The Yorkville Invite Was A Mid-Week Masterpiece

The Hunter twins Maggie and Anna along with Helena Kleronomos took care of business at home

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Yorkville, IL- Every week, its been feeling more and more like cross country and this midweek masterpiece at Yorkville was just some more proof of it. With the weather in the mid-'60s and the course being flatter than the historic Detweiller Park every knew these times would be blazing fast. 

Watch as we break down the course

The day started off with a highly anticipated boys race that put #8 ranked Foxes of Yorkville against new conference rival and #23 ranked Minooka. Lately, it has seemed like the Foxes have been chilling in these small SPC duals meet due to the lack of competition up front, but the Foxes knew this was the moment they have been waiting all season for. 

The race was blazing fast from the start, more than the liking of many in the top group. Austin Popplewell of Yorkville, Ivan Westcott of Yorkville, and Vincent Van Eck of Minooka came through the first mile in 4:38. A total of 30 of the 40 runners were under 5:00 at the mile marker. The reason for this was mentioned in an interview after the race where Westcott and Popplewell said that they didn't want anyone to latch on to them throughout the race and they tried to make Van Eck hurt through that first mile, but it could have actually hurt the duo more than helped them. 

At mile two it only looked to be Van Eck on the heels of Popplewell as the two came through at 9:49 which was considerably slower of a pace than what they came through the first mile at. Westcott was now with teammate Colin Kachlic as they came through with a few other runners at 10:05.

With 1K left to go is when Popplewell made his move on Van Eck as they circled the baseball fields in almost a sprint of sorts. He put the jets on Van Eck and it ended with a 14:53 from the Foxes ace. Van Eck finished just barely over the 15:00 barrier at 15:00.8 and Colin Kachlic made up some ground on the Minooka stud running a 15:06.

Yorkville absolutely dominated the team race by a score of 24 to 52 over Minooka. The Foxes has very well rounded team that had a few packs throughout the race. They also had a strong 1-5 split of 46 seconds. Both the Foxes and the Indians brought themselves to a new level after this showdown.

The girl's varsity race was definitely the main attraction with four 3A ranked girls team entering the competition: #2 Yorkville, #13 Oswego East, #15 Minooka, #24 Oswego. The main attraction here is the host squad that has enjoyed the spoils of being a national force over the past few years. 

The race got out to a blazing start as Helena Kleronomos of Yorkville and her teammates the Hunter sisters, Anna Hunter and Margaret Hunter came through the first mile in 5:26- approximately 27 girls flew under the 6:00 barrier. Perhaps the excitement of the season's deepest affair to date had something to do with it.

During the second mile, Kleronomos really started to pull away from her teammates but considerably off her early pace as she came through at 11:28- the Hunter's checked in at 11:32 and 11:35. At this point in the race, the Foxes had their top six inside of the top ten.

Kleronomos didn't look back in the final mile of the race finishing at 17:26 which was the best time she has run since last year at the state championships.  Respectfully, it was A. Hunter and M. Hunter checking in at 17:42 and 17:43. Gabby Kics of Minooka finished fourth to round out the sub 18:00 performances in 17:50.

The Foxes dominated the team aspect beating second-place Oswego 21-57. The Foxes 1-5 split of 45 seconds was easily the best performance as a team they have had all year. Oswego, Minooka, and Oswego East also all had big days stepping up to the challenge and taking a big leap forward this season.