 Tolono Unity scored 96 points for the Girls win ahead of 1A #2 Monticello (116 points) and 1A #8 St. Joseph-Ogden (145 points).

 

Harlem Invitational @ Rock Cut State Park

 

Hampshire had 5 runners in the first 13 with a 77 second split in helping them win the team title with 48 points. Rockford Guilford (50 points) and 2A #5 Burlington Central (67 points) finished second and third. Yusuf Baig of Burlington Central ran 15:45 won the individual race by 32 seconds ahead of the Guilford duo of Juan Del Real and Brandon Lawson. Hampshire’s Aidan Gonzalez finished fourth (16:38). Burlington Central edged Rockford Boylan 42-47 for the Girls team title. Michelle Gasmund of Guilford ran 19:58 for the individual win with Boylan’s Isabella Anderson running 20:24 to finish second.

 

Normal Community Open (Friday) @ Maxwell Park, Normal

 

Ali Ince of Normal Community started off her sophomore season with a win in the Girls race Friday afternoon. Ince’s time of 18:33  was 47 seconds ahead of teammate Olivia Hartke (19:20) on Normal’s 3.05-mile layout at Maxwell Park. #15 Normal placed 5 runners in the top 14 to score 30 points in winning this meet. 1A #27 Stanford Olympia (67 points) and 1A #28 Bloomington Central Catholic (102 points) finished second and third.

 

Elmwood’s Thomas Harmon left the rest of the pack early as he went on to win the Boys race with a 16:20 time. Olympia’s Logan Demling (16:57), Owen Dare (16:59), and Carter Phillips (17:05) captured the next three spots. 1A #27 Olympia placed 4 in the top 7 and 5 in the top 17 to win this meet with Normal (53 points) and 1A #1 Elmwood (65 points) second and third. It is unsure if Elmwood ran their top seven lineup in this meet.

 

Twilight in the Woods (Friday) @ Seneca Land Lab

 

It is hard to recall how many male runners have gone under 16-minutes on this rough course at Seneca’s Land Lab setting. You can add Herscher’s Drew Rogers to that list. The senior begun what he expects to be a banner season running a comfortable 15:52 to win by 36 seconds ahead of Fieldcrest’s Mason Stoeger (16:28). Brock Loftus of Amboy ran 16:52 to finish third. 1A #8 Herscher had a pack between 15th and 22nd with a 24 second to give them a team win with 69 points. #25 Sandwich (88 points) edged #6 Amboy (91 points) for second. Freshman Evelyn O’Connor ran 20:27 to win the Girls race five seconds ahead of second-place Caroline Bend of Indian Creek (20:32). Joy Dudley, who finished 3, led 4 Morris runners in the top 10 to win with 35 points. Seneca (63 points) and Ottawa (85 points) were second and third.

 

Lake County Invitational (Wednesday) @ Waukegan Sports Park

 

#11 Barrington had an impressive beginning for their 2021 season. Joey Furlong won the individual race to help the Broncos win the team title with only 34 points placing 5 runners in the top 15 and 4 runners in the top 7. It was a close finish as Furlong ran 16:14 for the win and holding off Bryan Vale of Grayslake Central who ran 1616 to finish second. Barrington only had a 38 second split on their top four runners with Zach Daniel (5th), Max Lewis (6th), and Joey Drage (7th) along with Furlong. Jacob Norris was the teams fifth runner. Their top five split was 67 seconds. 2A #4 Grayslake Central was second (62 points) with top 10 finishes from Vale, Trey Sato (4th), and William Welty (8th). #30 Libertyville finished third behind Jack Hamilton’s third-place individual finish.

 

Aly Negovetich of Grant won her first of two invitational wins this week in this meet. She won by 39 seconds (18:03) with Isabella Marisco of Lake Forest (18:42) and Reina Hill of Vernon Hills (18:58) finishing second and third. Hill led 3 runners in the top 11, 5 in the first 25 as 2A #1 Vernon Hills won this meet with 65 points. Anna Todd finished 8th as the Cougars second runner. Rose Sheridan (11th), Jadyn Parker (19th), and Clara Sheridan (25th) rounded out their top five with a split of 78 seconds. 2A #5 Grayslake Central finished second (82 points) behind top 10 finishes from Bella Domier (4th) and Bryn Sato (10th). Libertyville (88 points), 2A #13 Lake Forest (104 points), and Warren Township (138 points) were also in the top five.

 

Murphysboro Invitational (Wednesday) @ Riverside Park

 

Alex Partlow of Carbondale won his first of two races this week in this meet as he ran 15:20 for the win by 38 seconds ahead of Benton’s Gavin Genisio (15:58). Isaac Teel of Pinckneyville placed third (16:16). 2A #6 Marion put 5 runners in the top 20 with a 68 second split to win the team title with 58 points finishing ahead of Benton (72 points). Ahry Comer of Pope County dominated the Girls race. The sophomore ran 19:20 to win by 69 seconds ahead of Anna-Jonesboro’s Brodie Denny. 1A #24 Pinckneyville packed it up in this meet with a 24 second split between 12th and 17th places to win this meet with 72 points ahead of Carterville (126 points) and host Murphysboro (151 points).