IHSA Class 2A State Series – Five XC Regional Meets to Watch This Weekend

By Michael Newman

You don’t expect too many surprises during Regional Saturday especially with the way that these 12 meets are set up. Conditions should be good on Saturday especially after what runners experienced last week. It will be a shock if a ranked team does not advance to Sectional Saturday.

We previewed five regionals with at least one per sectional.

Good luck to all teams and runners that will compete on Saturday.

Kaneland Regional @ Kaneland Campus Course, Maple Park

Boys Ranked Teams - #9 Marmion Academy, #10 Kaneland, #25 Dixon, #27 Sycamore; Girls Ranked Teams - #12 Dixon, #13 Wheaton St. Francis, #26 Rosary.

Regional Notes – One of the tougher regionals in Class 2A. There should not be any surprises with teams advancing next week to Woodstock. Four teams are ranked in the Boys race. Top 10 teams Marmion Academy and Kaneland will challenge for the team titles. Marmion has a 2-5 pack that runs within 20 seconds of each other led by John Daffenberg who could finish in the top five. Kaneland has the strength up front led by individual favorite Evan Nosek and followed by David Valkanov and Evan Whildin who could finish in the top five individually. Kaneland needs to keep their split from three to four under 50 seconds to challenge for the team win. Sycamore led by possible top five finisher Naif Al Harby should advance to sectionals as well as St. Francis and Wheaton Academy also making the Woodstock trip.

Sundara Weber of Sandwich should be the individual favorite in the Girls race. Josslyn Wade of Fenton is having a breakout sophomore season and could be the closest to Weber. Wheaton St. Francis, led by all-state runner Margaret Andrzejewski and freshmen Alicen Sheldon and Erin Hinsdale will challenge the pack of Dixon led by Kamryn Rogers and Emma Smith for the team title. Rosary, led by Vivian Wyler and Chiara Surtz could be a surprise at the top. The Royals will need 5 runners in the top 20 to accomplish that. Four teams will challenge for the final three qualifying spots led by host Kaneland close to a lock and Sycamore, Wheaton Academy, and Sandwick looking for a top six finish.

Lakes Community Regional @ Eagle Acres, Lake Villa

Boys Ranked Teams - #11 Prairie Ridge, #19 Grayslake Central, #21 Lakes Community; Girls Ranked Teams - #5 Grayslake Central, #15 Rockford Boylan, #16 Lake Forest, #27 Lakes Community, #28 Mundelein Carmel

Regional Notes – Prairie Ridge’s win last week at the Fox Valley Conference Championships was supplied by good pack running behind Will Gelon’s individual race win. The Wolves should be one of the team favorites. Gelon will challenge Trey Sato of Grayslake Central for the individual race title. Gelon’s teammate Evan Gilleland and Gerrit Dam could challenge for a top five finish along with Cole Bonham of Mundelein Carmel and Lakes Community’s Payton Whitehead and Jackson Summy. Prairie Ridge will need three runners in the top 10 along with their top 5 in before 20th to secure a win. Lakes finished second on a tiebreak and three points ahead of Grayslake Central last Saturday at NLCC. However, Grayslake Central could have the edge on their conference rival having five runners in before Lakes’s fourth runner and all of their top 5 in the top 20. It is pretty set for the next three qualifying spots with Antioch, Niles Notre Dame, and Mundelein Carmel expected to advance.

Two time defending 2A State Champion Grayslake Central should be the favorite for the Girls team title. The Rams looked strong last week in their win at the NLCC Championships. Lakes could be close to Grayslake Central but have been without their #1 runner Paige-Elicia Caruth for most of the season due to an injury. Madison Twarling has stepped up as the team’s top runner and will be one of the race favorites after winning at the NLCC Championships last week. Grayslake Central’s Ava Henne and Sara Armstrong should be among the front runners in this race along with Lucy Schlachtenhaufen of Lake Forest and Izzy Bing of Mundelein Carmel. Lakes Community, and Lake Forest will challenge for the second spot behind Grayslake Central. Mundelein Carmel and Antioch look to advance out of this regional. Prairie Ridge and Grayslake North look to challenge for the final qualifying spot.

Normal University Regional @ Maxwell Park, Normal

Boys Ranked Teams - #3 Normal University, #22 Mt. Zion, #29 Chatham-Glenwood; Girls Ranked Teams - #1 Chatham-Glenwood; #9 Mt. Zion, #17 Normal University, #20 Mahomet-Seymour, #21 Rochester.

Regional Notes - #1 Chatham-Glenwood are the favorites in the Girls race after a commanding win last week at the Central State Eight Conference Meet. The Titans have the advantage in this race as they could finish their top 5 runners in the top 10 led by Ali Londrigan and Ashlyn Chopra. Mt. Zion ran well also winning the Apollo Conference Championships last week. Renee Ballard should be among the top 10 runners in this race. The Braves have a good pack behind Ballard that could have their top 5 in the first 20 places. It will be tough to match what Glenwood has. Normal University is a mystery in this race. Natalie Bierbaum and Zoe Carter could be among the top three and a spot for the Pioneers to challenge for second. Carter did not run last week. Their top five runners to beginning of the year of Reagan Bull and Lana Alcorn who have not raced since mid-September. Mahomet-Seymour and Rochester will be among the top six teams in this race. Taylorville could be the sixth team to advance. Becca Heitzig of Lincoln won at Central State Eight by seven seconds ahead of Natalie Bierbaum. Two of the top runners in Class 2A will face each other again for the win on a fast Maxwell Park course.

Metamora Regional @ Black Partridge Park, Metamora

Boys Ranked Teams - #1 Morton, #17 Washington; Girls Ranked Teams - #2 Washington, #3 Morton, #18 Metamora, #28 Morris.

Regional Notes – The top Boys team in Class 2A responded from their win at Metamora with a convincing win at the Mid-Illini Conference Meet. The Potters return too Black Partridge Park as the big favorite in this meet. Washington is the only other ranked team in this race. Josh Weeks of Morton is the race favorite with Cuyler Swanson of Morris, Sam Tellefson of Washington, and Morton’s Christian Harris and Yonas Wuthrich. Pontiac and Morris should challenge for the third spot in this regional. Metamora and Manteno should also advance to Geneseo.

Six points separated Mid Illini Conference Champion Washington from an up and coming Morton last week at Detweiller Park. The two teams should be just as close this week depending if both teams run their complete top seven in this race. Metamora, Joliet Catholic, and Morris will challenge for the third spot. Sophia Ramirez of Washington should be one of the race favorites challenged by Claire Blotnik of Joliet Catholic and Isabella Grieder of Morton.

Trinity Regional @ Miller Meadow Woods, Forest Park

Boys Ranked Teams - #4 Benet Academy, #5 Glenbard South; Girls Ranked Teams - #8 Benet Academy, #30 Nazareth Academy.

Regional Notes – Two of the top fives teams, Benet Academy and Glenbard South, should qualify out of this regional and advance to the sectional held next week at Lewis University. Glenbard South did not have their top runner Jaden Frederick in winning the Upstate Eight title last week and will need Frederick in this week’s race to overtake Benet Academy. Finn Richards will challenge Frederick and South’s Tim Jochum for the individual title. Both teams should have their top five in the top 12. 4-6 points should separate both teams. Luis Flores of St. Laurence you could see finish in the top five. Hinsdale South and St. Laurence should advance in this race. Look for Nazareth Academy and possibly Elmwood Park make it to sectionals.

Benet Academy has moved up the 2A Girls rankings and into the top 10 after winning last week at the ESCC Championships. Nazareth Academy has not had their top runner Sophia Towne since the Solorio race on September. A healthy Towne could get the Roadrunners close to Benet Academy. Delilah Helenhouse of Benet Academy and Molly McGreal of Trinity will be the individual runners to watch in this race. The two teams could be close to 100 points ahead of the rest of the qualifying teams including St. Laurence, Hinsdale South, and Elmwood Park. Trinity and Glenbard South look to be the teams that will challenge for the sixth and final sectional qualifying spot.