2020 IHSA Class 3A Sectional Highlights

 

By Michael Newman

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Instead of ending this season at Detweiller Park, four sectional meets closed down October and this crazy 2020 cross country season. When you look back at what Saturday had to offer, we were blessed. Great races at all four locations.

 

Here is a look at each of the fours sectionals and the highlights from those races.

 

York too much for field at Lyons Township; Schlenker move nets her sectional title

 

The York Girls Team has been making small statements in the past two weeks. Their performance in their win at the Lyons Township Sectional displayed why they are one of the top Class 3A Girls in the state. The Lady Dukes picked up wins in each of the first three races on their way to scoring 40 points for the sectional title. Batavia was the closest school to York scoring 108 points to finish second. It was like clockwork Saturday morning as every race went off in 45 minute intervals. It was like clockwork that the York runners shot to the lead. Maggie Owens shot to the lead early in the 6/7 runner race with teammate Erin Powers close by. Owens won the race (finished 22nd overall) running 18:26. It was the same in the 4/5 runner race as Katelyn Winton (10th overall) built up a 10 second lead through 2-miles on teammate Katherine Klimek (13th overall). Winton went on to run 17:49 and won over a hard charging Klimek who ran 17:55. Michaela Quinn has been the team’s top runner most of the season but was placed in the 2/3 race. Heather Durrant of South Elgin shot to the lead at the start and held it for the first kilometer of the race. Then it was Quinn’s turn to take the leading privileges. No one else had a chance. Quinn’s time of 17:20 won the race and was the third fastest time of the day among all runners. Catherine Sommerfeld (7th overall) ran 17:44 to finish second in that race passing York’s Bria Bennis in the final 15-meters. Bennis ran 17:46 (8th overall).

 

The final race of the morning for the Girls meet shaped up exactly as it has gone for the past three weeks. By the time the pack got to the mile, Katrina Schlenker of Batavia and Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South led a pack that included Kate Dickman of Lyons Township, Audrey Allman of Glenbard West, and Brooke Berger of York. Schlenker and Poglitsch began to make moves in the next half-mile. The pack of runners behind them did not follow. One thing that was noticeable as the two runners passed 2-miles in 11:18, they were on the same pace that Quinn had run the race before. That status changed in the next 300-meters when Schlenker made a big move into the wind just before the finish line. Poglitsch made the effort to stay with Schlenker. Like the races before, Schlenker just had too much. The Batavia ran 17:05 in windy conditions for the win nine seconds ahead of Poglitsch who ran 17:14. Dickman was next (17:33) passing Allman (17:34) in the final meters of the race. Berger was close behind in 17:37.

 

York’s top five split in this meet was only 29 seconds.

 

Batavia’s second-place finish was pushed by top 20 overall finishes from Lauren Hunecke (16th) and Jenna Schifferer (19th). St. Charles East finished third (111 points) behind top 11 finishes of Morgan Sandlund (9th) and Marley Andelman (11th). Lyons Township finished fourth (137 points). If there was a state meet next weekend, St. Charles North would have qualified as they finished fifth (149 points) behind the 14-15 finish from Rachel Price and Ella Townsend. Wheaton-Warrenville South would have as well (151 points) behind the finish of Poglitsch and the 23rd place finish from Becca Hauenstein. Huntley was seventh (193 points) paced by top runner Molly Allen (25th)

 

Top three sweep helps St. Charles East edge York and Lyons Township for Boys Sectional Title

 

The sectional team title came down to the final race of the day Saturday afternoon at the Lyons Township South Campus course at Western Springs. The Saints used wins in the final two races from Micah Wilson and Luke Schildmeyer helped the Saints win the team sectional title with 58 points holding off determined efforts from second-place York (63 points) and Lyons Township (67 points). St. Charles East Coach Chris Bosworth made the decision after their conference meet that Wilson would run the third race of the afternoon. “Schildmeyer won the conference meet race so we decided he would run in the final race,” Bosworth said. “Plus Schildmeyer is a senior, Wilson a junior.” Wilson took his opportunity in the 2/3 race taking the lead 200-meters into the race and never looking back. He opened up a 10 second lead passing the first mile in 4:43, 2-miles in 9:38 with a lead at that point of over 20 seconds. He came across the line in 14:43 and the fastest time run in the Boys Meet.

 

The wild-card team in this meet was York who was happy just to compete in this meet. They could not have dreamed of this opportunity after finishing sixth in the WSC-Silver Meet. They did get their top seven runners back just in time for the regional. Finishing behind Lyons Township by six points last week at Proviso West giving everyone a glimpse of what the team could do.

 

The Dukes had fire in their eyes in the first race of the afternoon. Jackson Geiger took the lead with 800-meters left and went on to win in 15:45 (22nd overall). Teammate David Rosario was next in 15:52 just two seconds ahead of St. Charles East’s Tyler Tobin (15:54) who ended up the team’s fifth-runner by the end of the meet.

 

York’s momentum continued in the next race that had the teams’ fourth and fifth runners. Sawyer Madell of Lyons Township made a move with 800-meters to go. It looked like the Lyons Township runner would get the win. On came a charging Sam Ayers of York hoping to pass Madell for the win. Madell made some moves in the final 30-meters hoping to slow down the York runner but with no avail. Ayers snuck by Madell just before the line for the race win. Both runners were timed in 15:34. The third race had Wilson winning with the overall sectional title with his win. There was plenty of action behind Wilson especially in the final 400-meters of the race. York’s Collin Hill passed the Lyons Township duo of Jocqael Thorpe and Charlie McLawthorn to secure a second-place finish in the race and fifth-place overall.

 

The last thing that Bosworth said to his runner Luke Schildmeyer was not to take the lead of the first mile of the final race of the day. There was no one that wanted to take the lead in that first mile. The group passed the mile mark in 5:03. It was just as fast as the first race of the day featuring the sixth and seven runners. Schildmeyer waited another 400-meters and then took off immediately separating himself from the rest of the race. Schildmeyer ran negative splits the rest of the way clocking 4:45 for the second-mile, then crossing the line in 14:47.

 

It was the reaction of the pack that had some of the coaches viewing the race on that course confused. Everyone was content to keep the same pace. It picked up a little as the group passed 2-miles in 10:00. There were no major surges at that point. The action started in the final kilometer of the race when Owen Hays of Lyons Township and Pierce Cousins of Glenbard West started to ramp up their kicks. Noah Eng of St. Charles North was close along with York’s Mickey Vreeland and Maine South’s Matt Coyle. Vreeland made a major surge making the final turn with 00-meters left in the race. The slower pace at the beginning was beginning to effect some of the front runners. Vreeland was the strongest of them all running 15:02 and finishing second in the race, fourth overall. There was confusion at the finish as runners found extra strength to finish. Eng ran 15:09 to finish third. Coyle was fourth (15:10) with Hays next also at 15:10.

 

St. Charles East had the strength up front with the sweep up front with Wilson, Schildmeyer, and Loomis. Connor Murphy was 48 seconds behind Loomis as the team’s fourth runner finishing 24th overall. Tyler Tobin, who finished third in the first race, stepped up as the team’s fifth runner placing 29th six seconds behind Murphy.

 

York’s performance getting within five points of points of St. Charles East and four points ahead of Lyons Township considering the Lions won by six points the week before. Vreeland and Hill were separated by only two seconds and in the top five. Sam Ayers (15th), Ethan Summer (19th), and Garrett Schwan (20th) were separated by 10 seconds. York placed six runners ahead of St. Chares East’s fourth runner and seven runners ahead of East’s fifth runner. Lyons had the edge on York on the first three runners. It was York’s pack that was the difference. The Dukes had a 42 second split on their top five runners. It was only 50 seconds on their top seven runners.

 

Lyons Township ran a strong race led by the sixth-place finish by Thorpe and ninth-place finish from Hays. Charlie McLawthorn (11th), Sawyer Madell (16th), and Sam Nowak (25th) rounded out their top five that had a 42 second on their top five.

 

Maine South was fourth (154 points) led by top 10 finishes from Coyle and Eamonn Brady (10th). Wheaton-Warrenville South placed fifth (161 points) led by the 13 place finish from Michael Atkins. Glenbard West, led by the 14th place finish by Pierce Cousins, scored 177 points to finish sixth. St. Charles North (215 points) finished seventh.

 

Welin runs state’s fastest time at Lincoln Park; Naperville North (as usual) win the Girls Sectional title

 

Josephine Welin of Oak Park-River Forest is rounding into real racing form. The one thing to remember is that she has not run with anyone in the past three races. Welin broke away from Maggie Gamboa of Naperville North early in the race. The junior went on to run 16:33 to break the Lincoln Park course record set earlier in the day by Ava Parekh. Gamboa was 4 seconds behind in second (17:13). Teammate Audrey Mendrys won the 2/3 race in 17:34 and finished third overall. Melissa Jachim of Downers Grove North (17:34) and Maria Widmann (17:45) rounded out the top five. Naperville North has been the top team in Class 3A Girls the past and showed why they are once again. The Lady Huskies five runners in the top 13 to easily win with 41 points. North had the strength up front with the 2-3 finish from Gamboa and Mendrys. Lucy Westlake, Sophie Golobitsch, and Campbell Petersen finished 11 to 13 with only 10 seconds separating them. Their top five split was 64 seconds.

 

Oak Park-River Forest, behind Welin’s win and top 20 finishes from Avery Minnis and Lenny Sterritt, scored 91 points to finish second. WSC-Silver rival Downers Grove North had 99 points to finish third (99 points) behind the top 10 finish from Jachim. Oswego East ended their season strong by scoring 128 points to finish fourth led by Naylah Allen’s ninth-place finish. Downers Grove South was fifth (159 points) with Sophia McNerney leading the team finishing 17th. Neuqua Valley powered by the 5-6 finish from Widmann and Carissa Hamilton, was just one point behind Downers Grove South (160 points) to finish sixth. Oswego’s Audra Soderlind finished eighth to help Oswego finish seventh scoring 173 points.

 

Pack running leads Downers Grove North to narrow sectional title win, Redemption in Graham’s individual win in Chicago

 

It was a big mistake for Naperville Central’s Arthur Graham in last year’s state final when he went out too fast and suffer the effects of that finishing 78th. He went out in a high note on the final day of October on the shores of Lake Michigan. Graham pulled away from the pack to run his fastest time of the season, 14:45, to win the individual sectional title by nine seconds ahead of super sophomore Daniel Watcke of Hinsdale Central. Watcke was the only runner under 15-minutes in this meet as he was times in 14:54. Nicolas Dovalovsky of Neuqua Valley was next across the line as he ran 15:03. Jake Phillips of Marist finished a great junior season by running 15:08 to finish fourth. Aaron Hou of Jones College Prep rounded out the top five by running 15:12.

 

Downers Grove North has displayed some great pack running down the stretch. The Trojans needed that again to hold off a god Neuqua Valley team 77 to 82. North placed five runners in the first 32 in this loaded field led by the 7-9 finish from Evan Cummins and Roy Llewellyn. Kyle McNally (17th), Chris Allen (21st), and Elijah Chen (32nd) rounded out their top five. Their split on their scorers was only 27 seconds. Neuqua Valley also needed that tight pack to stay close to the WSC-Silver Champion. Aidan Stone was the team’s second runner behind Dovalovsky to finish 15th. Then followed Noah Schalliol (19th), Austin Burke (23rd), and Vasant Fong (34th). The split between Stone and was only 19 seconds. Naperville North placed third (101 points) behind a 6-8 finish from Gabe Ryan and Tommy Paltzer. The Huskies had four runners in the first 24. Julian Head was the team’s fifth runner lacing 60th.

 

Sandburg returned some of their runners from quarantine but were missing two of their top five. The Eagles still scored 114 points to finish fourth led by Declan Tunney’s 11th place finish. Hinsdale Central finished fifth (130 points). Waubonsie Valley only had a 12 second split on their first five led by Angel Solis finishing 22nd. The Warriors finished sixth (148 points). Chicago City Champion Jones College Prep finished seventh (171 points) behind Hou’s top five finish. Oswego just missed the top seven by two points scoring 183 points.

 

Negovetich stays undefeated at Hoffman Estates; Prospect too much for field in sectional team title

 

The story has been the same all season for Aly Negovetich of Grant Community. The gun goes off, the junior leads, and never looks back. It was a little different for her in Saturday’s race at Hoffman Estates High School. The junior had company early on with Brooke Johnston of Lake Zurich, Anna Harden of Hersey, and Morgan Macke of Loyola Academy hanging close. In the end, Negovetich pulled away from the field to run 17:35 for the individual sectional championship. Mackie is one of the top freshmen in the state. She finished this season by running 17:42 to finish second. Johnston was next in third (17:49) followed by Harden (17:57) and Skyler Kreunen of Lake Forest (18:02) to finish fifth.

 

Prospect has been dominant in their region all season. The Lady Knights won this sectional with 69 points and placing four runners in the 20 to accomplish that. Hailey Erickson was the top runner for Prospect on Saturday as she ran 18:11 to finish 6th. Audrey Ginsberg (11th), Cameron Kalaway (14th), and Annika Erickson (20th) were the team’s next three runners. Lily Ginsberg finished 29 as the team’s fifth runner. The top five split for the Lady Knights Saturday was 57 seconds.

 

Loyola Academy finished second (99 points) behind top ten finishes from Mackie and Maeve Norman (10th). Barrington came on strong at the end of the year finishing third (101 points) paced by Molly FitzPatrick’s seventh-place finish. Lake Zurich had three runners in the first 13 with Johnston, Kristin Loftus (8th), and Ruby Lueras (13th). The Lady Bears finished fourth with 147 points. New Trier (151 points), Lake Forest (155 points), and Hersey (182 points) finished fifth through seventh.

 

5 in the first 19 helps New Trier to sectional win, Wiley steps into spotlight in individual win

 

This was thought to be a repeat of what happened a week ago at the Loyola Regional with close finishes in both the team and individual title races. Someone forgot to tell Luke Wiley of Warren Township what the script was supposed to be. Wiley finished third at the North Suburban Conference behind Lake Zurich’s Jacob Myers and Jacob Gilboy. He got a confidence boost in his regional race winning by 20 seconds. He took the big step in this race capturing the sectional title (15:07) by 12 seconds ahead of Lake Zurich’s Myers. Nick Falk and Charlie Siebert both ran 15:22 to finish third and fourth. Loyola’s Spencer Werner was another five seconds back (15:27) in fifth.

 

New Trier kind of got scared back into reality last week at Loyola when they won by only four points ahead of Barrington. The New Trier that we have seen all season was back on display Saturday afternoon. The Trevians were helped by the 3-4 finish of Falk and Siebert. What really helped New Trier was putting all of their scorers in the top 20 to score 50 points and win the sectional title at Hoffman Estates. George Cahill was the team’s third runner (13th) followed by George Esteve (15th) and Conor O’Neill (19th). The scorers all in the first 19 only had a 32 second split between them.

 

Barrington finished second (72 points) using a top ten finish from Joey Furlong (9th). The Broncos had Alfredo Arnieri (12th) followed by Jake Ziebarth (14th), Grant Ackard (23rd), and Ryan Fryer (25th). Their top five split was 32 seconds. Lake Zurich scored 86 points to finish third led by Myers’ finish and Jack Gilboy placed eighth. Danny Burns was the team’s third runner (16th) followed by Dylan Myers (33rd) and Kevin Loftus (39th).

 

Hersey led the next pack of teams scoring 149 points led by Quinn Born’s 11th place finish. Loyola Academy (158 points), Libertyville (193 points), and Warren Township (204 points) finished fifth through seventh.

 

Lockport surprises Yorkville for Normal team title; the freshman leads them all in individual win

 

Lockport needed everything to go right in each of the four wave races that would take place on Saturday morning at windy Maxwell Park in Normal. It was a perfect day for the Lady Porters as they scored 68 points to edge pre-race favorite by two points. Lockport has the tradition of running tight packs. They did so in this meet with a 2-3-4 split of nine seconds and five runners in the top 25. That split was 64 seconds. Kayla Shea led Lockport finishing 7th. Then came the pack with Monica Skibicki (11th), Megan Mitchell (14th), and Josephine Bober (16th). Elizabeth Bollinger (25th) was the team’s fifth runner.

 

Yorkville did not have their best race of the season running a 56 second split on their top five. Hailey Simmons was the Lady Foxes top runner placing 9th. Teammate Helena Kleronomos was 18 seconds in 10th. Anna Hunter (12th), Margaret Hunter (21st), and Sara Klemm (23rd) followed. Yorkville had their five runners in before Lockport’s fifth. The key was Lockport having the first runners across and then four runners in before Yorkville’s fourth.

 

Ali Ince of Normal Community has been running so tough towards the end of this season. The freshman ran 17:46 to win the sectional title on her home course finishing ahead of O’Fallon’s Peyton Schieppe by seven seconds. Alyssa Elliott of Belleville West (17:57), Gabby Kics of Minooka (17:58), and Riley Knoyle of Edwardsville (18:01) were the next three runners in the top five.

 

Normal Community and Minooka both scored 130 points to tie for third. Edwardsville was just two points back in finishing fifth. Lincoln-Way East (162 points) and O’Fallon (107 points) rounded out the top seven.

 

Winds can’t stop Watts in sectional win, Yorkville in charge in Normal Sectional team win

 

Winds were gusting over 20 mph by the time that Edwardsville’s Ryan Watts stepped to the line for the start of his race Saturday afternoon at Normal’s Maxwell Park. Watts bided his time for the first half of the race. The junior pulled away to run 15:21 for the win 15 seconds ahead of Quincy’s Fiker Rosen (15:36). Oliver Burns of Plainfield North is having a great end to his sophomore season. He ran 15:37 to finish third.

 

Yorkville placed four runners in the top 10 to help them win the sectional team title with 61 points. Austin Popplewell (4th), Colin Kachlic (5th), Ivan Westcott (7th), and Nate Summers (10th) were only separated by 15 seconds. Jack Stillmunkes was Yorkville’s fifth runner (44th) with a 16:42 time. Yorkville’s top five split was 61 seconds.

 

Minooka put three runners in the top 10 to help them to a second-place finish with 73 points. Vincent Van Eck led the Indians (6th) with Daniel Schalk (8th) and Zachary Balzer (10th) close behind. The three runners were only separated by nine seconds. Jack Manning (22nd) and Alex Forster (36th) were the team’s fourth and fifth runners. Minooka’s top five split was 47 seconds. Edwardsville finished third (94 points) behind Watts’ win and a ninth-place finish from Geordan Patrylak. The Tigers split from their second through fifth runners was 46 seconds.

 

Plainfield North (125 points), Lincoln-Way East (157 points), and Lincoln-Way Central (176 points) finished fourth through sixth. Plainfield South and Lockport Township both scored 177 points tying for seventh.