Results from Schaumburg are in. On the boys side, Naperville North showed why they are a contender to beat top-ranked Neuqua Valley, winning with 70 points. York finished 1-2 individually, finishing second as a team with 85 points, while St. Charles North used three runners in the top twelve to finish third with 112 points. Waubonsie Valley and Wheaton North went 4-5 with 125 and 128 points respectively. Geneva finished sixth with 154 points.
The girls race was equally as exciting, as IL #1 Hinsdale Central took third behind race winner Geneva and second-place Lyons Township. Naperville North and Lake Park earned a trip to Peoria as well, finishing 4-5.
ILRunners.com Coverage: Schaumburg Sectional
Reports from correspondant Joe Renguso
Check out Joe's "The High School Runner" Blog
Boys
Coming into the Schaumburg Sectional, many thought that it was going to be more competitive than the State Meet. Based on the Illinois Cross Country Coaches Poll (week #8), ten of the top fifteen teams were lining up to fight for the five spots that would qualify them for the State Championships. The only teams missing in the top ten rankings were Neuqua Valley (1), Palatine (5) and Hersey (6), the last two competing just miles down the road. Seeing that all top teams were not present, a state meet this was not, but the atmosphere, intensity and competitiveness made one feel that they were in Peoria rather than Schaumburg.
Right from the start the battle began as four of Schaumburg's runners hit the ground and found themselves in the back of the pack when they returned to their feet. Up at the front, a sea of runners from all schools made it hard to distinguish who was making a stand within the first half mile. It's easy to say that everyone was fighting for an early advantage.
Just past the mile there was a group of four starting to break away from the rest of the pack. Josh Stein (Marmion) and Tom Achtein (York) led the way with Steve Sulkin (York) and Jeff Thode (Conant) right on their heels. Achtein and Sulkin broke away before two miles, with Stein and Thode hanging on a few meters behind, with Kyle Gibson (Naperville North) giving chase. The two York runners increased their lead and finished first and second res
pectfully with times of 15:03 and 15:09. Chris DeSilva (St. Charles North) came from behind with an oustanding kick to edge Gibson at the line 15:16 to 15:17. Stein held on for fifth in a time of 15:21.
The finish was so tight that it was hard to tell which teams had qualified and who was going home. When it was all over, the teams that had advanced (with week 8 ranking) where Naperville North (2), York (4), St. Charles North (8), Waubonsie Valley (9) and Wheaton North (3). Only 58 points seperated the top five teams.
Although this was a very difficult sectional, and yes changes need to be made, the state meet is still going to be well represented. Eight of the top ten teams will line up in Peoria fighting for a hard earned state trophy.
Girls
The girls Schaumburg Sectional hosted ten of the top fifteen ranked teams according to the week eight Illinois Coaches Cross Country Poll. In fact, six of the top seven teams were fighting for only five state qualifying spots. Needless to say, the atmosphere at the starting line was intense. At the gun, the girls took off together and stayed that way for the quarter mile before pack started to loosen up and establish a rhythm. By the mile, Lizzy Hynes (St. Charles East) had the lead with Kelly Whitley (Geneva) and Lindsay Flannagan (Lake Park) following close behind.
Two miles into the race Hynes continued to lead, but Whitley and Flannagan were not giving up. Whitley remained within three seconds of Hynes, while Flannagan trailed by five. Then, Hynes picked up the pace using her strong miler speed, and came across the line uncontested in 17:41. Whitley followed in second with a time of 17:51, while Flannagan hung on for third 
in 18:08.
The top five teams qualifying for next week's state meet are Geneva, Lyons Twp., Hinsdale Central, Naperville North and Lake Park. Only 70 points seperated these five teams. Fifth ranked Wheaton North just missed qualifying with a sixth place finish, only ten points behind Lake Park.