The First To The Finish Invite Answers Some XC Questions

Elena Rybak strolls home with the win in the first race of the day, the Class A girls (Mike Woolery photo)

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RESULTS I PHOTOS I VIDEOS

Peoria IL-

It has been difficult to gauge who the pretenders and contenders are in the first several weeks of a season. Even after this first full week of big invitationals from around the state, that question may not be fully answered, but at least the pundits and fans alike will begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

The First To The Finish Invitational is the state's biggest invitational. It is a duplicate state meet broken down into classes. Check out the summary below:

Boys-

Class A-

#1 Anna-Jonesboro did not have their top girl, Jadyn Gerardi (So), in the lineup, but they did not receive any sympathy from #4 Williamsville, who were out to make a statement. The Bullets were led by veteran standout Louisa Wilson (Sr), who placed ninth overall and led two more girls in the top 35. The final verdict was an 181-196 victory over Anna-Jonesboro. #9 Eureka (213), #6 El Paso-Gridley (213), and #2 Unity (234) round out the top five teams. Individually, it was Elena Rybak (Sr., Father McGivney) copping her second straight invitational win; this one was a Detweiller Park personal best and the second-best time of the day in 16:51.9.

Class 2A-

Top-ranked Chatham-Glenwood proved they were the team to beat, not only amassing an 18:38 scoring average per runner but scoring a lowly 103 points from 56 teams. The Titans low stick Ali Londrigan (So) placed fourth with a time of 17:33. Her strong efforts were back, with all five scorers in the top 35. The day's surprise was unranked Rockford Boylan, who took second with 155 points. Reese Kohnle (Sr) led her team to 17th place at 18:16.

"Sunny" Sundara Weber (Jr., Sandwich) last competed on the fabled course in late July and turned many heads when she clocked 16:32 to win the Detweiller At Dark summertime event. This time, it was not the time but the effort and thrill of winning that prevailed. Weber dropped the top of the day and won easily in 16:50. Zoe Carter (Sr., Normal University) was second in 17:09.

Class 3A-

#3 Barrington was smarting after a tough loss to York last weekend at the St. Charles East Invitational. It didn't help that top runner Scout Storms (Sr) had to bow out of the competition due to an allergic reaction. By the time the biggest class race commenced around 12:30p, the heat index was soaring near 90F. The Fillies put on an all-time performance, topping out with 49 points. Sophomore Mia Sirois (17:03) Storms (17:11) went 1-3, and the rest of their teammates (all 7) were in the top 35 overall! #6 Batavia was second with 126 points.

Boys-

Class A-

#1 Benton competed over the weekend across the Mississippi River in Missouri. That meant #7 Eureka had an opportunity to continue to climb up the charts. The Hornets did just that, taking down #2 Elmwood among other teams, scoring 167 points over fellow upstarter #4 Aurora Central Catholic 167-169.  Eureka put five runners in the top 50, and ACC had four. The difference was Tucker Hinkle (Sr) placing eighth. Individually, Nicolai Martino (Sr., Winnebago) nearly broke 15:00 with a time of 15:00.6.

Class 2A-

There was a bevy of good teams on the docket; the key ones were #1Morton #2 Payton, #3 Dixon, and #4 Chicago St. Ignatius. No one invited Chicago Latin to the party. The unranked Romans crashed the party and took home the first-place trophy with 123 points. Payton earned a measure of revenge for losing the top spot with a second-place finish over Morton 136-229. St. Ignatius was in fourth place over Normal U High. Evan Nosek (Sr., Kaneland) came home first with a time of 14:52.

Class 3A-

"I want to break 14:00," were the words of Ben Crane (Sr., New Trier) earlier in the week. He probably didn't check the Peoria weather report when he said it because it was nearly 90 degrees at game time. Instead, he fought against a field of tough competitors before winning 11 seconds over Evan Parker (Sr., Niles North) in 14:26.

Top-ranked Downers Grove North put two runners in the top five on the strength of Philip Cupial (Jr) and Grant Schroder (Sr) in third and fourth place. All five Trojans were in the top 35, ultimately leading to 77 points. #6 Fremd took second with 123 points.