Boys cross country: Grayslake Central completes 2A championship run
PEORIA - After dominating their Class 2A regional two weeks ago and their sectional just last weekend, Grayslake Central's boys cross country team had some folks wondering if it could somehow do it again Saturday afternoon at the state meet.
The answer to that question was a resounding "yes."
The Rams stayed on their impressive postseason roll all the way to the end, claiming their first state championship in school history, again in dominant fashion.
Grayslake Central finished with a mere 54 points, with Mahomet-Seymour a distant runner-up at 121.
Yorkville (150) took home the third-place trophy, ahead of fourth-place Hinsdale South (238) and fifth-place Fenwick (249 points).
Grayslake Central's road to the state title was led by elite junior Jack Aho, who ran to the individual state crown in 14:25 on the 3-mile Detweiller Park course.
Hinsdale South senior Charlie Nodus took second in 14:30, while the Rams got a huge lift Saturday from Matt Aho's seventh-place finish.
After placing third in the state last fall, Vernon Hills junior Shane Williams still had a stellar eighth-place finish for the Cougars in the pressure-packed meet.
Grayslake Central also got all-state (top 25) performances from senior John Girmscheid in 23rd and sophomore Eli Minsky in 25th. Senior Jack Battaglia just missed the all-state squad with a 26th-place run for the Rams.
Seniors Danny Vincent (51st), and Alden Aaberg (108th) were also a part of Grayslake Central's incredible run to what turned out to be a fantastic season.
"For it to all come together feels really special and I'm going to cherish it forever," said Grayslake Central coach Jimmy Centella, whose team will have three all-staters returning in 2016. "The expectation was that we run to our ability today, and this year our best happened to be a lot better than everybody else."
Six of the Rams' seven runners had personal-record times, with Matt Aho breaking his previous best by 36 seconds.
"It's a special group of guys, we all had a great day, and our three, four, and five runners all p.r.'d by at least 20 seconds," said Jack Aho, who tied for the fifth-best time of any runner Saturday. "Coming in I knew the first mile would be fast, and with about 500 meters to go I broke away from the last pack."
Grayslake Central's dream season also included a first-place finish at the Fox Valley Conference meet before the road to the state crown got underway at the Antioch regional.
"We were consistent all year, but we got even more consistent the last few weeks," said Centella, whose team placed sixth in Class 2A last year without Matt Aho on the squad. "They ran well, things fell into place for us, and he (Jack Aho) is the real deal. Being a junior he still has a year to go, so that is pretty exciting. And (Matt Aho) being seventh in his first year of cross country was pretty exciting."
Looking ahead to next season Centella knows the future is very bright with the Aho brothers leading the way, but the Rams will need to find some quality runners to replace the four graduating seniors.
"We bring three all-staters back, so that is awesome," added Centella. "But we're going to need some sophomores and juniors next year to improve our depth."
Williamson finished eighth in a close logjam of runners with a time of 14:45 in the average-paced race. After placing third in the state as a sophomore, Williamson should be poised for another great season next fall.
"It was pretty tough coming down the last stretch, but I knew it was the last race of the season so I gave it everything I had," said Williamson. "Jack and Matt (Aho) will definitely be my competition again (next year). I was hoping to do a little better today, but it was a learning experience."
Vernon Hills coach Mark Whitney has a third-place trophy and now four all-state runners in the past three years.
"It was a great race with a very deep field, and six of the top guys were from our sectional," said Whitney. "I think he (Williamson) ran a tough race, he stayed with the lead pack for the first two miles, and he was strong to the end."
Class 3A state meet: Junior Matt Pereira (14:29) and Lake Zurich (207) each finished fifth in the Class 3A race.
Lake Zurich junior Brian Griffith (14:30) was seventh overall, while junior Kyle Griffith (14:44) took 21st. Sophomore Patrick Burns (73rd) and senior Matt Milner (147th) completed the Bears' scoring.
Warren senior Dustin Macuiba (14:33) raced to an eighth-place finish.