Winnebago tunes up for state series with Girls Team win at Amboy

Surtz pulls away before 2-miles for Girls win; It’s all Stoeger in Boys race win; Amboy win first team title in meet history

By Michael Newman

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Sublette, Ill. – The amazing thing that happened Monday at Shady Oaks Country Club is that this primarily 1A meet was run while severe thunderstorms surrounded the area. Meet officials decided 30 minutes before the meet started that the Varsity races would go first and then one open race so that the meet could finish before the clouds opened up.

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Winnebago coach Janet Erb had figured that the change of schedule would happen. Winnebago reacted to this curve ball by warming up early and then going out to win the Girls team title in the 48th edition of this Columbus Day Meet.

Running the race 30 minutes earlier did not seem to bother the rest of the runners in the race. Lianna Surtz of Rosary had spent the weekend on a college visit. She still came out to pull away from the field to win in 17:31 on the new 2.95-mile course. Another curveball was seeing Eureka on the starting line for this race. The #4 team in Class 1A was supposed to run at Prairie Central and that race was cancelled. They were allowed to run in this meet as a last-minute entry.

Anna Perry took advantage of the opportunity to run as she took the lead for the first half of the race. Surtz made the pass on Perry just before 2-miles as both runners passed that point in 11:33. The move that defined this race was Surtz went after the final hill with a kilometer to run. Her margin of victory was 12 seconds ahead of Perry. Carly Manchester of IC Catholic Prep led the pack behind the front two runners as she ran 18:10 to finish third. Mabry Bruhn of Monticello (18:15) and Grace Erb of Winnebago (18:20) finished fourth and fifth.

If this was a tune-up for #1 Winnebago for the upcoming state series of regional, sectional, and state races, the Indians passed in flying colors.

Winnebago scored 50 points to win the team title placing 5 runners in the top 18. They did this without one of their top runners Kaylee Woolery who did not run in this meet. Grace Erb led the way with her top five finish followed by Marissa Roggensack (7th) and Sophia Martino (8th) in their top 10. Renee Rittmeyer (16th) and Katie Erb (18th) rounded out the team’s top five with an 83 second split on the group.

#4 Eureka adapted to the change in their schedule with 3 runners in the top 12 to score 73 points to finish second. Perry’s finish along with Ellie Knapp (9th) and Laurel Munson (12th) led the way for the Hornets. Meika Bender (27th) and Claire Albertson (29th) rounded out Eureka’s top five. #5 Rosary had a strong 3-4-5 pack behind Lianna Surtz to finish third  with 87 points. Surtz along with her younger sister Chiara (11th) led the Royals. Rosary’s pack was separated by only 24 seconds with Katie Ubertino (25th), Natalie Goettsch (28th), and Olivia Kunio (30th) leading that group.

#14 IC Catholic Prep finished fourth (106 points) helped by the return of Kennedy Calcagno. The senior had missed most of the season due to an injury. She was supposed to run in the open race. The uncertainty of if there was going to be an open race (there was) and the change of schedule gave her an opportunity to race with her teammates. Calcagno was the team’s third runner in 23rd place behind Manchester and Graziella Narcisi (20th) and ahead of Kelsey McDonough (35th) and Megan Van Koughnet (39th). #3 Monticello was two points behind IC Catholic Prep in fifth (108 points) without one of their top runners Estella Miller in the race. Sylvia Miller (6th) and Rachel Koon (10th) joined Bruhn in the top 10 in this race. Clara Rudolph (51st) and Joe Walker (53rd) were part of Monticello’s top five.

There was no real question on who would win the Boys Varsity race. Mason Stoeger of Fieldcrest had already opened a lead on the pack before the first half mile of the race. He was by himself at 5:00 at the first mile with Brock Loftus of Amboy and Thomas Harmon leading the pack hoping to hold on going into the “plains” portion of the course. Stoeger continued to lengthen the lead in the second mile passing that point in 10:13.

Harmon and Loftus were 20 seconds back in vying for second. Bryson Grant of Iroquois West was another 10 seconds back in fourth but was gaining steam slowly catching up to the duo ahead of him.

Stoeger looked relaxed as he crossed the line with the win with a 15:21 time. Harmon was second (15:47) holding off Grant who ran 15:50 to finish third. Loftus held his top five position to finish fourth (15:58) with Ed Mitchell of Monticello leading the race pack running 16:28 to finish fifth.

#24 Amboy showed how special this team can be in 2021 with a convincing win in their home meet. Their 93-point total gave them their first win in the 48 years of this meet. Loftus, Ian Eller (8th), and Kyler McNinch (10th) led the Clippers with top 10 finishes. Charlie Dickerson (47th) and Wyatt Lundquist (50th) followed as the team’s fourth and fifth runners. Their top five split was 121 seconds.

#16 Monticello finished second (101 points) led by Mitchell’s finish and Caleb Wood placing in the top 20 with a 15th place finish. #13 Elmwood finished third (115 points) behind Harmon, Isaiah Hill (11th), and Nick Feller (18th) finishing in the top 20. #30 Aurora Central Catholic (171 points), Eureka (186 points), and Rock Falls (188 points) finished fourth, fifth, and sixth.