Peoria, IL
It was a historical Saturday afternoon for the Yorkville Boys and Girls cross country programs at the legendary Detweiller Park. For the first in the IHSA three classification annals, Yorkville became the first school to take home both gender titles. It is the first time since 2007 that any team had successfully pulled off the feat. Winnebago won the Class A titles with Joe and Janet Erb as co-head coaches. Chris Muth did the same anchoring both Foxes programs.
Girls-
The day was already in full bloom when Yorkville sophomore Skyler Bollinger and her mates stepped to the line to defend their state championship. It was just a week before that the Lady Foxes avenged their only defeat to a 2A school in more than a year when they lost to Glen Ellyn (Glenbard South) at the Wheaton Academy Regional. Yorkville won 50-60 over the Raiders in the Wheaton Academy Sectional. So it appeared that momentum would be on their side on Saturday.
The Lady Foxes indeed prevailed for the second year in a row 104-130 over the Raiders. The official notification of the win took quite a while because of technical difficulties with day long timing system malfunctions. Of the many anxious coaches in the crowd hovering around the ancient results board was Muth. “They gave us a run for our money,” he would remark. “They” is a reference for Glenbard South.
The title appeared to be up for grabs throughout the race. The opening mile saw a run-a-way truck known as German exchange student Mailin Struck (Sr., Riverside-Brookfield) blaze past a throng of split recorders and hyped fans in 5:18. Despite warm climes and a stiff and swirling wind circling the park on and off, she ran one of the fastest opening miles in IHSA history (6 seconds up on the field as well).
Glenbard South would have Diane Lipa (So.) and Rebecca Sippel (Jr.) in the top 10 during the first mile and ahead of Bollinger. The Yorkville pack of Erin Reynolds (So.), Maddie Dearborn (Fr.), and Kelsey Leedy (Sr.) were holding strong behind Bollinger in the early portion of the race and through the second half out of the “Bermuda Triangle.”
Struck would continue to assault the field by widening her gap on the field at the halfway point in 8:03 and then two miles in 10:53. She was more than 20 seconds ahead of Peoria Notre Dame sophomore Maryjeanne Gilbert. At the same time the team race was still very close between Yorkville and Glenbard South- too close to call with a naked eye.
Struck would eventually win in 16:35- the only runner under 17:00 and a far cry from the sub-16:00 talk that many folks were predicting. The smiling Struck laughed and joked with reporters about her new hairdo among other things. “I cut it because I thought it would make me faster,” she said with a sparkling smile. Her opponents may be smiling as well this spring because Struck will be heading back to Germany in January to finish her final semester of school as confirmed by head coach Kristi Sterling. The aftermath top 10 behind Struck was Gilbert 17:04, Lipa 17:15, Kelsey Schrader (Sr., Dekalb) 17:22, Maura Beattie (Sr., Woodstock) 17:30, Allison Zobrist (So., Highland) 17:35, Sippel 17:39, Maggie Lalowski (Sr., Sycamore) 17:42, Erin Wagner (Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge) 17:43, Abby Jackisch (Jr., 17:43).
Yorkville held on strong in the final mile despite Bollinger struggling home in 16th place. The 1-5 split was the difference in winning as the Lady Foxes produced a 1:10 scoring margin opposed to the vast contrast of Glenbard South’s 2:03. Vernon Hills earned the final trophy finishing third (181 points). Marengo 231, Maple Park (Kaneland) 246, Chatham-Glenwood 246, Crystal Lake Central 248, Normal (University) 259, Dunlap 297, Lake Forest 305.
Boys-
Lansing (Illiana Christian) came in holding the pressure as pre-season #1. The Vikings had rolled over 2A competition all season long until the Wheaton Academy Sectional when they tied Yorkville 44-44. The tie breaker sixth man gave them the victory. The feat seemed to motivate the underdog Foxes coming into the state championship.
The race would open as the fastest in modern day history as there are no records from the roaring 1970s to compare to. John Wold (Sr., Glen Ellyn Glenbard South) indicated before the meet that he wanted to run somewhere in the 13:50s.
The first half-mile went out in an absolutely lightening 2:07 led by Wold and Johnny Leverenz (Sr., Danville). Coincidently, both of these of runners are reining state 800m champions albeit from different classes. Weird IHSA classification rules designate Danville into Class 3A for track and field.
The pace for the first mile barely slowed down with Wold and Leverenz still setting suicide paces. They hit the checkpoints in 4:32 and 4:33. Let’s compare with former IHSA cross country superstar Lukas Verzbicas (Orland Park Sandburg) who went in 4:30 back in 2010. Verzbicas went on to run 13:54. Unfortunately, no one in today’s generation is of Verzbicas’ talent level. So it would be interesting to see how the rest of the race would shape up for teams and individuals.
Yorkville junior twins Jake and Luke Hoffert were easy to spot with matching headbands in the lead pack. They crossed in about 4:37 and headed to the back loop ahead of the favorite Illiana Christian chase pack. The race would be won and lost in the triangle as most are. This one would not an exception.
Wold continued to control the race with Leverenz shadowing him. He ran 6:57 and Leverenz 7:02 at the halfway point. It was a three-team race with Yorkville, Illiana Christian, and Vernon Hills fighting for the state championship and trophies.
Wold pulled away from Leverenz hitting two miles in 9:25. He was in the clear and on his way to a second consecutive victory. The Hoffert twins were third and fourth. Illiana Christian’s Nick Fiene (Jr.) moved into the picture along with Zach Hird (Sr., Rock Island Alleman) and Ryan Pitner (Sr., Crystal Lake Central). Wold cruised home for the win in 14:36 followed by Leverenz, and the Hoffert's. Pitner rounded out the top five.
Yorkville would hold on against a hard charging Viking crew who valiantly tried to squeeze its scorers inside of the twins and Nolan Tweedy (Sr.). Illiana Christian put its first four runners inside of the Foxes #3 runner as did Vernon Hills. However, it was not enough when the points were added it. Yorkville won scoring 119 points to Illiana Christian’s 131. Vernon Hills tallied 136. Defending champion Chicago Jones produced one all-stater in Peter Schaible (Sr.) who placed 10th. His team finished fourth (166 pts). Glenbard South behind Wold closed out the top five teams with 173 points.