By Michael Newman

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Here is a look at each of the classification rankings for the week ending September 6, 2014.

3A Boys

#1 Hinsdale Central and #3 Neuqua Valley proved after their performances at the Hornet Red Devil Invitational that they will be in the mix for a team trophy at the state meet. Both teams have solid packs and splits on five between 20-25 seconds. In this race, Hinsdale Central won the one on one battles thus giving them a fifteen point win. The two will go at it again this Saturday at Peoria.

#2 Sandburg is a team that could challenge with the above two after a dominating win at the Lions Pride Invitational placing seven runners in the first fifteen. Sean Torpy’s time of 14:02 on the 2.85 flat course at the Lyons Township South Campus course is equivalent to 14:50 for 3 miles. Their 28 second split on five makes them a challenger to Hinsdale Central & Neuqua Valley. #5 Lyons Township makes a dramatic leap from #16 to their current position based on Saturday’s performance. Conner Madell has stepped up as the leader on this squad. Their pack, even though it was at 35 seconds in this meet, needs to be tightened up just a little bit. The split of 22 seconds from 2-5 could be a problem in a big meet.

The positions from 4 to 17 are fluid right now. I think in the next couple of weeks we will see some major changes with teams flip flopping back and forth in these spots. #4 O’Fallon, off of a win at Granite City, has the strong front runner with Dorian Gordon. Keep an eye on their gap between 1 and 2. Last week it was 38 seconds. Their split of 27 seconds on 2-5 needs to come down. But remember, it is early in the season.

Naperville Central jumps into the rankings at #7. They had a great split of 20 seconds on their first five runners led by the thirteenth place finish by Geoffrey McCullough. The big thing to watch from the RedHawks is how that pack reacts in a bigger meet like Peoria this Saturday. This team could be dangerous if they can keep their split and start the pack somewhere between 15-20.

Glenbard West moves up to #10 with a dominating performance on the slow course at Fenton High School. Paul Christian leads a team that ran a 34 second split on five runners. They will be one of the teams that we will watch this Saturday at Peoria to see if they end up in the top five. #12 Hersey was placed ahead of #13 Buffalo Grove based on the fact they were without normal #2 runner Grant von der Lippe. Buffalo Grove dropped from #3 in the preseason rankings but could easily jump back into the top five with a good performance this week. Naperville North also dropped from #4 to #14 this week after placing fifth at Hinsdale. They will miss their normal #1 runner Kerry Gschwendtner for the next couple of weeks due to injury. Their split of 62 seconds could be a concern area in the next two weeks when the Huskies race at both Peoria meets. #11 New Trier is in the same picture as Naperville Central after finishing fourth at Hinsdale. They have a great 25 second split on five. Their pack needs to move up which I think it will. When that happens, the Trevians become a dangerous team.

#9 Downers Grove North is one of five teams that is ranked in the top ten from the West Suburban Silver. They controlled the meet having five runners in the first 20. Their split of 68 seconds on Ryan Clevenger could be deceptive. The all-state runner was on cruise control in last Saturday’s race. When he goes up against Jesse Reiser at Peoria this Saturday, that split could change.

#25 Crystal Lake South jumps into the top 25 after two surprising performances at McHenry County two weeks ago and then again last week at their own invitational where they finished within 20 points of #20 McHenry. Marmion Academy was just nipped out of the rankings. If we did a top 26, they would be there. They placed fifth at St. Charles East, but that was with two of their top five running in the lower level race. Their second place finish the previous week to East Aurora was something that we looked at even though they ran a tempo run for the first two miles and then moved in the later sections of the race.

3A Girls

#1 Glenbard West loses four time all-state runner Madeline Perez to graduation, but Freshman Lindsey Payne steps into the top five for the Hilltoppers finishing third. Grace Rogers, who was all-state last fall, finishes as the sixth runner on the team last Saturday. It shows how scary deep this team runner on this team could be this fall. A 67 second split on Lindsay Graham is a good start. With Graham a potential top five finisher at the state meet, if their split dips near 55 seconds in the big meets, it will be a squad that will be hard to stop.

#3 Hinsdale Central jumps into #3 based off of a strong finish in their own invite. The addition of freshmen Reilly Revord and Grace McCabe along with Alexa Haff and Annie Zaher up front gives the Red Devilettes a powerful first four that could challenge Glenbard West. Their gap between four and five, which was 64 seconds last week, needs to come down if this team wants to contend for a trophy. #4 Palatine stays at their pre-season position after their third place finish at Hinsdale. I am sure they were not satisfied with their performance. Their split of 91 seconds on 1-5 and 55 second split on 2-5 is too big. They know that.

#5 Minnoka made the biggest leap from #18 this week after finishing fourth. With the addition of freshman of Emily Shelton to their front pack, it could make this team dangerous. Their 1-4 split of 48 seconds makes them a trophy contender, but their split of 106 seconds from 4 to 5 puts those trophy thoughts on hold. That needs to come down.

I am not concerned with #8 New Trier and the performance that they had last week at Hinsdale finishing sixth. The dynamics are there to have a strong run when the time counts. You know Mimi Smith will be up towards the front in big races. Their 2-5 split of 12 seconds along with an 82 second split on five gets them closer to a trophy contention. The pack needs to move up. It did at the end of last year. I am sure the same could happen again this season. #7 Naperville Central is a team to watch. Even without all-state runner Katie Hoffman in their line-up, this team finishes a close fifth. With her running close to her sister Rachel, who finished ninth, this team should be in the mix when trophy conversation comes around.

The St. Charles East Sectional could be the toughest 3A sectional this fall. #2 Naperville North started at Pleasant Valley IA with a 27 second split on five and an easy win over Edina MN. #10 St. Charles East could be a team that could move into the top five. They easily dominated their invitational ahead of some good teams including #16 Batavia, #17 Barrington, and #19 Geneva even though the Lady Saints did not run their best race. Torree Scull finished third in Saturday’s race. If their pack can get to 45 seconds on five, it becomes one of those dangerous teams.

Four teams move into the top 25 this week. #16 Batavia jumps in based on their good performance at Leroy Oakes. The addition of Emma Stephens and Marygarce Golden along with Dakota Roman in their first three make this team a threat in the Upstate Eight and also state. #17 Barrington was close to Batavia at St. Charles and moves into the top 25. Freshman Jocelyn Long helps this deep Fillies’ squad. #20 Libertyville had a good week winning the Lake County Invitational and then finishing second Saturday at the Racine Horlick Invitational. #21 Lyons Township finished second to a good Valparaiso IN team at the Lions Pride Invitational. Their 31 second split with the front running of Katie Hamor puts the Lions in good position this season.

There are so many good teams in 3A this fall. I hinted in the preview that this season could be better than the epic 2012 that we saw. After looking at the performances of last weekend, that potential is stronger than ever.

2A Boys

Yorkville has had the misfortune of having their first two meets cancelled due to weather. The Foxes still move to #1 in the rankings this week. We will get an idea what they have this Saturday at Detweiller Park. #3 Illiana Christian moves down two spots even though they won the Christian Schools Invitational outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan last Saturday. The Vikings have Nick Fiene, Collin DeYoung, Nick Wondaal, and Tom McGuire that all could be all-state runners in November. Their concern is the gap between four and five. The split right now is 90 seconds. An overall 131 second split on five will not win a state meet. Then again, it is only the beginning of September.

#2 Mahomet-Seymour is a team to watch this fall. They put six runners in the first nine to win the Charleston Invitational with only 22 points more than 50 ahead of a good Shelbyville team. Alex Keeble will be in the discussion of one of the top five runners in 2A this fall. Their split on five was 61 seconds. However, their 2-5 split was only 11 seconds.

#7 Springfield was the hot mover of the week moving up seven spots after a strong third place finish at the Granite City Invitational. Heath Warren could emerge as one of the top runners in 2A after losing to O’Fallon’s Dorian Gordan by only nine seconds last Saturday. Their split on five is 95 seconds bit their 3-5 split is a miniscule five second gap. Watch for the 2-3 gap to get closer as the season progresses. Central State Eight rivals Sacred Heart Griffin and Chatham Glenwood finished behind the Senators at Granite City. #13 Sacred Heart-Griffin has a strong 22 second split on their first four. There is a 58 second gap from 4-5 that should be watched. #14 Chatham-Glenwood could be a team to watch moving up the rankings. Landon Skelly and Gabe Powell finished 17-19 in the meet. They have a six runner split of 50 seconds. If the pack moves up, the Titans could be a team to be reckoned with.

#5 Vernon Hills looked strong this week winning the Sycamore Invitational last Tuesday then finishing fourth at Fenton on Saturday. Tyler Smith has stepped up as the lead runner on this team. Their split was 87 seconds on Tuesday, 94 seconds on Saturday. It is a team that peaks at the right time. I would watch for them this weekend at Peoria. #4 Grayslake Central will be a team that will challenge for a trophy. They showed what they have finishing second only 12 points behind 3A power Barrington at the Lake County Meet. Jack Aho has adapted nicely to cross country as he finished third in his first race of the season. The Rams had a split of 87 second even though normal top three runner Jack Battaglia was their seventh runner last Wednesday.

It was hard to figure out what happened at Galesburg last Saturday when previously unranked Rock Island Alleman won the meet with 93 points. Six teams were only separated by nineteen points in the standings. #8 Metamora finished in a tie for fourth with their #1 runner John Mangold held out of this meet. #9 Sterling moved up one spot based on their second place performance at the Sycamore meet where they ran a 40 second 1-5 split.  They finished fourth at Galesburg.

Alleman is one of four teams that enters the rankings this week. They pop in at #17. Normal University, based on their good fourth place finish enters the rankings at #19. A team to watch in the next few weeks is Salem. This week they enter the rankings at #21. Even though they ran most of their runners on the lower level race at Granite City, their top seven overall would have placed them sixth in the Varsity race. Salem has adapted quickly to the move from 1A. #23 Bartonville Limestone is the last new team in the rankings based off of their strong win at the Canton Invitational ahead of 1A #1 Elmwood-Brimfield.

2A Girls

Not much going on at the top of these rankings. #1 Yorkville, like their boys team, had their first two meets cancelled. They will be ready to go at Peoria along with #2 Kaneland who competed last Saturday at the non-scored Oregon Invitational. Crystal Lake Central stays at #3 based off of their strong performance two weeks ago at the McHenry County Meet. The one team that I would watch out for is #4 Dunlap. With the additions of freshmen Francesca Verville and Miranda Krusiwyk, and Delaney Peterson to their top seven, this is a team that could challenge for a state championship. We will see how good they are this week at Peoria. Dunlap dominated the competition at the Galesburg Invitational running four in the first five scoring only 23 points.

#5 Normal University moves into the top five with their win last Tuesday at the Sycamore Invitational. The Pioneers scored 67 points even without top five runner Sarah Lafayette. Shannan Sipan (4^th) and Ashley Lafayette (8^th) finished in the top ten. Their opening five runner split was 84 seconds. That should come down as the season progresses. #6 Belvidere North moves up one spot after finishing second to U-High at Sycamore then winning the Crystal Lake South Invitational last Saturday. The Blue Thunder has a good 1-2 punch of Jenna and Carley Lutzow that could provide benefits for this team when they get into the state series. 

#7 Chatham-Glenwood jumped into the top ten after a strong third place finish at the Granite City behind 3A Edwardsville and O’Fallon. Demi Dixon led the Titans with an eight place finish. Their 1-5 split on the varsity was 103 seconds, but we could see Donna Hansen, who finished sixth in the JV race, up on varsity to help this team. It is hard to gauge #13 Springfield who did not run complete teams at Granite City. We should see how good their team is this weekend at the Halberg Invitational at Springfield’s Lincoln Park. Highland dropped four spots to #10 even though they finished eighth at Granite City. Allison Zobrist was rested at this meet. We should see her on Saturday at Peoria. With her in the lineup, they would have finished just behind Chatham-Glenwood.

Four schools entered the 2A rankings this week. #14 Lake Forest makes the highest debut after a nice second place finish at the Lake County Invitational. #21 Metamora also steps into the top 25 after they opened the season with a second place finish at Galesburg. #22 Breese Mater Dei is a sneaky good team that could find themselves moving up the ladder as the season goes on. They finished fifth at Granite City. The last team in is #24 Nazareth Academy. They finished sixth at the Lions Pride Invitational but are bumped in ahead of Sterling because they finished only 15 points behind #9 Glenbard South who finished fourth in that meet. #17 Lincoln-Way West moved up one spot after finishing in between Glenbard South and Nazareth.

1A Boys

We said in the preview that Elmwood-Brimfield starts the season out slow but peaks at the right time. Coach Gregg Meyers put two of his top five in the F/S race last week at the Canton Invitational. The team finished second overall in the Varsity race behind 2A ranked Bartonville Limestone.

The team that was the most impressive in the last week was Tolono Unity who moves into the #2 spot. Led by the second place finish of Andrew Warnes and a 61 second 5 man split, the Rockets won the Kickapoo Kickoff Classic with only 26 points against then ranked #2 St. Joseph who moves to #5. #6 Monticello looked good in their season opener Saturday at the Chrisman Cow Chip Classic flight meet. The Sages go to Springfield this Saturday to test themselves against 2A #2 Mahomet Seymour and three other 2A ranked teams.

The biggest jump in the rankings was made by Rochester this week as they moved from #21 to #8. They lost a top five runner who decided to not come out. Freshman Josh Cable has come in to give this team a boost. The Rockets won the Debut Invitational two weeks ago at Edwardsville, then last week won at Carlinville and then finished second behind Taylorville at their own invitational. Michael Gleason could be a top 8 runner in the state this year. Rochester could be in the top five sooner than later.

#10 Freeburg moved into the top ten after s good second place finish at Edwardsville two weeks ago and a strong sixth place finish at Granite City. Three schools edged their way into the top 25 this week. #23 Monmouth-Roseville had a good week culminating with a sixth place finish at the Canton Invitational. #24 Murphysboro has started off the season nicely finishing eight at Edwardsville two weeks ago and then fifth in their own invitational last Wednesday. Carterville is a little of a surprise jumping into the final spot just edging out Timothy Christian and Carlinville.

1A Girls

Four time defending state champions St. Teresa still hold the top spot but it is not as strong as it may seem. The Bulldogs won the Debut Invitational at Edwardsville two weeks ago. At Saturday’s Crystal Lake South Invitational held at Veteran Acres Park, they finished fifth. That is not a concern considering that there were some good 2A and 3A schools ahead of them. Bree Tschosik and Lauren Evelti were the top two runners for St. Teresa. The split was 86 seconds. How that plays as the season goes on will be interesting to watch especially this Saturday at Peoria.

#2 Kewanee-Annawan Wethersfield moves up two spots ready to challenge this weekend at Detweiller. Rochester moves down to #6 after finishing third at Edwardsville and then second last weekend to #5 Petersburg PORTA at their own invitational. #3 St. Joseph-Ogden edged #4 Urbana University by five points last week at the Kickapoo Kickoff Classic. U-High has the strong 1-2 of Arielle Summit and Annemarie Michael that could push them to the front this Saturday at Peoria.

One team to keep an eye on this year is #7 Freeburg who moved up six spots from the pre-season rankings. They looked impressive by finishing second two weeks ago at Edwardsville. They followed that up last Saturday with a sixth place finish at the Granite City Invitational.

Three new teams jump into the top 25 rankings this week led by Monmouth-Roseville at #12. They finished third at the Canton Invitational only 17 points behind 2A ranked Peoria Notre Dame. Shelbyville is in at #19 after finishing a close second behind Danville at the Charleston Invitational. #21 Belleville Althoff is the final team moving in. Led by Grace Rowan and Marie Harla, this team has started off their season strong finishing second at the New Athens Invitational and ninth last week in the powerful Murphysboro Invitational.