Tony Jones takes a look at the top 20 boys and girls teams in class 1A for week three of the cross country season. He also recaps how the previous ranked teams fared for last week. Find out where you rank!
1A Boys
Week Two Ranked Teams Recap
1) Elmwood-Brimfield-The Trojans finished 11th at the First To the Finish Peoria Woodruff Invite with only racing flats on. Watch for this team to step it up later this fall, but clearly they are not without intense competition for the first place victory; Bureau Valley Invite on 9/21is next.
2) Champaign (St. Thomas More)-DNR this week; next up is the Richard Spring Peoria Notre Dame Invite on 9/21.
3) Winnebago- The ‘Bagos took 2nd at First to Finish with a 15:57-16:23 pack (and less than a minute gap between their entire top seven!). The Indians are clearly already in great shape! Idle this week.
4) Shelbyville-Easily won their home invite without their very vital third man. The gap between their 4th and 5th was 20-seconds; next is Tuscola Classic on 9/21.
5) Tolono (Unity)-Finished 2nd at the Paxton-Buckley-Loda Invite without Nick Godsell; next run is the Tuscola Classic on 9/21.
6) Rochester- The Rockets finished 4th at the First to Finish Invite. There was a minute gap between their scoring pack, but more depth is clearly needed for the Rockets to trophy come November; IDLE for the next week.
7) Tremont-Finished 7th at the First to Finish Invite. Connor Ehnle and Calib Imig have been a great 1-2 combo for this team, but the 3-4-5 discrepancy needs to go down if they hope to beat out the amazing pack teams this year; next up is Dunlap Invite.
8) Pleasant Plains-Finished 10th at the First to Finish Invite. But don’t count this team out of the trophy hunt just because they didn’t run as strong of a race as at Taylorville this time around Peoria ; next up is PND on 9/21.
9) Mt. Zion-The Braves stepped up from last week with their 5th place finish at First to Finish. The fifth man discrepancy is still hurting the Braves more than their 1-2 is helping; will run 9/19 at the Macarthur invite.
10) Monticello-The Sages just proved to us why they should be ranked ahead of Elmwood for the state victory! The 15:31-16:14 pack and unchallenged First to Finish victory says it all; dual with St. Joseph 9/19 and then run 9/21 at Tuscola Classic.
11) St. Joseph-Ogden-Won the Paxton Buckley Loda Invite with a very deep 1-6 pack of 16:15-16:57. Yet another deep team to look out for in the Central Illinois area; will run against Monticello 9/19 and at the PND Invite 9/21.
12) Stanford (Olympia)-Finished 9th place at the First to Finish Invite. The team’s 1-2 did not disappoint finishing up front, but noticeable gaps afterwards; running 9/17 against Athens and then return to Detweiller Park for PND on 9/21.
13) Freeburg-Finished 8th at First to Finish with a 15:59-17:05 1-5 pack. This team packed it up 20 seconds apart at state last year, so look out for the Midgets to turn a few heads as they close the gap; dual vs. Sparta on 9/17.
14) Sterling (Newman Central Catholic)-Won the Princeton Invite with a 16:07-17:11 1-5 pack; next up is the Bureau Valley Invite on 9/21.
15) Chicago (Latin)-DNR the past week; running 9/18 at the Lane Tech Invite and 9/21 at the Richard Springs Invite on 9/21.
16) Rockford (Christian)-Surprised everyone with going 3rd place at First to Finish! Nick Monkemeyer has proven to be a reliable low scorer with his individual 3rd place finish, and the Royal Lions followed that up quite nicely with a 16:23-16:41 2-5 pack; next run 9/21 at the Bureau Valley Invite.
17) Paxton Buckley Loda-Finished 3rd at their own invite. Some nice depth, but gaps need to be tightened; Running 9/17 at the Urbana quad meet; 9/19 at Bismark-Henning.
18) Monmouth (Monmouth-Roseville)-Finished 16th at the First to Finish Invite. The potential is there from last year’s resume, but the Titans have to play catch up this year in terms of getting in shape with these other teams; next up is the running 9/17 at Quincy Notre Dame and 9/21 at the Dunlap invitational.
19) Sparta-Finished 2nd at the Herrin Invite. Their 1-2 is solid as projected, but some major gaps afterwards need to be dealt with. Will run 9/17 at their own invitational and 9/21 at the Edwardsville invite.
20) Urbana (University)-Key players are really stepping up to the plate, especially Gunter and Robinson, for a 6th place showing at First to Finish. The Illiniweks are definitely living up to the pre-season hype; watch for them as they compete 9/17 at home and 9/21 at the Tuscola Classic.
Class 1A Girls
Week Two Ranked Teams Recap
1) Monticello- the Sages narrowly beat St. Teresa by two points at First to Finish. There was a18:18-19:01 scoring spread for only a 53 second pack span. This team is definitely holding up to being the projected favorite this year; next up is the Tuscola Classic on 9/21.
2) Decatur (St. Teresa)-Lost to the Sages by only two points at FTTF. The Bulldogs spread 17:55-18:57 gives this unit about a minute span between their 1-5 and the best average time at First to Finish; 9/19 at the Macarthur Invite is next.
3) Rochester-placing 3rd at First to Finish, the Rockets have the pack dynamic down quite well, with an 18:54-19:49 1-5 span. Front runners such as Krissy Finley and Taylor Bartolozzi will need to finish up front for this team to beat the Sages or the Bulldogs; Idle for this week.
4) St. Joseph- Ogden-Triumphed at the Paxton invite in a 34 point victory with all five of their runners in the top 10. 19:11-20:40 split will make for a dangerous pack at Detweiller; next is PND on 9/21.
5) Petersburg (Porta)-The Bluejays finished 3rd at their own invite. The Brauer twins are looking to be the best 1-2 punch in the division (with both already dipping below 18:00), but the top three behind them need to close the gap somewhat; next is Richard Springs Invite 9/21.
6) Carlinville-Finished 8th at the First to Finish Invite. Great 1-2 punch of Madden and Viano going 18:31 and 18:40, but the Cavaliers need to fill in gaps after that; next run is the Bureau Valley Invite on 9/21.
7) Tolono (Unity)-Finished 2nd at the Paxton Invite. The Rockets have a solid 4, but their fifth runner is a minute behind and needs to be closer to the rest; Will run at the Tuscola Classic 9/21.
8) Winnebago-Finished 9th at the First to Finish Invite. Cheyenne Moore has been a great front runner asset for the Indians, and their next three after that aren’t too shabby either, but gaps do need to close; IDLE this week.
9) Rock Falls-Finished 3rd at the Princton Invite. Great 1-2 dynamic with Valesquez and Anderson. The 1-5 must stick closer to their 3rd for the Rockets to really propel; Running 9/17 at Sterling and 9/21 at Bureau Valley.
10) Downs (Tri -Valley)-Finished 10th at the First to Finish invite, tying in points with Winnebago, but unfortunately with not as good of a sixth man. This reflects that this team, like many others, does have gaps to fill. Will run at the Heyworth and Lincoln tri-meet 9/19 and the Tuscola Classic 9/21.
11) Rockford (Lutheran)-Finished 20th place at the First to Finish invite. Some pretty strong front runners, but gaps need to be filled; Bureau Valley Invite on 9/21.
12) Monmouth (Monmouth-Roseville)-Finished 6th place at the First to Finish Invite. 19:23-20:36 1-4 makes the Titans very formidable this year, but the Achilles’ heel is going to be their 5th runner who is 45 seconds behind the rest; next up is the Dunlap Invitational on 9/21.
13) Henry (H.-Senachwine)-Ran 19th place at the First to Finish Invitational. They have a nice 1-4 pack, but their gap afterwards needs fixing; will compete at Bureau Valley on 9/21.
14) Byron-Finished 7th place at the First to Finish invite. Kelsey Hildreth, the surprise individual champion, has really stepped it up this year, and the team with her. They will run 9/18 at home.
15) Elmwood-Brimfield-Finished 22nd at the First to Finish Invite. But do not count the Lady Trojans out until they start running late season meets in spikes. They will run 9/21 at the Bureau Valley Invite.
16) Mt. Zion-Finished 15th place at the First to Finish invite without any help from Harder; next run at the McArthur Invite on 9/19.
17) Kankakee (McNamara)-This team has definitely got down the art of pack running seeing how 2-5 bunched up at Paxton for a 3rd place finish. However, the discrepancy between the pack and the front runner needs to be fixed to place better at state; Illiana Christian Invite on 9/21.
18) Urbana (University)-Annamarie Michael’s breakthrough 2nd place finish at the First to Finish invitational has given this team the edge to finish 14th as a team; next is the Tuscola Classic on 9/21.
19) Effingham (St. Anthony)-Won the Shelbyville trail run. Individual standout, Anna Sophia Keller, went 16:55 proving that she can always be counted on to take one point for the team; next up is the Tuscola Classic on 9/21.
20) Champaign (St. Thomas More)-DNR last week; The Sabers will compete at the Richard Springs Invitational on 9/21.