2021 First to Finish Invitational Recap - The Boys Races

Georges in control in 2A win; Watcke edges Falk in 3A race; Sheppard blows away 1A field; Morton proves they are best in 2A team title; New Trier wins by 10 points ahead of Hinsdale Central; Latin School’s top three is the difference in 1A win.

By Michael Newman

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Peoria – The weather was warm on this iconic Peoria course. It felt like old school week for Limestone’s Wilson Georges as he stepped to the line for the 2A week. He sleeps in his home bed the night before the race when others travel from the Chicago area and stay in hotels.

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Georges was cool and collected on this hot day at Detweiller Park letting the race come to him. The 2A Favorite for the 2A race here in November made his move in the triangle just after the mile. He then rolled the rest of the way to a win in 14:46. It was a personal best for him on this course. He had run 14:50 last fall.

“It is always awesome to start out the season with a personal best at Det,” Georges said. “The first couple of races were like rust busters. I did not know what kind of shape I was in.”

Georges held back in third as Evan Horgan of Belvidere North and Yusuf Baig of Burlington Central led the first mile in 4:47. It was then when the Limestone senior opened it up to an 11 second lead at 2-miles with Baig making an effort to stay close. That was all she wrote as Georges pulled away for an 18 second win.

“This was a baseline test for me today. I think I remembered more than I forgot,” Georges added. “I’ll be ready for state. It has been a goal since I have been a middle schooler. I have always wanted to win a state championship here.

Baig said after the race he wanted to prove in this race that he was one of the top 2A runners in the state. He did just that as he finished second running 15:04. Cooper Marrs of Riverside-Brookfield made a dramatic move in the final mile to finish third (15:05). Horgan, who is running cross-country for the first time, was impressive for the 15:18 time in his fourth-place finish. Another Riverside-Brookfield runner Paul Proteau ran 15:22 to finish fifth.

#4 Morton looked like they wanted to prove a point after they were ranked #1 in the pre-season ranking. The Potters showed their stuff in this race placing three runners between 10 and 15 to win the 2A title in this meet with 150 points. Josh Weeks (10th), Cade Zobrist (13th), and Yonas Wuthrich (15th) were the first three runners for Morton separated by 25 seconds. Keegan Anderson (51) and Layton Knoop (59) were the team’s fourth and fifth runners in this race. Morton’s top five split was 63 seconds.

#3 Belvidere North finished second (177 points) led by Horgan in the top five, then followed by Caden McNulty (33rd), Caden Lendman (35th), Nick Lenzen (45th), and Orlando Hernandez (60th). The team had a 79 second split in their top five. Their split from McNulty to Hernandez was only 20 seconds. #5 Deerfield finished third (193 points) having a 66 second split on their top five and led by an 11-12 finish from Lucas Moskovitz and Cole Bernstein.

#7 Riverside-Brookfield had the top five finishes from Marrs and Proteau to finish fourth with 218 points. #6 Glenbard South finished fifth (245 points) led by Caleb Walter finishing 30th. The Raiders only had a 13 second split on their top four and a 42 second split on their top five.

#15 Kaneland and #17 Woodstock both scored 260 points finishing sixth and seventh. #13 Wheaton St. Francis (331 points), #2 Grayslake Central (340 points), and #16 Sycamore (355 points) rounded out the top 10 teams in this race. Grayslake Central did not run some of their top seven due to ACT testing.

A close finish between Watcke and Falk, New Trier and Hinsdale Central in 3A race.

The final race at Detweiller Park on Saturday showed the conditions that were presented to them. Temperatures were near 85 degrees when the gun went off with high humidity. This was the eighth race of the day. Dry conditions showed as dust flew in the air as runners passed dry and grassless areas of the course.

The race played exactly out that way with no one runner wanting to push the pace. The splits for this race were the slowest of the day. The pack went through the first mile in 4:49 with New Trier’s Nick Falk leading the group with Oliver Burns of Plainfield North, Riley Newport of DeKalb, Daniel Watcke of Hinsdale Central, and Caden Simone of Lincoln-Way Central all part of it.

Falk had been dealing with a breathing problem since the end of track season that prevented him from racing the week before at Hinsdale. He almost did not run this race but decided on Wednesday that he could not let his teammates down. The New Trier senior started to make moves on a pack that was now six with the addition of Roy Lewellyn of Downers Grove North in that front pack that went through 2-miles in 9:45. Falk made little surges first at a kilometer to go and then 800-meters left trying to break the group up. When he made the final turn for the final 500-meters of the race, it was only Falk and Watcke that were side-by-side.

Watcke had the big kick in this race and put it int use as they came up the incline towards the finish. He had the lead, but the conditions of the day showed in his face as he continued to look back to see where Falk was. Falk gained ground on Watcke in the final 100-meters of the race. The timing mats came too soon for Falk where he ran out of time to make the pass.

The two runners were together at the finish with only half a second separating them. Watcke won in 14:50. Falk was next in 14:50.5 less than a second behind. Newport then led the pack finishing third in 14:56. Burns was next at 14:57 and the final runner under 15-minutes in this race. Simone (15:01), Llewellyn (15:03), and Charlie Mclawhorn of Lyons Township (15:06) were all under 15:10.

Hinsdale Central and New Trier were the top two teams a week ago at the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational. The order flipped on this Saturday with #6 New Trier winning with 125 points. The addition of Falk in their line-up was the difference. The Trevians had a 63 second split on their top five. George Cahill (22nd), Blake Deger (28th), Oscar Dueno-Alda (31st), and Patrick Jamieson (46th) were separated by only 17 seconds. #2 Hinsdale Central had a similar pack as New Trier scoring 135 points to finish second led by Watcke’s win. Their top five split was 58 seconds. Aden Bandukwala (29th), Colby Revord (32nd), Jessie Gamboa (37th), and Grant Miller (40th) were separated by only nine seconds. Their top seven split was 66 seconds.

#5 Downers Grove North was only one point back in third with 136 points. Llewellyn was followed by Topher Ferris (16th), Karan Shetty (18th), Caden Weber (36th), and Jack Benge (64th). Their top five split was 72 seconds. #12 Waubonsie Valley moved in the final mile to finish fourth with 153 points. Angel Solis was the big mover as he moved from 30 to his finish of 12th place. Then came their pack with Ethan Marshall (30th), Jacob Tucker (33rd), Aidan Oster (38th), and Andres Perez (44th). The Warriors top five split was only 28 seconds. #7 Neuqua Valley was close in fifth (156 points) led by Ryan Palmer (11th) and Noah Schalliol (14th). The rest of their top five consisted of Zach Close (27th), Charlie Rook (42nd), and Andres Lopez (66th) rounded out their top five that had 53 second split on the group.

#20 Plainfield South (212 points), #27 Lyons Township (216 points), #21 Minooka (224 points), #22 Plainfield North (286 points), and Bolingbrook (289 points) were part of the top 10 in this race.

Sheppard, Latin School storm to 1A wins

There was no question who would win the individual race in the 1A Boys Meet. Miles Sheppard of Hamilton-West Hancock had the lead at the first turn of the race. He did not have to look back as he pulled away from the field for a convincing win.

This was a test for the senior who has hopes of challenging for a state title in November. He went out hard passing the first mile in a quick 4:40. A pack led by Akili Parekh and Ryan Hardiman of Latin School, Mason Stoeger of Minonk Fieldcrest, and Isaac Stanford of Flora all passed that point in 4:56.

Sheppard’s lead continued to grow as he passed 2-miles in 9:45. The hot conditions of the day played an effect on him in the final mile as he struggled up the final incline towards the finish. He made it under 15-minutes running 14:59 for the win.

Stoeger moved in the final mile to finish second (15:27) some 28 seconds behind Sheppard. Parekh (15:33) and Hardiman (15:37) led Latin School finishing third and fourth. Stanford finished fifth (15:44) just ahead of Urbana University’s Henry Laufenberg (15:45).

#9 Latin School did not have Hardiman in the Hinsdale race the week before. The addition of him with Parekh and freshman Ben Gibson finishing ninth helped the Romans win the 1A title with 99 points. Matthew Kotcher was the team’s fourth runner (34th) followed by Daniel Goodman (63). Their top five split was 117 seconds. Their top three split between Parekh and Gibson was only 21 seconds.

#5 Stanford Olympia looked good in this race moving towards the front throughout it. The Spartans scored 129 points to finish second with a 60 second split on their top five. The team only had a 32 second split on their top four runners with Owen Dare (17th), Logan Demling (22nd), Carter Phillips (25th), and Anthony Ragland (30th). Sophomore Caden Clark was the team’s fifth runner (55th). #3 Rockford Christian was third (159 points) led by top 20 finishes from Weston Forward (14th) and Ethan Walsh (16th). Aidan Sosnowski (35th), Noah Shook (54th), and Tony Chen (61st) were part of the top five that had a 74 second split.

#7 Normal University finished fourth (241 points) led by top 10 finishes from Sachit Muduli (7th) and Brandt Henderson (10th). #6 Decatur St. Teresa and #14 Hamilton-West Hancock both scored 245 points to finish fifth and sixth. Pontiac (280 points), #8 Elmwood (287 points), #12 Wheaton Academy (308 points), and #27 Freeburg were all part of the top 10 teams.