Illinois High School Cross Country Weekend Highlights - September 13, 2021

By Michael Newman

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We all know what happened in Peoria on Saturday where we had six great races opening Detweiller Park back to all the runners in the state. Part 2 happens on Saturday for the Richard Spring Invitational. Guess what? It looks like the same weather conditions as last week.

First to the Finish Invitational Meet Page

There was plenty of race action involving the schools that did not go to Detweiller Park. Here are highlights from some of the meets that took place this past weekend.

Harvey Braus Invitational @ Lake Park

The story of this weekend regardless of the location was the performance from Grace Schager of Glenbard North. The junior had run an eye opening 17:27 in a quad meet on this course on September 1. Her win in the Girls race opened those eyes a little bit wider. Schager became the first Illinois runner under 17-minutes this cross-country season crossing the line on Saturday in 16:57. Audrey Allman of Glenbard West finished in second in consecutive meets running a 17:12 time.

#1 York had their full lineup for this meet and dominated winning with 35 points. Four seconds separated the third through fifth finishers of Katelyn Winton (17:26), Katherine Klimek (17:30), and Briana Bennis (17:30). Michaela Quinn in her first race of the season finished 12th followed by Maggie Owens (16th) and Brooke Berger (20th). #3 Prospect finished second (78 points) led by top 10 finishes from Lily Ginsberg (8th) and Hailey Erickson (9th). Maine South (109 points), #12 St. Charles East (135 points), #16 Downers Grove North (136 points), and #9 Glenbard West (154 points) rounded out the top six teams.

Micah Wilson led three of his teammates in the top 10 as #15 St. Charles East scored 54 points to win the Boys team title. Wilson was under control in winning the individual race (14:52) with Michael Atkins of Wheaton-Warrenville South finishing second (14:58). They were the only two runners under 15 minutes in that race. Mitch Garcia (6th), Joey Xotla (8th), Jed Wilson (15th), and Lexton Rockwell (24th) rounded out the team’s top five with an 83 second split. Their split from Garcia to Rockwell was 45 seconds. #13 Wheaton-Warrenville South finished second (71 points) followed by Jones Prep (107 points), Lane Tech (111 points), and #11 Wheaton North (118 points). Wheaton North was without some of their top seven in this race.

Joliet Central Steelmen Invitational @ Channahon Park, Channahon

#3 Oswego showed their packing tendency again in this meet placing 4 runners in the top 6 and 6 runners in the first 13 to win the boys team title with 29 points. #1 York, in their first meet of the season, placed 5 runners in the top 14 to finish second with 48 points. Both teams were missing runners from their top five. Marcellus Mines of Joliet West was the class of this race as he ran 15:09 for the win. Oswego’s Ethan Forsell finished second (15:35) ahead of Fenwick’s Grayden Rill (15:44).

Oswego put four runners in before York put their pack of four across the finish line. That was the story of this race. Benjamin Huey (4th), Brady Nelson (5th), and Benjamin Forsell (6th) followed Ethan Forsell with only a 14 second split on that group. Their top five split was 42 seconds. York’s top runner was Eric Rutherford who finished 7th. York had a 41 second split on their top five. 2A #8 Fenwick finished third with 64 points.

Lincoln-Way East scored 52 points to win the Girls race ahead of #30 Neuqua Valley (61 points) and Oswego (98 points). Audra Soderlind of Oswego ran 18:18 to easily win the individual title by 30 seconds ahead of Lincoln-Way West’s Gianna Arizzi (18:48).

Lee Halberg Lanphier Invitational @ Lincoln Park, Springfield

2A #1 Mahomet-Seymour was in control in the Boys race putting 5 runners in the top 20 to win the team title with only 47 points. The Bulldogs were led by top 10 finishes from Kyle Nofziger and Joseph Scheele who were within a second of each other placing second and third. Mahomet-Seymour had a 66 second split n their top five runners. #10 Chatham-Glenwood, who Coach Mike Garber earlier in the week  said that his teams would tempo this meet, finished second with 100 points led by the 7th-place finish from Samson Desalines. Urbana (106 points) and Quincy (108 points) finished third and fourth. Quincy’s Fiker Rosen ran 15:56 to win the Boys individual title ahead of the Mahomet-Seymour duo.

Mabry Bruhn of Monticello ran 18:41 to win the Girls Individual race. Ali Ince of Normal Community (18:50) and Estella Miller of Monticello (18:59) finished second and third. 1A #2 Monticello placed 4 runners in the top 6 with their fifth runner in 33 to win the team race with 48 points. 2A #4 Chatham-Glenwood placed their top five between 9 and 13 with a 44 second split to finish second with 55 points. #26 Normal Community finished third with 72 points.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda Invitational

Drew Rogers of Herscher won his second race on Saturday but the margin of victory was close. Rogers ran 14:51 for the win by five seconds ahead of Ryder James of Paxton-Buckley-Loda (14:56). Eli Mojonnier of Bismarck-Henning finished third (15:40) and was the only other runner under 16-minutes in this race. 1A #1 Arthur-Lovington finished 5-6-7 to win the team title with 58 points led by Logan Beckmier, Jacob Adcock, and Jace Green. Their top five split was 130 seconds. 1A #11 Herscher finished second (77 points) followed by Kankakee McNamara (97 points) and Tolono Unity (121 points).

Trixie Johnson of Paxton-Buckley-Loda won on her home course. Johnson covered the 3-miles in 19:21 to capture the win with Gabby Moreman of Bismarck-Henning running 20:02 to finish second. Paxton-Buckley-Loda edged Herscher 61-65 for the team title.

DePaul Prep Ram Invitational @ Horner Park, Chicago

#10 Loyola Academy did not have their entire top seven in this race. The Ramblers still had enough to win the Boys team title with 31 points placing 5 runners in the top 10 with a 47 second split on that group. Daniel Winkelman of Harvest Christian Academy ran 15:52 to claim the win with Spencer Werner of Loyola running 15:58 to finish second. 1A #4 DePaul Prep finished second with 67 points ahead of Niles West (77 points). #7 Loyola Academy’s team opened their 2021 season with an easy win scoring 28 points with 5 runners in the top 11. Morgan Mackie led Loyola with the individual win (18:03) finishing ahead of Wheeling’s Brenda Torres (18:18) and Loyola’s Ellie Grammas (18:44). Whitney Young (87 points), Wheeling (89 points), and DePaul Prep (94 points) finished second through fourth.

Reavis Invitational

Caroline Schoen of Homewood-Flossmoor set a new course record of 18:14 to win the Girls race by 74 seconds ahead of Annie Macabobby of Wheaton-Warrenville South (19:28). #24 Plainfield North, led by top 10 finishes by Elsie Czarniewski (3), Michelle Masis (5), and Claire Wilson (9), scored 36 points in winning the team title. #18 Wheaton-Warrenville South did not run their full top seven in finishing second with 62 points just ahead of Sandburg (64 points). Jake Phillips of Marist ran 16:13 to win the Boys Race ahead of Habtamu Epley of Homewood-Flossmoor (16:42). Homewood-Flossmoor scored 53 points in winning the team title just ahead of AA Stagg (56 points).

Luther College All-American Meet @ Decorah IA

1A #2 Riverdale’s Boys team traveled west to Luther College to compete in the 27-team championship race. They finished sixth overall scoring 191 points. Onalaska WI scored 38 points to dominate the team competition in this meet. Manny Putz of Onalaska ran 16:09 to claim the individual win three seconds ahead of Riverdale’s Tommy Murray (16:12). The Rams also had Landis Musser to finish 15th followed by Peyton Sand (30), Caden Ludin (67), and Cameron Overton (81). Their top five split off Murray was 162 seconds. Their split from Musser to Overton was 86 seconds.

Forest Park XC Festival @ St. Louis MO

Byron Jones of Belleville East ran 16:19 to win the Boys Gold Division race in this meet with Benton’s Gavin Genisio running 16:21 to finish second. Smithville MO won the Gold Division title with 87 points and just four points ahead of Benton (91 points). Belleville East scored 141 points to finish third. O’Fallon finished 9 out of 20 teams in the Green Division Meet with 239 points. Rock Bridge MO won the team title with 239 points led by the 14th place finish from Dylan Ybarra. Jack Hillier of Belleville Althoff Catholic had the top Illinois performance in the Boys White Division running 17:30 to finish second.  Althoff Catholic finished 7th out of 15 teams in that division.

Eris Nelson of Althoff Catholic ran 19:45 to win the Girls White Division race with teammate Claire Nash running 21:20 to finish third. Althoff Catholic finished 5 out of 12 teams in that division. Julia Ray of MICDS ran 18:36 to win the Green Division race with Grace Tyson of Wildwood Lafayette (18:48) and O’Fallon’s Peyton Schieppe (18:51) finishing second and third. Blue Springs South MO scored 101 points for the division win. O’Fallon finished 14 (344 points) in the 22 team Green Division field.