Chicago Marist girls get in final run-throughs at the Hinsdale Central Sectional (Griffin Forberg photo)
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Hoffman Estates (H.S.) Sectional I VIDEOS
Girls: #1 Barrington did not waste a moment in advancing to the state championship. The Fillies were led by Mia Sirois, who led from the moment of the gun sounds. The supreme sophomore hit the first mile in 5:24 and severely widened her gap by nearly 30 seconds when she passed the second-mile clock in 10:49. Sirois would go on to win in one of the fastest ever times in a whooping 16:03.9. She wasn't completely alone, her supporting cast led by senior and defending state champion, Scout Storms took second in 17:03. The team scoring split was a deceptive 1:54. It was a more respective 54 seconds 2-5 that told the story of how stout the Fillies are. All five Barrington scorers broke 18:00 and scored 41 points. They will be among the favorites to win a time in Peoria.
Prospect showed life by placing three runners in the top seven for 76 points. Senior Veronica Znajda took third with a time of 17:05.
Hersey ran well and return back to the state meet when placed third with 113 points.
Lake Zurich finished with 174 points. The Bears did not have a top-20 finisher, but their 36-second scoring split was the best in the field.
Glenbrook North has run exceptionally well down the stretch and earned a spot to the state meet after finishing fifth with 208 points.
It has been a long time coming for Schaumburg. The Saxons return to Detweiller after a sixth-place finish (213).
New Trier takes the final spot to state with 228 points.
Boys: This is arguably the toughest sectional in the state regarding depth. Nine ranked teams battled for the seven slots reserved for Peoria. Not many gave #9 New Trier much of a chance to win a team title outside of their camp. Why should they have to with MSL titans #5 Palatine Fremd and #6 Palatine on the scene? Even #8 Lake Zurich was expected to be among the top four teams. However, senior Ben Crane and his Trevian mates had other ideas. Crane pulled away late to win in a sectional record 14:14. His teammates mopped up the action by placing within the top 35 spots and tallied up a comfortable victory, tallying 98 points.
Lake Zurich continues to enjoy a wonderful rebound season on the strength of freshman Karanveer Patil's seventh-place finish in 14:55. The Bears placed second with 120 points and nine knots ahead of #5 Palatine. The #6 Pirates' tough junior duo of Alex Krieg and James O'Sullivan went 3-4 in 14:42 and 14:50.
#14 Prospect is a solid team because they produced great scoring splits. The Knights busted out a slick 23-second spread, allowing them to place fourth with 134 points.
Senior Joe Bregenzer of #19 Barrington finished second in 14:25. This was great for Joe, but even better, his team advanced to state in fifth place with 153 points.
Some may say that #5 Palatine Fremd had a rough time, but they survived and advanced. Senior Rory Gaan placed 13th in 15:03, and the Vikings took sixth overall (158).
One of the state's most underrated teams, regardless of classification, is Libertyville. The Wildcats came into the season unranked and finished 20th in the final season poll. Well, now they can pack their bags for Peoria. The Cats slid past Hersey for the last spot by two points, 172.
Girls: #4 Minooka won, as expected, in an easy-going fashion. The Indians placed all five scorers within the top 20 and scored 51 points, 30 points better than #11 Edwardsville.
Minooka senior Maya Ledesma continues to impress many folks statewide, winning by nearly a minute in 17:01.
The teams of #12 Plainfield North, #10 Yorkville, #20 O'Fallon, Lincoln-Way Central, and Lincoln-Way East qualified for the state championship.
Boys: Dylan Maloney (Sr., Plainfield South) returned after resting during the regional round to win comfortably in 14:36. However, it was #2 Plainfield North that stole the show. The 'Cats ran away with the team title by putting three runners in the top 10. Junior Thomas Czerwinski, senior Quinn Davis, and junior Aidan Connors ran 14:43, 14:54, and 15:09, respectively. Overall, their dominating point total of 60 points may be something of a forecast nature as we approach the state finals.
#4 Plainfield South took second with 93 points, six points ahead of #3 Edwardsville. Both teams had their scoring packs for just over one minute, which was key in fighting for a team trophy. Key note: Edwardsville did not run a key runner, junior Colin Luitjohan. If he is to return on Saturday, it could tell a different story in the final standings.
#15 Lincoln-Way Central put two runners in the top 10 led by Braden Hoff (Sr) and Jack Galminas (Sr), seventh and tenth in the standings. This enabled the Knights to score a fourth-place finish with 140 points.
Yorkville finished fifth with 180 points. Junior Owen Horeni placed fifth in 15:01 to lead his team's charge.
O'Fallon welcomes back senior Zach Thoman who placed third in 14:52. His team was rewarded with a sixth place finish and 190 points.
Quincy, the final team that advanced to state, finished in seventh place. The Blue Devils produced an amazing 16-second scoring split that resulted in 214 points.
Boys: #1 Downers Grove North went about their business as usual, repeating in the most dominant fashion out of any team in the state, scoring 38 points. Philip Cupial (Jr) and Grant Schroder (Sr) went 1-2 with times of 14:07 and 14:10 on the 2.90-mile reconstructed Katherine Legge Park course. The Trojans' gravy train continued as they took fifth (Will Surratt), eighth (Brady Travers), and 21st (Jack Loftus). The Trojan's sixth and seventh runners would have been scorers for any other team on the field. If DGN were generous enough to accept the final two runners into their total, they would still win 101-113 over #11 Lyons.
The other qualifying teams include #12 Orland Park Sandburg, #13 Naperville (Neuqua Valley), #25 Naperville Central, #18 Naperville North, and Berwyn-Cicero (Morton).
Girls: #2 Downers Grove North lost their #1 standing in the final rankings poll, but they probably do not care. The goal is to win a state championship; any final poll will tell the real story. Led by junior Lily Eddington's fourth-place finish (17:09), the lady Trojans put all five scorers in the top 10, using a 44-second split and scoring 28 points.
#5 Naperville North finished second with 58 points. The Huskies had two runners in the top five, led by senior Emma Berres and junior Rianna Tandon, who placed third and fifth, respectively.
#18 Naperville Central took third with 123 points. #13 Aurora Waubonsie Valley was fourth with 153 points. This will be the Warriors first time at the state championship.
Oswego East gets the fifth spot with 177 points. #22 Hinsdale Central makes another trip to Detweiller with a solid sixth-place finish and 183 points. The final slot goes to unranked and surprising Downers Grove South with 184 points. The Mustangs' long streak of advancing to state was broken last year.
Girls: #3 York appears ready for their state title defense after winning over a feisty #6 Batavia team 59-84. York freshman Karlin Janowski set the pace from the gun and never looked back, winning in 17:02. Janowski was familiar with the fast Lake Park HS course, winning the Harvey Braus Invite season opener in 16:52. More importantly than winning was propelling the Lady Dukes to another state championship berth--four other runners placed inside the top 20 on a 1:01 scoring split.
Batavia has high aspirations for Peoria, and their performance appears to be one that could land them in a top-five spot next weekend. The Bulldog's top runner, Avery Hacker (So), copped the second spot before the second mile and hung on for a time of 17:13. Three other Bulldogs were in the top 25, which was good enough to distance themselves from third place #14 Wheaton-Warrenville South (139).
The other state qualifying teams were #9 Huntley (156), #15 Wheaton North (157), #24 Maine South (185), and #21 Glenbard West (208).
Boys: Jacob Barraza (Sr., Dekalb) and Josiah Narayanan (Sr., Wheaton-Warrenville South) battled throughout the race, virtually locked together through the first and second miles (4:54, 9:57). Bararra finally scooted away from Narayanan inside the final 300m to win 14:35-14:39. A total of five runners broke 15:00.
The team battle was another close one from this sectional. #10 York had no top-ten finisher but used a pack tactic to get the job done. The Dukes top finisher, Patrick McGrail (Sr), took 15th overall (12th- team score) in 15:08. The fifth position closed things and a marvelous 25-second scoring split.
It was a strong and tight sectional, as six other teams were within shouting distance of second place: #7 Batavia (123), #21 Wheaton-Warrenville South (130), #15 Chicago Lane (143), Oak Park-River Forest (144), Glenbard West (157), and Wheaton North (172).