1A-
Girls: The distance was 5000m and on a challenging course. The major story here was senior Mia Kotler of Chicago Latin making her season debut. Kotler has been one of the best distance runners in the state over the past few years. However, she has been bitten by the injury bug in recent times. The Latin coaching staff crafted a patient plan enabling Kotler to run free and healthy. For all of this, she finished second to Kyla Babb (Jr., Westmont) by 15 seconds in 17:52. Breaking the rust was the first task before the state meet. The #11 Romans easily won the title with 65 points.
Boys:
Girls: Klaire Eighner (Sr., Maroa-Forsyth) won top honors in 17:50. #2 Williamsville put their bid in as a team capable of winning the state title in Peoria. The Bullets beat a great field, scoring 76 points and putting five runners among the top 25.
#5 El Paso-Gridley tallied 95 points for second. #6 Peoria Notre Dame was four points back with 100 for third place. The fourth place team was #10 Eureka and the Hornets produced 138.
#5 Pleasant Plains finished fifth with 143 points, the host Elmwood was sixth with 173, and Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin scored 180 points.
Boys
Girls: The defending state champion, Isabella Keller (So., Effingham St. Anthony), endured several challenges in winning another sectional title. The first was a recent sore hip that prohibited her from winning by bigger margins. The second one was running into the back of a pace chart that stopped in front of her halfway through the race. Fortunately, the outcome enabled Keller to hold off a hard-charging Kate Foltz (So., Tuscola) for a one-second win in 16:35.
The first qualifying team, the defending state champions, was #9 Tolono Unity. The Rockets had a high-scoring split but still won comfortably with 79 points.
#3 Shelbyville fell behind and had to settle for the runner-up spot and 126 points. #22 St. Joe-Ogden took third with 137. Fourth place was #18 Effingham St. Anthony (161). The fifth-place squad was Fairfield (176), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (176), and Monticello (189).
Boys
Girls: #1 Anna-Jonesboro did not play with the field as they went out and dominated the competition for the second straight weekend. In this one, the Cats scored a scant 44 points. They placed five runners among the top 15, led by Jadyn Gerardi (So), who ran 17:24 and was 25 seconds behind the winner, Miah Gilmore (Sr., Murphysboro).
#12 Father McGivney scored 100 points take second place. Murphysboro (112), Pinckneyville (123), Breese Mater Dei (134), #25 Belleville Althoff (150), and Okawville (171) finished things up.
Boys: #15 Benton goes 1-2 behind seniors Gabe McLain and Cole Buchanan. McLain ran 14:09 for the 2.92 distance and is considered the guy to beat in Class A. Benton, who won a title last year, placed third with 107 points.
Murphysboro won by 10 points over #23 Pinckneyville 79-89.
Roxana (116), Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran (139), Father McGivney (156), and Breese Mater-Dei (200) advance to state.
Girls: Junior Emily Downing of Cambridge led the girls' race from the beginning and was solo after the first half mile. The top spots were sorted out at the midway point and did not change. Junior Alyssa Higgins of Knoxville was second, followed by sophomore Dusti Smith from Stark County.
Winnebago put three girls in the top ten and their top five girls in the top 25 of the meet, scoring 66 points. Byron came in second as a team with a score of 133. Winnebago was led by freshman Molly Webb and junior Morgan Capriola, who finished sixth and seventh. Winnebago's spread was 1:18, while Byron's was 1:24.
Toulon (Stark County) scored 144 for third place, Sherrard takes fourth (147), Cambridge (154), Seneca (175), and Genoa Kingston (228).
Boys: The boys' race was led by senior Nicolai Martino from Winnebago, trailed closely by Rockford Christian's senior Andrew Kurien and senior Tim Starwalt from Byron. These three stayed close until the last half mile. Rockford Christian was able to put their top five runners in the top 25, giving them a final score of 52. Winnebago struggled a little bit, with runners 4 and 5 slipping into 24th and 29th place, putting them in second place with a score of 77.