Sandburg, Grayslake Central, and Jon Davis Showoff In Boys Title Grabs

The early 2A action was tight (Mark Capapas photo)

Grayslake Central spoils #1 Mahomet-Seymour's party-

No one gave the #2 Rams a chance to win although they took first place honors in the 2A division of the First To The Finish Invitational. The talk in central Illinois was about Mahomet-Seymour even though they were not at the meet. The Rams Jack Aho (Jr.) came out in style winning the race in the last mile putting some respect back in his team's favor. To make things loud and clear on Saturday, the Rams fans were armed with noise kits, megaphones, or anything that would get the attention for their beloved cross country fans.

The Rams got out well with Aho just behind the early leader Filip Pajak (Jr., Prairie Ridge) in 4:43. Six of the seven Rams hit the mile at 4:53 or better. The favored Mahomet-Seymour got caught off guard with just #1 Alex Keeble (Sr.) in the mix. Grayslake runs in the 3A classification for track and competes with 3A comp during much of the cross country season. They are a seasoned and experienced bunch to put it short. Aho indicated he and his teammates were ready for any wise guy tactics. That's why they pushed the pace so hard from the gun.


Grayslake Central was leading with one mile to go and it appeared as though the margin of victory would be lopsided. And it was. The Rams scored 54 points to the Bulldogs 121. Aho added the icing with a personal best 14:24. Three Rams will return in 2016 to defend their team title. Defending state champion Yorkville placed third and thus securing another trophy for their great program. Hinsdale South finished 4th on the strength of seniors Charlie Nodus and Roman Drabchuk's second and third place finishes.

Team Scores
PlaceTeamPointsScorersTimes
1Grayslake Central High School541+6+14+16+17 (36+79)0:45 1-5 Split | 14:54 Avg
2Mahomet-Seymour High School1217+10+29+33+42 (47+53)0:55 1-5 Split | 15:17 Avg
3Yorkville High School14919+21+24+41+44 (69+73)0:34 1-5 Split | 15:27 Avg