The first half mile of the race shows an onslaught of the top runners in the state (Dan Chamness photo)
Boys photo album
#1 Neuqua Valley came into the meet with one mission: complete the task of winning the race and get home healthy and sound. Coach Paul Vandersteen welcomed back several veterans in their first race which went well despite not really needing them now. Three Wildcat seniors: Josh Mollway, Jackson Jett, and Jake Mceneaney all placed in the top 10. Perhaps more impressive than their feat was the strong supporting cast that ran 21 seconds 1-5 and stuck together for the first two miles. This is how teams such as this become dominant in championship time. All nine varsity runners broke 16:15 which signals tremendous depth.
The other #1 as in top ranked Mahomet-Seymour from the 2A classification ran well also. The Bulldogs finally got to display themselves to the masses and they did not disappoint. They beat many quality 3A schools and put one over #2 Normal University who ran at Detweiller for the second straight weekend. Though Normal U High ran several of its top runners in the frosh division, it would have been very doubtful they would have beaten Mahomet-Seymour. The Bulldogs tough 20 second scoring split was able to net themselves 118 points.
| Top 10 TEAM SCORES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES | ||
| 1 | Neuqua Valley High School | 65 | 6+7+9+18+25 (36+45) | 0:21 1-5 Split | 15:08 Avg | ||
| 2 | Mahomet-Seymour High School | 118 | 12+22+26+28+30 (46+71) | 0:20 1-5 Split | 15:19 Avg | ||
| 3 | Lake Zurich High School | 206 | 1+13+27+34+131 (135+154) | 1:53 1-5 Split | 15:24 Avg | ||
| 4 | Hersey High School | 233 | 23+33+35+68+74 (92+116) | 0:43 1-5 Split | 15:39 Avg | ||
| 5 | Wheaton Warrenville South High School | 255 | 38+39+41+43+94 (100+107) | 0:39 1-5 Split | 15:43 Avg | ||
| 6 | Rock Bridge High School | 286 | 24+50+54+55+103 (119+120) | 0:57 1-5 Split | 15:45 Avg | ||
| 7 | Sandburg High School | 311 | 2+20+65+96+128 (129+136) | 1:50 1-5 Split | 15:41 Avg | ||
| 8 | Geneva High School | 336 | 16+31+58+104+127 (180+204) | 1:18 1-5 Split | 15:49 Avg | ||
| 9 | Palatine High School | 344 | 3+47+73+98+123 (133+156) | 1:29 1-5 Split | 15:51 Avg | ||
| 10 | Oswego High School | 366 | 11+83+84+87+101 (106+117) | 1:10 1-5 Split | 15:56 Avg | ||
Brian Griffith (Sr., Lake Zurich) put his name in the state championship contender bag with a decisive victory over another state contender Dylan Jacobs (Jr., Sandburg). In the early going it was a strategic start for a handful of runners. The return of Brian Leonard (Sr., Palatine) joined Griffith and Jacobs through the first mile in 4:45. The trio opened up against the field in the "Bermuda Triangle" and stayed intact back out in the mainland. The second mile was around 9:45 but it was clearly Jacobs and Griffith leading the last mile charge. They battled tough with a half mile to go at 12:10. Griffith made one last decisive move inside the last quarter mile to win his first big invitational. Jacobs easily hung on to second place.
| top 10 BOYS THREE MILE RUN | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||
| 1 | Brian Griffith | 12 | Lake Zurich High School | 14:34.50 | 1 | |
| 2 | Dylan Jacobs | 11 | Sandburg High School | 14:36.30 | 2 | |
| 3 | Brian Leonard | 12 | Palatine High School | 14:55.40 | 3 | |
| 4 | Jack Franklin | 12 | Normal University High School | 14:57.50 | 4 | |
| 5 | Irwin Loud | 12 | Oak Park-River Forest High School | 14:59.40 | 5 | |
| 6 | Josh Mollway | 12 | Neuqua Valley High School | 14:59.90 | 6 | |
| 7 | Jackson Jett | 12 | Neuqua Valley High School | 15:02.40 | 7 | |
| 8 | Charlie Kern | 11 | York High School | 15:04.40 | 8 | |
| 9 | Jake Mceneaney | 12 | Neuqua Valley High School | 15:04.60 | 9 | |
| 10 | Evan Mitchell | 12 | Lincoln Way West High School | 15:04.90 | 10 | |