IHSA Class 2A Regional Highlights

October 22, 2023

 

By Michael Newman

 

Galesburg Regional @ Lake Storey Park, Galesburg

Qualifiers advance to the Geneseo Sectional

Girls Race - A 1-2 finish from Katie Sell and Abby Tudeen helped #4 Dunlap win the regional title with 31 points. #23 Geneseo (73 points) and #25 Sterling (74 points) finished second and third. Sell ran 19:02 to capture the regional title with Tudeen running 19:21 to finish second ahead of Ariel Hernandez of Rock Falls (19:31). Dunlap put all 7 runners in the top 13 places. Their top five split that finished in the top 11 was 111 seconds. Rock Falls (89 points), Peoria Richwoods (138 points), and Macomb 148 points) finished in the top six qualifying for next week’s sectional.

 

Boys Race – Dale Johnson was way under control as he took a step to next week’s sectional at Geneseo. The Sterling senior ran 15:44 to win by 15 seconds ahead of Geneseo’s Dylan Gehl (15:59) and Sam Mosbarger (16:11). Dominic Cantarini of Galesburg finished fourth (16:12) with Brecken Fahrenkrug of Illinois Valley Central finishing fifth (16:40). #15 Sterling placed 5 runners in the top 18 to win the team title with 43 points. The 6-7 finish from Parker Janssen and Aalin Scmidt helped Sterling to the win along with Johnson. #14 Geneseo finished second (55 points) with #18 Dunlap finishing third (80 points). Illinois Valley Central (117 points), Rock Falls (121 points), and Macomb (154 points) also advanced.

 

Highland Regional @ Fireman’s Park, Alhambra

Qualifiers advance to the Jacksonville Sectional

Girls Race - #7 Waterloo with the help of placing three runners in the top four easily won the Regional team title with 32 points. Cameron Crump led the Bulldogs running 18:16 to win the regional individual title. Molly Robertson of Carterville ran 18:21 to finish second ahead of Waterloo’s Angelynn Kanyuck (18:29) and Danielle Mudd (18:47). Payton Frey of Highland finished fifth (19:07). Waterloo placed 5 runners in the top 14 to secure their win. Mascoutah finished second (80 points) ahead of #22 Carterville (95 points). Highland scored 114 points to advance to sectionals along with Troy Triad (135 points) and Carbondale (169 points).

 

Boys Race - #12 Bethalto Civic Memorial  took an individual win along with placing 5 runners in the top 19 to a regional title scoring 56 points. Max Weber, who transferred during the summer from Edwardsville-Metro East Lutheran, has stepped up as the top runner for the Eagles. He ran 15:21 for the individual win ahead of Drew Twyman of Troy Triad (15:31), Zion Wilkins of Carbondale (15:36), and Ethan Hogan of Columbia (15:37). Civic Memorial had a 60 second split on their scoring pack led by Weber and followed by DJ Dutton (10), Justice Eldridge (12), Lucas Naugle (14), and Jacob Cranford (19). Their split from Dutton to Cranford was 21 seconds. Mascoutah qualified for the sectionals finishing second with 81 points ahead of #16 Troy Triad (92 points) and #26 Waterloo (96 points). #20 Highland (116 points) and Carbondale (130 points) are also sectional qualifiers.

 

Kaneland Regional @ Kaneland HS, Maple Park

Qualifiers advance to the Woodstock Sectional

Girls Race - #13 Wheaton St. Francis put three runners in the top five to help the Spartans score 52 points to win the regional title. Sundara Weber once again ran alone. The sophomore ran 17:35 to win by 77 seconds ahead of Josslyn Wade from Fenton (18:52). St. Francis’ freshman pack of Erin Hinsdale (18:58), Eleana Mamminga (19:07), and Alicen Sheldon (19:17) finished third through fifth. Margaret Andrzejewski (17) and Siena Schwan (23) rounded out the Spartans’ top five. #12 Dixon finished second (65 points) led by Daniella Lovett finishing ninth. #28 Rosary finished third (108 points) led by top 10 finishes from Vivian Wyller (6) and Chiara Surtz (8). Kaneland (113 points), Wheaton Academy (128 points), and Sycamore (159 points) also were sectional qualifiers. Sandwich finished seventh missing a sectional trip by one point.

 

Boys Race - #9 Marmion Academy edged #10 Kaneland 44-48 for the regional team title. Kaneland’s Evan Nosek of Kaneland ran 15:24 for the regional title 10 seconds ahead of teammate David Valkanov (15:36). Naif Al-Harby of Sycamore and Aaron Conderman of Dixon both ran 15:41 finishing third and fourth. Marmion placed 5 runners in the top 12 with only a 28 second split. John Daffenberg finished fifth to lead his team. Matthew Sullivan (8), Michael Whitacre (9), and Connor Carlson (10), and Nathan Brandon were among the runners in that pack. St. Francis finished third ahead of #25 Dixon (99 points), #27 Sycamore (111 points), and Fenton (159 points).

 

Lakes Community Regional @ Eagle Acres, Lake Villa

Qualifiers advance to the Woodstock Sectional

Girls Race - #5 Grayslake Central placed 5 runners in the top 13 with a 63 second split to win the Regional title with 35 points. #27 Lakes Community finished second (77 points) ahead of #16 Lake Forest (86 points). The Rams were led by the win from Ava Henne. The sophomore ran 18:13 for the win ahead of second-place Izzy Bing of Carmel Catholic (18:16), Central’s Sara Armstrong (18:20), Madison Twarling of Lakes Community (18:25), and Lucy Schlachtenhaufen of Lake Forest. Bella Domier (6), Sofia Witt (12), and Jordan Sutter (13) were the rest of the top five for Grayslake Central. Brianna Gara was the second runner for Lakes finishing ninth. It should be a big boost of the Eagles with the return of Paige-Elicia Caruth who had not raced since the middle of September. She finished 13 on Saturday as the team’s third runner. This could set her up for a big race next week knocking off some of the rust from her inactivity. Carmel Catholic (124 points), Prairie Ridge (129  points), and Antioch (134 points) qualified out of this regional.

 

Boys Race - #11 Prairie Ridge made a statement in this regional scoring 37 points placing three runners in the first four, 5 runners in the top 15 to capture the team win. Trey Sato of Grayslake Central continues to make statements in his running. The senior dominated this race running 14:47 to win by 30 seconds ahead of Prairie Ridge’s Will Gelon (15:17), Gerrit Dam (15:36), and Evan Gilleland (15:48). Eddy Klimkowski (13th) and Kevin DeGroot (15th) were the fourth and fifth runners for the Wolves. Their top five split was 67 seconds. #21 Lakes Community finished second (64 points) behind the fifth-place finish from Jackson Summy. #19 Grayslake Central scored 75 points to finish third. Carmel Catholic finished fourth (107 points) ahead of Antioch and Niles Notre Dame who both scored 136 points to finish fifth and sixth place.

 

Latin School Regional @ Legion Park, Chicago

Qualifiers advance to the Trinity Sectional

Girls Race - #14 DePaul College Prep placed all their runners in the top 14 to win this regional with 37 points. One of the better regional races on Saturday happened at this meet. Freshman Juliana Gamboa ran 18:01 to win the individual race by seven seconds ahead of Lulu Ton-That of Northside Prep (18:08. There was almost a minute gap before Fenwick’s Anna Scholtens crossed the line in third. DePaul College was led by a 4-5 finish by Abigail Arseneau and Katherine Radich . Simrin Anderson (7), Gabrielle Walker (10), and Piper Houghton (11) were part of the top five that had a 63 second split. Fenwick scored 61 points to finish second ahead of Payton (69 points), Northside Prep (73 points), Amundsen (146 points), and Lake View (188 points).

 

Boys Race – An extremely close Boys race. #6 Payton Prep edged #28 DePaul College Prep 39-40 for the team title. Payton did not run their top two runners, Gavin Lee and Gabriel Cooper, in this race. Bryan Malkowski of DePaul Prep ran 15:34 to win the individual race by three seconds ahead of Jiberil Lesman of Lake View (15:37). Preston Ellis (15:39) and Tra’Monti Williams (15:40) finished third and fourth ahead of Daniel Goodman from Latin School (15:41). DePaul College Prep had 5 runners in the top 14 with a 76 second split. Payton had 5 runners in the top 15 with a 73 second split. Latin School finished third (79 points) ahead of Lake View (100 points), Northside Prep (121 points), and Amundsen (151 points).

 

Metamora Regional @ Black Partridge Park, Metamora

Qualifiers advance to the Geneseo Sectional

Girls Race - #2 Washington was in complete control in the Girls race placing 5 runners in the top 8 to easily win this Regional with 24 points. Sophia Ramirez of Washington ran 17:42 to win on this 2.94-mile course by 37 seconds ahead of Claire Blotnik of Joliet Catholic (18:19) and another three seconds ahead of Makensi Martin of Morris (18:22). Washington’s pack of Madeline James (4), Jayne Hermann (5), Caylie Ahten (6), and Olivia Nordheim (8) were separated by 31 seconds. #3 Morton finished second with 75 points without one of their top five runners Isabella Grieder. The Potters received top 10 finishes from Sophie Krueger (7th) and Avery Braker (9th). #28 Morris finished third (88 points) ahead of #18 Metamora with 95 points. Joliet Catholic (155 points) and Ottawa (192 points) advanced to Geneseo next Saturday.

 

Boys Race - #17 Washington edges #1 Morton 47-58 to win the Boys team title. Morton did not have one of their top runners Yonas Wuthrich in this race. A big surprise was the individual race win by Cuyler Swanson. The freshman and Josh Weeks of Morton came in together both timed at 15:09.3 with Swanson given the win after video review. Aiden Lee of Pontiac ran 15:25 to finish ahead of Washington’s Ben Gorsage (15:32) and Sam Tellefson 15:34. The Panthers placed 5 runners in the top 15 with their split at 43 seconds. Morton placed 5 runners in the top 19 with a top five split of 81 seconds and a 2-5 split of 35 seconds off second runner Layton Knopp who finished eighth overall. Morris scored 81 points to finish third ahead of Pontiac with 88 points. Metamora (151 points) and Manteno (184 points) finished fifth and sixth.

 

Normal University Regional @ Maxwell Park, Normal

Qualifiers advance to the Jacksonville Sectional

 

Girls Race - The #1 team in Class 2A Chatham-Glenwood ran under control scoring 27 points to claim the regional title. The Titans placed 5 runners in the top 10 with a 66 second split. #17 Normal University finished second (72 points) points led by the 1-2 finish from Natalie Bierbaum and Zoe Carter. Bierbaum ran 17:34 in winning the race with Carter running 18:03 to finish second. Ali Londrigan was the Titans’ top runner timed at 18:04 to finish third. Becca Heitzig of Lincoln looks like she ran under control focusing on the final two weeks of the season. Heitzig ran 18:34 to finish fourth. Glenwood’s second runner was Ashlynn Chopra finishing fifth followed by Sophie Rentmeister (6), Ally Knudson (7), and Brenna Sloman (10th). #9 Mt. Zion finished third (75 points) led by Renee Ballard’s ninth-place finish. #21 Rochester scored 93 points to finish just ahead of #20 Mahomet-Seymour who scored 96 points. Taylorville was the final team qualifier scoring 183 points.

 

Boys Race - #22 Mt. Zion placed two runners in the top 10 to help them win the Regional title. Taylorville scored 63 points finishing second ahead of #3 Normal University (83 points) and Mahomet-Seymour with 84 points. U-High did not run their full lineup in this race. Mason Hart of U-High pulled away to run 15:28 to win the individual race ahead of Julian Baker of Mt. Zion (15:40). Owen Morgan of Taylorville finished third (15:55) ahead of Augustus Gaudio of Mahomet-Seymour (16:00) and Mitchell Hayes of Normal University (16:02). #25 Chatham-Glenwood (102 points) and Lincoln (162 points) punched their ticket to Jacksonville finishing fifth and sixth.

 

Richland County Regional @ Olney Central College, Olney

Qualifiers advance to the Jacksonville Regional

Girls Race – Brooklyn Sweikar ran 18:51 and teammate Farah Scott ran 18:57 to finish second to help #19 Champaign Centennial score 42 points to win the Regional title. The Chargers were helped by having 5 runners in the top 15 with 105 second split. Their 3-5 pack of Brenna Hooper (11), Molly Pate (13), and Lauren Kleber (15) were separated by 26 seconds. Aleigha Garrison of Champaign Central ran 19:02 to finish third. Marley Yau of Urbana (19:05) and Jessica Larsen of Effingham (19:14) finished fourth and fifth. #24 Effingham scored 64 points to finish second. Richland County finished third (89 points) with Champaign Central (94 points), Urbana (106 points), and Mt. Vernon (195 points) finished fourth through sixth. Marion finished seventh missing advancing to the Jacksonville by one point.

 

Boys Race - The story of a meet when Dylon Nalley is competing in it is most likely that he set a course record of some sort. Nalley did it again for Marion setting another course record this time at Olney Central College running 14:33 for the win. He finished 61 seconds ahead of Caleb Mathias of Champaign Central and Mekye Lomax of Marion both ran 15:34 finishing second and third. Fynn Bright of Champaign Central ran 16:10 to finish fourth ahead of Raphael Greer of Marion. The #2 Wildcats placed 4 runners in the top 6, 5 runners in the top 21 to win the regional title with 31 points. #13 Mt. Vernon finished second 69 points led by top 10 finishes by Trey Mygatt (7th) and Caedmon Cook (10th). #23 Champaign Central finished third (99 points) finish ahead of Urbana (102 points), Herrin (117 points), and Salem (178 points) finishing fourth through sixth. Effingham was three points shy of qualifying for the sectional meet.

 

St. Ignatius College Prep Regional @ Midlothian Meadows, Midlothian

Qualifiers advance to the Trinity Sectional

Girls Race - #6 St. Ignatius did not run all of their top seven in this race. It did not seem to matter as the Wolfpack placed 7 runners in the top 8 to easily win the regional with 18 points. Freshman Mary O’Reilly ran 19:30 to win with normal #1 runner Annika Swan at 19:31 to finish second. Taara Sajdeh of Chicago University broke up the pack running 20:05 to finish third. Other team qualifiers in this meet include Chicago University (51 points), Evergreen Park (87 points), Resurrection (122 points), Solorio Academy (150 points), and Chicago (Noble/Butler (169 points).

 

Boys Race – It was the same story for St. Ignatius in this race resting their top seven. The #7 Wolfpack still placed all of their runners in the top 14 to claim the regional title scoring 26 points. Rocco Cipolla of Evergreen Park won the individual race timed at 15:47.  Three underclassmen from St. Ignatius followed led by Brendan Houlihan, a freshman, who ran 16:32 to finish second followed by sophomores Zachary Tan and Ethan Petrillo. Simon Lane finished fifth to lead Chicago University to a second-place finish with 43 points. Evergreen Park finished with 96 points to place third followed by Mt. Carmel (127 points), Solorio Academy (130 points), Lindblom (138 points), and De La Salle (184 points) all advanced to next week.

 

Thornridge Regional @ Thornridge HS, Dolton

Qualifiers advance to the Geneseo Sectional

Girls Race – Niki Tselios dominated this race running 19:19 for Lemont to win the regional individual title by 86 seconds ahead of teammate Maggie Davey and Julie Macias of Bremen who were timed at 20:45. Lemont put three more runners between 10 to 16 to help them win the team title with 44 points. Bremen edged Providence Catholic 76-78 for second place. Agricultural Science (91 points), Tinley Park (112 points), and Oak Forest (124 points) were the other team qualifiers.

 

Boys Race - #30 Oak Forest edged Brother Rice 47-54 for the team title. Gavin O’Connor of Brother Rice ran 16:08 to win ahead of Daniel Kasperan of Marian Catholic by 13 seconds (16:21). Jack Davey of Lemont (16:44), Andrew Straley of Brother Rice (16:58), and Antonio Contreras of Agricultural (17:06) all finished in the top five. Oak Forest placed their runners from 6th to 14^th (6-7-8-12-14) led by Colin O’Brien. The team’s split on five runners was 52 seconds. Brother Rice placed 5 runners in the top 21 (1-4-10-18-21) with the top five split over two minutes. Lemont finished third with 76 points. Agricultural Science (123 points), Providence Catholic (132 points), and Tinley Park (154 points) finished fourth through sixth.

 

Trinity Regional @ Miller Meadows Park, Forest Park

Qualifiers advance to the Trinity Sectional

Girls Race – It was close in this race as #8 Benet Academy edged #30 Nazareth Academy 34-40 for the regional title. Molly McGreal of Trinity and Delliah Helenhouse of Benet Academy both finished with a 17:48 time. McGreal captured the win by three tenths of a second. Payton Mathelier of Benet Academy (18:35), Jadie Chavez of St. Laurence (18:49), and Faye Ferrell were part of the top five individuals.

 

Benet (2-3-5-16-17) had a top five split of 2:44 in this race. The Redwings put their top three in before a Nazareth Academy runner crossed the line was the difference in the race. Nazareth Academy (6-7-8-9-10) ran a great pack off their top runners Sophia Towne and Jane McNamara that kept the Roadrunners close. The team had a 27 second split on the group. Other team qualifiers to next week’s sectional include third-place St. Laurence (118 points), followed by Elmwood Park (127 points), Trinity (136 points), and Glenbard South (146 points). Hinsdale South finished seventh missing qualifying by three points.

 

Boys Race – This Boys sectional will be tough with four teams ranked in the top 10 in the state. It showed in this meet as #5 Glenbard South edged Benet Academy 34-38 for the regional title. Finn Richards of Benet Academy ran 15:16 to individually win by two seconds ahead of Luis Flores of St. Laurence. Both Glenbard South and Benet Academy had good pack races in this meet. Glenbard South placed 5 runners in the top 10 (3-4-8-9-10) with a 44 second split. Jaden Frederick and Tim Jochum were separated by four seconds to lead the pack. Tom Jochum, Lucas Newman, and Michael Bailey were the second group separated by seven seconds to get the Raiders the win. Benet Academy (1-5-6-11-15) had the lead through three runners (12-15) with Richards, Charlie Phelan, and Aiden Hulett separated by 24 seconds. Their overall split was 84 seconds on their top five, 68 seconds on their second through fifth runners.

 

Other qualifiers included St. Laurence scoring 76 points to finish third, Hinsdale South (125 points) led by the sixth-place finish of Wojtek Gilarski, Nazareth Academy (139 points), and Elmwood Park (176 points).

 

Woodstock North Regional @ Emricson Park, Woodstock

Qualifiers advance to the Woodstock Sectional

Girls Race - #11 Crystal Lake South helped by top five finishes from Abby Machesky and Olivia Pinta placed 5 runners in the top 15 to win the team race with 41 points. #10 Crystal Lake Central scored 58 points to finish second ahead of #15 Rockford Boylan who scored 81 points. Hadley Ferrero of Crystal Lake Central pulled away to run 19:13 for the individual win by 13 seconds ahead of Abby Machesky. Johanna Hawley of Rockford Boylan and Olivia Pinta both ran 18:39 finishing third and fourth. Nina Fiore of Belvidere ran 19:42 to finish fifth.

 

Crystal Lake South’s 3-5 pack of Colette Bacidore (10), Victoria Pinta (13), and Lily Brooks (15) were within 43 seconds of each other. Skyler Ferrero also finished eighth to help Central. Burlington Central finished fourth with 125 points followed by Woodstock (132 points) and Belvidere North (143 points).

 

Boys Race – It was all #8 Woodstock in this race. The Blue Streaks placed 5 runners in the top 9 to easily win the team title with 25 points. #24 Crystal Lake Central (72 points) and Burlington Central (83 points) were the closest teams to Woodstock finishing second and third. Ishan Patel led Woodstock running 15:50 for the individual win followed by his brother Aryan (16:11) to finish second. Jakob Crown (6), Ellery Shutt (7), and Cohen Shutt (9) were part of the stop five that had a 68 second split in their top five. Belvidere North (115 points), Rockford Boylan (166 points), and Crystal Lake South (167 points) also advanced to sectionals held on the same Emricson Park that they raced on last Saturday.