Lane Tech Boys, Jones Girls Win City Titles

Lane's Will Kozlowski leads the Champions attack during the first mile at Washington Park

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RESULTS I VIDEOS I PHOTOS

Chicago IL-

It was sunny, cool, and a very light breeze at Washington Park to greet the throngs of supporters of the state's largest cross country conference championship. At 9:30a, there were a series of undercard races in which city power Lane Tech enjoyed its success. Moreover, there were many great performances from other schools which eventually led up to the main event varsity races.

Girls-

The pundits predicted it would be a close race between Lane, Jones, and Whitney Young. All three teams had its strength and weakness, and ultimately it would be up to the competing athletes to figure it out and deliver a championship to their respective schools.

The individual race favorite Evelyn Hett (Sr., Jones College Prep) did not waste any time in getting to the front of the pack and setting an honest pace, just past 5:30 for the introductory mile. Whitney Young's top runner Nikki Chopra (Jr.) was glued to Hett while there was space for individuals behind to define the team race.

Hett appeared to bid her time until the 1.1 mile mark when she literally launched into a surge to shake Chopra off out of her space. It appeared to work as she opened up daylight and by the second mile (11:28), she had an eight-second advantage. 

Hett would cruise home for the decisive 13-second win in 17:24. She would be the first Jones girls to win a city title since Katie Murray accomplished the feat in 2017.

The team title went to Jones who already had a leg up on the competition with the ultimate lowstick performance. The supporting cast behind Hett was up for the task. Four Eagles kept in contact throughout led by Hastings Bacote (Sr) and Lena Almer's (Jr) respectable seventh and eighth placings. The final scoring at 13th and 19th by Selma Taylor (Jr) and Quintana Weisgerber (So) sealed the deal. 

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Boys-

Tension was built between traditional powers Lane Tech, Jones, and Mather. Mather in particular had produced an outstanding performance at the Peoria Invite. It was perhaps the best showing in its school history as the Rangers placed in the top five and had three runners under 16:00. Lane Tech and Jones also performed well during the regular season at mostly high-powered invites against some of the state's elite teams. So what would the outcome be?

As scripted the first mile was a stalemate or logjam of runners from said schools. Among the lot were Sam Berlinghof (Jr., Jones), Will Kozlowski (Jr., Lane), Muhiyadin Ali (Sr., Mather), Ritvik Viniak (Sr., Payton), and about a dozen more. The first mile was just over 5:00 as the runners toured the eastern side of the park course which had uneven portions not suitable for great traction.

By the second mile, the team battle was more defined and it appeared it would be a two-team battle between Lane and Mather. Both programs have put up some bloody battles in the past and this one appeared like another one. Meanwhile, Berlinghof, Kozlowski, and Ali were still within striking distance with a mile to go. It was not defined who would take the title. 

Berlinghof put on a late surge inside the final mile to win going away in 15:19. Ali held off Kozlowski 15:25 to 15:27 for second and third placements. Ritvik would take fourth ahead of Dalton Lowery (Jr., Whitney Young) 15:40 to 15:52.

Finally, The Champions (new nickname) had big numbers up front and it was a matter of time before the official tally would come in. Lane would win its first title since 2013 while at the same time ending Jones' five-year winning streak. Mather also got into the hardware column with its runner-up finish, its first since 2013.