This is the start of the Class 2A girls championship
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RESULTS I VIDEOS I PHOTOS
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Peoria IL-
This is a quick recap of the girl's and boys' state championship held at legendary Detweiller Park.
Class A girls-
#1 Anna-Jonesboro was bidding for their first team title, and it seemed like a slam dunk after steamrolling the competition throughout the season. It would be a completely different tale as #2 Williamsville pulled off the upset in the closet battle for three trophy teams. The Bullets prevented #9 Tolono Unity from repeating 171-173. Anna-Jonesboro finished third with 177 points. Williamsville head coach Tyler Casson stated, "We finally got a healthy Louisa [Wilson] and rolling." The standout senior picked the perfect time to run a personal best of 17:26 and collect seventh place in the team scoring category.
Individually, it was one of the most anticipated races in history, regardless of classification. Isabella Keller (So., Effingham St. Anthony) and Kate Foltz (Jr., Tuscola) previously ran very fast times on controversial courses. Detweiller's accuracy will be the equalizer. Foltz immediately took control of the race, pushing the pace, and had the defending champion, Keller, on her heels the entire time. Foltz ran a smart and patient race, splitting 5:15, 5:25, and 5:18. The finished product was 15:59.4, 28 seconds better than Keller. Tht
Class A boys-
The talk of the town coming in was about what margin of victory Gabriel McLain (Sr., Benton) would win by. It was a close affair through the first mile in 4:47 between McLain, Chaz Oberkfell (Jr., Gillespie), and Nicolai Martino (Sr., Winnebago). At the second mile, Oberkell had the momentum, leading through the second mile in 9:38. McLain and Martino were a few seconds back. McClain led briefly with a half mile to go but was overtaken by Oberkfell with less than 200m remaining. Oberkfell came home with the upset victory in 14:31. Martino took second in 14:33, and McLain finished third in 14:36.
No definitive team favorite entered the state meet, but #1 Elmwood appeared to have the most momentum after defeating some top teams over the last several weeks. As it was discussed during the pregame, the team with the best pack and who could close well would be the victors. #3 Eureka led for the race's first half until #2 Niles Northridge Prep produced a strong final mile to defeat Elmwood 126-156. They were able to produce an efficient 38-second scoring split. Eureka held on for the third-place trophy, scoring 165 points.
Class 2A girls-
Who would it be here, #1 Chicago St. Ignatius or #2 Chatham-Glenwood? These two have been the best teams in the classification all season long. For St. Ignatius, they returned a boatload of talent from last year's third-place team. The Wolfpack also wanted to go out with a bang, as they will move up to 3A next year.
Besides the first mile, there was little resistance against St. Ignatius' push to the title. They led at every checkpoint and would stream nearly each runner home in fine fashion. Annika Swan (Jr.) took second for the second year in a row with a time of 16:27. The Wolfpack put five runners in the top 80 to score 77 points. #3 Depaul College Prep quietly crept onto the field and finished second with 177 points. Chatham-Glenwood fought hard in the final mile but finished third with 217 points.
Sundara Weber (Jr., Sandwich) controlled the race even with Swan on her hip. Both runners ran the first mile in 5:18 and the second in 10:40. Swan remained until the final kilometer. Weber put on a strong surge to win, going away by 16 seconds, 16:11. Zoe Carter (Sr., Normal University) won the bronze medal with a time of 16:49.
Class 2A boys-
The preseason #1 Chicago Payton had a severe thirst for a team title after winning the 4x800 relay last spring. The Grizzlies are believed to be entering the final time in the state cross country championships as a 2A competitor. The word on the street is they will move up to 3A. If so, they plan on going out with a bang.
#1 Morton put themselves in a precarious spot by not tracking where Payton was for the first mile. That's because the Grizzlies wore white over orange tops and were 10 seconds apart for the first mile. They stayed glued to the front of the pack led by Tra'Monti Williams (Jr). Williams motored home in 5th place (4th/team scoring) in a big personal best of 14:36. The scoring split for Payton was 39 seconds, and they scored 113 points and blew out Morton's 191.
The heavy favorite Finn Richards (Sr., Lisle Benet Academy) did not lead the first mile, but he was right there in 4:41. By the halfway mark, he and Thomas Jochum (So., Glenbard South) had taken over the chores in 7:05. With a mile to go, Richards was in control and would cruise home in 14:21--ten seconds better than Jochum.
Class 3A girls-
#1 Barrington, #2 Downers Grove North, and defending champion #3 York were the teams bidding for the three trophies. Prospect, Minooka, Naperville North, and Batavia threatened to spoil the party. From the gun, Barrington moved into position for the spoils on the strength of Mia Sirois (So) and Scout Storms (Sr) movement to the top of the class. They were in the top five through the first mile, with Sirois pushing the pace.
In what was transpiring into one of the great team battles, Barrington held on to a slim lead with one lap remaining. Sirois hit the second mile at 10:30. It was not on record pace, but she is rounding into the most efficient runner the state has ever seen. And once again, she closed out a race in fine fashion, taking down Judy Pendergast of Naperville North's all-time record of 15:53.8 with a 15:53.4. The all-state cutoff of 17:27 was the second best in IHSA history.
As was expected, the team battle was narrow from the beginning to the end. In this case, the lowstick's outcome proved pivotal. The Fillies of Barrington won their second team title with 130 points. The defending champions fought valiantly to keep what was theirs; the Lady Dukes took the runner-up trophy with 131 points. The third-place trophy went to last year's runner-up, Downers Grove North 132. It was the closest race in the history of the IHSA. And rightfully so.
Class 3A boys-
#1 Downers Grove North had something to prove... to themselves. The Trojans were ready to defend their title, and they did not waste a second as leaders Grant Schroder (Sr) and Philip Cupial (Jr) positioned themselves in the mix. They led #2 Plainfield North by a few points after the first mile. It did not take long to increase the space between the rest of the field. By the final mile, it was academic; the Trojans won easily over a good field with 83 points. It was a complete domination, and their effort spawned the best-ever scoring average of 14:29. Plainfield North scored 141 and took the runner-up trophy for the second year. Plainfield South was also third for the second consecutive year with 264 points.
Ben Crane (Sr., New Trier) had a smile on his face leading up to the championship race. He indicated that he wanted to break 14:00 along with the win. Sloppy course conditions courtesy of a steady light rain and previous races could play a part. Although he had company for a good portion of the race, it was Crane's race to lose, and he did not. He pulled away with a 1000m to go and won comfortably over Schroder by eight seconds in 14:03. It was an 11-second victory for Crane and set him up nicely for the Nike Cross Regional Championship next weekend in Terre Haute, Indiana.