Finn Richards leads the charge at the Hinsdale South Sectional (Griffin Forberg photo)
---------------------
2A-
Girls: #1 Chicago St. Ignatius came into the rather cool morning conditions, and that was to quickly get in and get out of Katherine Legge Memorial Park healthy and sound and ready to dance in Peoria on November 9. Junior Annika Swan kicked things with an easy victory, 16:37 over the 2.9-mile layout. Her teammates mopped things up, with freshman Allison Shutler taking fourth, sophomore Ellie Sheaffer- in 11th, freshman Greta Sheaffer- in 13th, and senior Lizeth Montes- in 16th. The grand total was 45 points to #3 Chicago Depaul College Prep's 79.
#8 Wheaton St. Francis 107, #21 Lisle Benet Academy 123, #19 West Chicago Wheaton Academy 152, #24 Lagrange Park Nazareth 153, and #17 Oak Park Fenwick 176 advance to the state meet.
Boys: Finn Richards (Sr., Benet Academy) is on a mission this year. For one, Richards is nearly perfect this season, with one blemish on his resume. In the season opener on this same course, he finished third in the Red Devil Invitational to Ben Crane and Josiah Narayanan. Crane is probably the best runner in Illinois, and Narayanan is among the best runners in the state. Richards maintained a small lead throughout the competition before shifting late inside the final mile for the win in 14:10.
#3 Chicago Payton won a hard-fought race without one of its top runners, senior Gabe Cooper, taking down #2 Chicago Latin 61-68. Both teams had all five runners in the top 30, however it was Payton's run through the first four runners that got the job done. Tra'Monti Williams (Jr) placed fourth for Grizzlies in 14:39.
#8 Marmion Academy placed third with 103 points, Benet Academy finished fourth (127), #7 Chicago St. Ignatius placed fifth (129), St. Laurence (164), and Chicago Depaul Prep (168) earned the final spot.
Girls: #5 Rockford Boylan Catholic earned a double win. First, senior Reese Kohnle won by 19 seconds in 17:40. Second, the Lady Titans scored 93 points for an easy win.
#4 Crystal Lake South put four runners in the top 30 and held off cross-town rival #14 Central 127-129.
Senior Izzy Bing of Mundelein Carmel placed third with a time of 17:59, and her teammates will be a company in Peoria based on the team's fourth-place effort.
Lake Forest (183), Arlington Heights St. Viator (189), and Grayslake Central (208) took the final spots slated for Peoria.
Boys: Evan Nosek (Sr., Kaneland) gets a wonderful send-off by winning the sectional in 14:52, and his team is also victorious with 78 points.
Dixon is a team looking for a trophy, but the Duchess took second with 83 points.
Lakes copped 122 points for third (122). Crystal Lake Central (154), Belvidere North (172), Woodstock (184), and Sycamore (187).
Girls: Anytime that you can produce a scoring split under 60 seconds, that is a recipe for success. In the case of #2 Chatham-Glenwood, the Titans roared to the title on a 48-second spread that netted 50 points. Three runners in the top 10 and all five in the top 20 did the trick.
#6 Rochester took second with 74 points. Brooke Zeibert and her sister Ashley Zeibert copped the third and sixth-place spots.
#18 Carterville has been an unheralded team this season, but no longer. The Cats punched their ticket to Peoria with a third-place finish and 143 points.
#20 Mahomet-Seymour placed fourth with 149 points. #12 Waterloo's individual winner was senior Cameron Crump, who easily won in 17:40. The Bulldogs placed fifth with 159 points.
Unranked Champaign Centennial earned the sixth spot with 184 points. The last team was Mascoutah, which had 189.
Boys: Gabe Greer (So., Marion) won his first sectional championship in a time of 14:57. His twin brother Raphael Greer (So.) checked in 17 seconds for third place. The defending state champions had to settle for third with 145 points. #15 Highland got the best of everyone due to a strong pack play that netted 127 points. Mahomet-Seymour, Chatham-Glenwood, Civic Memorial, and Herrin advance to the state meet.
Girls: Sunny Weber (Jr., Sandwich) appears ready for the state meet after defeating Zoe Carter (Sr., Normal University) for the title in 16:23 on the 2.94 mile course. Carter placed second in 16:54.
#10 Morton was squeezed by #7 Washington 93-99. Both teams had four runners inside the top 20. It came down to the fifth runner, and Morton produced a 41st-place finish vs. 50th-place finish. Sophia Ramirez (Jr) led Washington with a fifth-place finish.
Normal University finished third in the team standings and will be heading to state once again. The Pioneers scored 105 vital points. The fourth-place team is from Morris, and they tallied 119 points. The #11 Dunlap took fifth place with 128 points. Joliet Catholic Academy and Lemont grabbed the final two spots with 128 and 147 points, respectively.
Boys: Gavin O'Connor of Chicago Brother Rice continues his great season with a win by less than a second over Cuyler Swanson of Morris in 14:35.
#2 Morton could be state champions in less than a week after posting a dominating performance. The Potters put seven runners in the top 25 and scored 73 points.