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Granite City Sectional I PHOTOS I VIDEOS
Boys: For the first time this season, Plainfield North got the best of its rival from the southside of town. The #2 Tigers had to travel over 200 miles in Granite City to get it done. Despite Plainfield South going 1-2 on the strength of Camyn Viger (Sr) and Dylan Maloney (Jr) 14:12 and 14:16, the Tigers put all five of its scorers inside of the top 20 to score 55 points (64 for the Cougars).
Girls: It was a surprise victory by Tessa Russo (So., Plainfield North), who dropped an atomic bomb in an effort on the competition as she took charge late inside of the final mile to win in a time of 16:53. The four-second victory over Brea Counihan (Fr., Lincoln-Way Central) whose 16:57 effort was a personal best. But for Russo, she dropped her PB down over a minute.
Roselle (Lake Park) Sectional I PHOTOS I VIDEOS
Boys: Josiah Narayanan and his #10 Wheaton-Warrenville South Tigers picked a perfect time to perform at their best. Narayanan made a strategic move shortly after the two-kilometer mark and never looked back. The junior standout clocked 14:43 and won by 11 seconds over Aidan Murphy (Jr., Wheaton North).
The Tigers put five runners inside the top 50 to score 92 points on a 1:12 scoring split. #15 St. Charles East placed second ahead of a log jam that featured #9 Oak Park-River Forest and #14 Chicago Lane Tech, who were within a handful of points out of second place.
Girls: #1 York appears to be the team to beat heading into the state championship a weekend from now when you consider they only needed 20 seconds 1-5 to complete their task. The Lady Dukes scored a sectional record 27 points on the strength of five runners in the top 10. York was so dominant that their sixth and seventh runners' placements would have only tallied 56 points- still a galaxy better than the runner-up #7 Wheaton North's 115 points. The individual winner was Nicole Poglitsch (Jr., Wheaton-Warrenville South) in 17:20. She led from the gun and was never seriously threatened in the contest.
Hoffman Estates Sectional I PHOTOS I VIDEOS
Boys: Ben Crane (Jr., New Trier) pulled away late inside the final mile to win in a time of 14:53. Rory Gaan (Jr., Palatine Fremd) was the only other runner under 15:00 with a time of 14:59. #7 New Trier took home the first place trophy with 93 points
Girls: #3 Barrington had an opportunity to avenge a defeat at the hands of rival #2 Prospect at the MSL Championship just several weekends before. Among the defeated was Scout Storms (Jr., Barrington), who suffered her only season loss. Storms would win easily over teammate Mia Sirois (Fr.) 17:01-17:13. The Fillies won the title by putting all five scorers in the top 15 and scoring a scant 33 points to Prospect's 56.
Hinsdale Central Sectional I PHOTOS I VIDEOS
Boys: Many pundits felt that #1 Downers Grove North needed to make a strong statement before heading into the state championship. The Trojans did just that by using a 23-second scoring split, which enabled them to put all five scorers inside the top 15. The final tally was 49 points. Runner-up #8 Lyons Twp scored 120 points. The race to the tape was a thrilling one between Zac Close (Sr., Naperville Neuqua Valley) and Aden Bandukwala (Sr., Hinsdale Central). Close and Bandukwala battled for virtually the entire race, and just when it appeared that Close would go on to a win, Bandukwala launched a furious kick inside the final 100m to win by a second in 15:10.
Girls: #5 Downers Grove North looked vulnerable against #4 Naperville North and with the injury bug supposedly in the air, it was a perfect time for the Huskies to strike. Naperville North struck with senior Julie Piot's second-place finish. However, the Trojans retaliated with sophomore Lily Eddington, who placed one spot later. The final score would be DGN 54, NN 62.
Liv Phillips (Sr., Naperville Central) enjoyed battling her friend Piot for much of the race. Phillips pulled away in the final half mile and won by seven seconds in 17:42.