By Michael Newman

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Last weekend was the first of the three Detweiller Park invitational meets. The First to the Finish Invitational showed that some of the teams that are ranked towards the top deserve to be there. There were other teams running that made significant jumps up towards the front of the rankings.

 

We will see the big jumps the next few weeks as teams test themselves early in the season finding out what they really have. Some questions were answered last Saturday. More will be answered as we run the next few Saturdays.

 

Here is a look at each of the classifications.

 

3A Boys

 

#1 Hinsdale Central showed that they will be the team to beat in 3A this season after strong performances on consecutive weekends. The Red Devils scored 86 points including five runners in the first 30 to win the First to the Finish Invitational. Their split continues to be small. Last Saturday, it was at 21 seconds. Chris Brenk led three runners in the first 12 when he finished seventh (14:48). What makes this team even scarier is that Griffin Gartner, who was their sixth runner in this meet, was only 29 seconds behind Brenk. Another plus for Hinsdale Central is that Alex Domiano, who ran 9:29 last spring in the 3200, should return for their team’s dual meet this Thursday at Downers Grove North.

 

I would not discount #3 Neuqua Valley either. Two of their top three runners (Daniel Weiss and Michael Widmann) were caught on the first turn. They ended up finishing 22^nd and 26^th. The Wildcats still had a 40 second split on six runners with the team finishing second. Connor Horn led Neuqua with a fourth place finish. Lyons Township moved up to #4 after a strong third place performance. Connor Madell has demonstrated that he could be a top 25 runner in the state after finishing 15^th Saturday. The Lions had a tough seven runner split of 41 seconds. Just like last year and years before, Lyons Township finds success with their tight pack. It was evident when you could see a gold mass running on the Detweiller Park course.

 

Keep an eye out on #6 New Trier. When they get healthy, the Trevians could be pressing for a trophy at state. Saturday’s race in Peoria showed that. They had a fourth place finish led by the 8^th place finish of Josh Rosenkranz with a five runner split of 46 seconds. Luke Duros ran 15:37 to win the open race showing that he should be in that top seven soon. The biggest mover in the rankings was #9 St. Ignatius College Prep after they finished fifth on Saturday. Seven seconds separated their first three runners Daniel Santino, Andy Weber, and Khallin Khan as Santino finished 14^th to lead the way. Their split on five was 51 seconds.

 

WSC-Silver teams #10 Downers Grove North and #11 Glenbard West finished behind St. Ignatius in the Peoria team standings. North’s #2 runner Alec Danner lost his shoe in the first half mile of the race. He stopped and put his shoe back on and ended up finishing 35^th! The Trojans third runner a week ago at St. Charles Joe Carter was sick but still ran ending up as his team’s sixth man. Let’s not forget about Ryan Clevenger and his second place finish. He will guarantee his team a single digit number every meet this season on the score sheet.

 

Glenbard West was without normal top five runner Ben Hecht, but the Hilltoppers still had an 11 second split on their first three runners. Chris Buechner was the #1 runner finishing 13^th (15:02). The split on five was 57 seconds. The split on four was 50 seconds.

 

I have seen on the MileSplit Illinois and the ITCCCA coaches’ polls that O’Fallon has been ranked a little lower than expected. That is understandable since they have lost state champion Patrick Perrier. I have the Panthers at #5 this week after a second place finish at the Forest Park XC Festival. Dorrian Gordon won the individual race covering the 5k Forrest Park course in 15:25. Their split of 72 seconds is comparable to a year ago when they were close to 65 seconds in this race. The split from Gordon to the pack is 49 seconds. The split on 2-5 was 25 seconds. Their pack will get closer to Gordon as the year progresses. If they can get to a 35 second gap on Gordon, this team could be in contention for a trophy.

 

#13 Jones College Prep switched from the Joliet Invitational to Lake Park for the Harvey Braus Invitational. It was a smart move for Coach Andrew Adelmann to do this now that his school is in 3A and will be racing on this course for sectionals every other year. Despite the fact that they were missing four of their top eight to either ACT testing or disciplinary actions, this Chicago Public League power still came up on top. The Eagles, led by the second place finish of Markiyan Protsiv, still placed five runners in the first twenty to win the Varsity race with 56 points. They were ahead of #17 Huntley, Hoffman Estates, and #19 St. Charles East who was without #1 runner Mike Sciuba who was taking ACT’s. Jones’ split on five was only 38 seconds. Interesting to see this team when they are in full strength.

 

Whitney Young and Marmion Academy are the new teams in the top 25. #24 Marmion Academy was ranked in the top 25 in the pre-season, but jumped back in after finishing fourteenth a week ago. The addition of freshman Michael Ronzone makes the Cadets a little tougher. Brady Bobbitt was their first runner placing 12^th. Bobbitt missed practices since Tuesday after he was on a retreat. #22 Whitney Young’s performance finishing 12^th was impressive. Sophomore Keduse Worku was their first runner in for the Dolphins running a PR 15:20. Their four runner split was only 29 seconds. Their split on five was 52 seconds. Conant leaves the rankings but it should be temporary. They have not run their projected top seven together all season. That will be the same this weekend when the team runs at Minooka while Zach Dale opens his invitational season at the Richard Spring Invitational. They should first run together on September 27 at the Flyin’ Hawk Invitational at Bartlett.

 

#7 York and #8 Loyola Academy’s varsity teams make their seasonal debuts this weekend in Peoria. York actually starts their season two days earlier at East End Park in a triangular with Glenbard West and Oak Park-River Forest.

 

3A Girls

 

The only thing that holds back #2 Hinsdale Central back from the top of the 3A rankings is conference rival #1 Glenbard West. The two will meet for the first time in a dual meet on October 9. The Red Devilettes continued to impress winning at First to the Finish last Saturday. They could have the strongest first three in the state exhibited from last Saturday’s meet when Alexa Haff, Annie Zaher, and Reilly Revord finished 1-3-4. To have four runners, along with Grace McCabe, under 17:40 puts them in contention for a state championship. Sarah Folliard ran 18:20 which was almost a 30 second PR for 3 miles on a cross country course.

 

Just like Neuqua Valley on the Boys meet, let us not discount #3 Naperville North. The Huskies were without #1 runner Elly DeTurris who was back home taking ACT’s. Despite the fact that five of their runners went down in the first turn, North still ended up finishing second. Judy Pendergast finished sixteenth leading her team that ran 30 seconds on the first five runners. #5 New Trier rebounded from the Hinsdale meet finishing only six points behind Naperville North in third place. Mimi Smith again was their first runner placing fifth running 17:20. Cara Keleher had a breakthrough race running 17:44 to finish 18^th. Their split on five was 58 seconds. The strength of their team has been their pack running. Their split from 3 to 7 was only 12 seconds.

 

#6 Naperville Central finished fourth 20 points behind New Trier. They are still without #1 runner Katie Hoffman who is still recovering from an injury. We could see her at the end of the month at the Naperville Invitational. Rachel Hoffman finished tenth to lead this team that put three runners in the first thirty. #8 Minooka had another solid performance finishing fifth at Peoria. Ashley Tutt finished sixth to lead for Minooka runners in the first 32 with a 48 second split among the four.

 

#10 Batavia ran a great race in finishing sixth in this meet. Emma Stephens (7^th) and Dakota Roman (15^th) led the Bulldogs with top fifteen finishes. #11 Wheaton-Warrenville South ran better than the week before finishing seventh. Sara Atkins led the Tigers with a 12^th place finish. Their split on five came down to 98 seconds. The week before it was 111 seconds. #13 Fremd jumped up nine spots after Ayako Higuchi (8^th) and Kate Escobar (21^st) led her team to an eighth place finish.

 

The other big 3A meet of the weekend was at Lake Park. Even though #1 Glenbard West was without freshman Lindsay Payne, the Hilltoppers rolled with five runners in the first eleven scoring only 27 points. Lindsay Graham pulled away in the last mile to win the individual title running 16:49. Lisa Luczak finished fourth. Their split on five was only 72 seconds.

 

MSL rivals #7 Schaumburg and #9 Hoffman Estates were only separated by five points for second place. The Saxons could be dangerous at the end of the year. Their first runner Erin Falsey only finished 12^th, but Schaumburg only had a 33 second split between their first five runners. The addition of freshman Lauren Kubinski (13^th) and the improvement of Valerie Shackelton give this team a strong group of six runners. We will see how good this team is this weekend in Peoria. Hoffman Estates’ Meagan Biddle led her team with an 8^th place finish. The emergence Mishba Bagh as their third runner makes Hoffman Estates that much better. Their split on five last Saturday was 55 seconds.

 

Two teams jumped into the top 25 this week. #22 Grant won the Wauconda Invitational ahead of #25 Cary-Grove placing their first four runners in between 10^th and 15^th with only a 14 second split. #23 Lincoln-Way Central finished 15^th at Peoria, but their 33 second split on five shows that this team could be a factor if their pack moves up. Jacobs and Prospect just missed making it into this week’s rankings.

 

 

2A Boys

 

There was a mystery around #1 Yorkville since they had not raced this season. All doubts were erased with their win Saturday at Peoria. The only way to be the Foxes is to have two runners close to Jake and Luke Hoffert and then have a strong three-five pack. Although it is early in the season, the Foxes look tough to beat. Trevor Wills was the third runner for this team finishing 20^th. The split on 3-6 was only 23 seconds.

 

#3 Vernon Hills looks just as tough as a year ago. The Cougars finished second 31 points behind Yorkville. Shane Williams (4^th, 14:54) and Tyler Smith (9^th, 15:06) led Vernon Hills with top ten finishes. Rob Williams, who usually with the Williamson and Smith, was their fourth man placing 39^th. Their split on three to six is only 14 seconds. That pack started 13 seconds behind that of Yorkville last Saturday. What was figured with #4 Illiana Christian during the pre-season came to fruition on Saturday when they finished third. The Vikings have a strong first three with Nick Fiene (3^rd), Colin DeYoung (8^th), and Nick Wondaal (14^th) leading the way. Last week in Michigan, Illiana’s split was 141 seconds. This week, it dropped down to 105 seconds. There is plenty of time to get that split down. The Vikings look to be on their way to achieving that.

 

There was a 140 points drop off between third place Illiana Christian and fourth place #8 Sterling. They have a strong front two with Dewey Landis and Jacob Gebhart who finished in the first 30. Their pack was 46 seconds on the five scoring runners. #9 Belvidere North jumped into the top ten rankings by finishing fifth in this meet. Eryk Yunk looked strong finishing fifth. The Blue Thunder could make another trip down to Peoria. Their split on 2-7 is only 36 seconds. That pack needs to get a little closer to Yunk.

 

#10 Metamora has projected #1 runner John Mangold back after he was out with an injury. Mangold was their fifth runner as the Redbirds finished sixth. Jake Gillum was the first runner in (15^th). The split on their first five was 62 seconds.

 

Two teams that ran at Peoria entered into the top 25 rankings. Even though #16 Danville finished ahead of #14 Charleston, we had to move the Vikings lower depending on the status of Caleb Hummer who was clutching his leg at the conclusion of the race. Hummer did not run the rest of last year after an Achilles injury flared up. His coach Todd Orvis said that the injury is not the same as last year. Hummer will not run this Thursday at Decatur. They are hoping he might be ready to go for racing the following week. Hummer led the way for Danville placing sixth. Charleston was a surprise in this meet finishing eighth. Colton Bell (27^th) led the Trojans who had a 53 second split on their first five.

 

At the Lee Halberg Invitational Saturday at Lincoln Park, #2 Mahomet-Seymour showed that they could challenge Yorkville placing five runners in the first seven to win the meet with a low 24 points. Alex Keeble’s time was impressive running 15:07 on the tough Lincoln Park course. Andrew Wallmer, Mahomet’s #2 runner was only 33 seconds behind Keeble. Their split on 2-5 was only 17 seconds. The split on their first five was 50 seconds. Bartonville Limestone made a jump from #23 to #11 with a strong third place finish in this meet. Thomas Thornton finished fourth to lead his team. Their split on seven runners was 77 seconds.

 

Fox Valley Conference powers #5 Grayslake Central and #6 Crystal Lake Central were only separated by one point with Central finishing fifth at the Wauconda Invitational. Jack Aho was the first runner in for Grayslake placing fifth. Their split on the Rams first five runners was 78 seconds with their 2-5 split at 48 seconds. Crystal Lake’s sophomore Weston Sterchi led the tigers with an eighth place finish. Their split on five runners was 58 seconds. The split on 2-5 was 36 seconds. The two teams will face each other again this week at the Kaneland Invitational.

 

 

2A Girls

 

It is hard to see if anyone beating Yorkville after the way they ran at Peoria. Skyler Bollinger controlled the race from the start running 17:26 to win the race. Summer Pierson is back from an injury as the 17:59 she ran for tenth place shows. Their split on 2-5 is 33 seconds with an overall five runner split of 65 seconds.

 

One team that could be on the radar of Yorkville is #4 Belvidere North who finished second with 118 points. What makes the Blue Thunder a tough team is that Jenna Lutzow could be a top five runner in the state meet. At this race on Saturday, she finished third only sixteen seconds behind Bollinger. Her sister Carley was eleventh just behind Yorkville’s Pierson. Their split on five is 80 seconds. If they can get 20 seconds closer, this team could challenge for a state championship.

 

#5 Lake Forest and #6 Vernon Hills continue to jump their way up the rankings after great performances in Peoria. The addition of freshman Emma Milburn for Lake Forest makes this team a trophy contender. The freshman finished ninth overall leading the Scouts to a third place finish. Their split is 75 seconds on five, 60 seconds on four. #6 Vernon Hills finished fourth with 181 points. The Cougars placed three runners in the first thirty led by the sixth place finish by Vivian Overbeck. Their split on five is 100 seconds with a 2-5 split of 55 seconds.

 

#8 Lemont is a surprise to some especially after their fifth place finish. Gabby Voltarel finished 27^th to lead this team. The thing to watch on their team is that the five runner split is only 16. Seconds. #7 Dunlap was missing one of their top seven runners due to ACT testing. They finished sixth with 213 points. They had the strong presence up front with Abby Jockisch (5^th) and Francesca Verville (7^th) leading the way. Their split on 3-5 is only 23 seconds. With an overall split of 105 seconds, the gap between their front runners and the pack needs to decrease if they want to keep a trophy in their sights.

 

There are three teams that need to be addressed in the rankings. The first is #10 Highland. Last Thursday, Highland’s school district went on strike prohibiting them from racing at Peoria. I could not move this team up or down. If the school district continues to stay on strike, it will affect the placing of this talented team.

 

In the pre-season rankings, I ranked Kaneland and Crystal Lake Central in the top three in 2A. #2 Kaneland has run in two meets this season not running all of their top runners in the Oregon and Wauconda meets. The same applies to #3 Crystal Lake Central. They looked good at the McHenry County Meet at the end of August. They ran most of their runners in the Frosh / Soph race last Saturday at Wauconda. I could not move those teams down because of that. I still feel they are placed in the right spots heading into this weekend when both race at Kaneland.

 

Three teams entered into the top 25 led by #14 Montini Catholic who finished tenth at Peoria. After losing their top runners to graduation, the Broncos have reloaded led by Gianna Salzbrunn who finished 26^th. The two other teams that moved into the rankings ran at the Lee Halberg Invitational in Springfield. #15 Mahomet-Seymour jumps into the top 25 after they finished third only three points behind #11 Chatham-Glenwood. Lauren Whitehouse was the individual winning running 18:29 for the win. #24 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin moves into the top 25 despite the fact they did not have top two runners Bridget and Megan McClain running.

 

 

1A Boys

 

After the first two rankings that have come out for 1A Boys, to say that there is no favorite right now for the state championship would be an understatement. I think we could be saying the same thing at the beginning of November after the sectional rankings.

 

Tolono Unity gets the top ranking this week but just barely. The Rockets did not run their best race of the year running a 72 second five runner split at the PBL Invitational. The week before it was only 61 seconds. It shows that you cannot be up every week. Andrew Warnes finished five seconds behind state champion Jon Davis in last week’s race. Warnes should be a top five runner at state. At this moment, they are the best 1A team in the state.

 

Let’s look at the 1A race at Peoria. How close can you get? #2 Rockford Christian is a team that will be in the discussion for the state championship. Nick Monkemeyer should be in the top five at the state meet. He was only tenths behind individual winner Eric Ponder. They have an 18 second split for a tight 2-5 pack. Their overall split was 75 seconds. The split between 1-2 may need to come down just a little bit. The formula could be there for a run at the state championship. Even though Winnebago finished third at this meet, they move ahead of Johnsburg into the #3 spot. The potential is there with Nathan Smith (3^rd) and Nathan Ambrose (8^th) finishing in the top ten. The Indians have a tight 57 second split in the first four. There is another minute between four and five. I do not know if they were missing a runner due to ACT’s.

 

Elmwood-Brimfield gets #4 even though they finished behind Johnsburg at Peoria. I was able to talk to Coach Gregg Meyers before the meet on Saturday. There are plenty of myths that are going on about this program. The emphasis is on myths. He told me that Saturday was not the state meet. They trained through the meet putting in high mileage during the week including Friday. What is not a myth is that the Trojans are ready run when it gets to state series time. Their split was 40 seconds on four and 60 seconds on five. Nate Herridge (16^th) and Matt Osmulski (17^th) was close together and will be in the top 20 at state baring injuries. This is where I see them right now.

 

#5 Johnsburg has a good team. They have building for this season the last three years. Moving down to 1A was a godsend after being one of the smallest schools in 2A in 2013. Johnsburg is very close talent wise to Rockford Christian. Matt Stelmasek (9^th) and Noah Miller (15^th) are capable of placing in the top 25 at state. Their split on five was 68 seconds. They had four runners in before the tight pack of Christian began. Johnsburg is a team to watch.

 

#7 Monticello could jump into the top five. We will see how they run this Saturday at Peoria. The Sages finished second at Springfield ahead of three ranked 2A schools. Matt Norvell finished second only 28 seconds behind Mahomet’s Alex Keeble. Monticello’s split on five was 75 seconds. The talent is there for a state meet team trophy. #6 St. Joseph-Ogden finished second behind Tolono last week at PB without two of their top seven. That was evident by the 86 second split on five last week.

 

If we ran the state meet right now, the top seven schools could finish within 35 points of each other. That is how closely matched these teams are right now. Just like we said last week in the 3A Boys rankings, the top seven will be fluid the next few weeks always changing. Anyone of the seven teams is capable of being #1.

 

One team to keep an eye on is #9 Freeburg. They ran without #1 runner Jonathan Kraus who was out with illness last Saturday. They would have been closer to the top in that meet. Even without Kraus, their split was only 46 seconds. Keep an eye on them.

 

Four teams moved into the top 25 this week. #18 Carlinville moves in after their 11^th place finish at Peoria. A 13^th place finish moves #20 Stanford Olympia in. #21 Galva Mid-County and #23 Macomb moved into the top 25 based on their 14^th and 16^th place finishes at Peoria.

 

 

1A Girls

 

The door is not closed on the St. Teresa chances for another state championship. They know where they need to be after finishing second to Urbana University in Peoria last Saturday. Remember last year they finished second to Monticello at St. Joseph at the end of September. The same thing applies this year.

 

#1 Urbana University could have two of the top five runners in the state. Arielle Summitt is the real deal after she won the individual race even though she took a wrong turn. Annmarie Michael finished fourth in that race. You can expect her to be closer to her teammate as the season progresses. The split between 2 and three needs to come down. Their split on 3 to 5 is 50 seconds. The gap between 2 and three was 80 seconds. That split could come down a little bit, so work will need to be done on that pack.

 

#2 St. Teresa has a solid first four that makes Coach Todd Vohland smile. It has been a pack of three the first two meets. Ashton Jerger getting closer to her teammates making the split only 28 seconds between the four is promising. The split is 106 seconds on five. Watch for that to come down in the next few weeks.

 

The biggest surprise last week was the third place finish of #8 Rock Island Alleman at Detweiller Park. 1A Girls has some strong runners up front so that you usually see some huge 5 runner splits. Alleman’s 68 second split on five off of the 22^nd place finish of Addie Pulley could put this team in the trophy hunt in November. The same thing applies to #9 Rochester who finished only three points behind Alleman. Their five runner split was a healthy 59 seconds. If Taylor Bartolozzi and Madeline Campbell can move up, the Rockets could see themselves back into the top five.

 

#7 Freeburg finished sixth but remains in their ranking position. They missed one of their top seven due to ACT testing. Their split was 76 seconds on five runners. I only moved Kewanee-Annawan Wethersfield down to #5 even though they placed 26^th at Peoria. The Flying Geese were missing three runners from their top five due to ACT testing. With Kirstie Ramsey, who finished third last week up front, the talent is there for this team to challenge for a trophy.

 

#3 St. Joseph-Ogden just edges #6 Tolono Unity 27-30 at the PBL Invitational last week. Abby Gawthorp leads a team that had a solid 18 second split on their first four runners. Unity received a 1-2 finish from Taylor Renfroe and Nicole Bagwell. Their split on four was 77 seconds last Saturday. That will come down in a bigger high pressure meet.

 

#4 Petersburg PORTA continued to shine with a convincing 29-84 win over #22 Litchfield. Maria and Adrienne Brauer came in together with Maria winning in 17:53 on the 2.9 mile course. Their third runner Anna Tamborski finished fifth overall and was within 75 seconds of the Brauer sisters. The Bluejays placed five runners in the first 19.

 

Four teams moved into the top 25. #11 Winnebago moved into the top 25 after a seventh place finish in Peoria. #13 Seneca finished right behind Winnebago placing four runners in the first 51. #21 Carlinville was the other Peoria meet team to enter after they finished 21^st. Monticello jumps into the top 25 at #12. The Sages finished fifth at the Lee Halberg Invitational. Madison Tutich finished fourth to lead her team. Their split on five at that meet was 149 seconds. That will need to come down if they want to move into the top ten.