Cross country: Harvest Christian's boys seeking state hardware

The Harvest Christian Academy boys cross-country team is making a habit of hitting the road to Peoria at this time of the year.

The Lions will compete in the Class 1A state finals meet Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria on the heels of winning both regional and sectional team titles.

Harvest is making its fourth Class 1A state finals appearance in a row. On paper and not factoring in variables such as course difficulty, this year's Lions squad posted the second-lowest sectional team score out of the Class 1A state team qualifiers with 74 points. Freeburg won a sectional with 42 points.

In the sectional win, Harvest had four runners in the Top 20, while Freeburg had its entire sectional roster finish in the Top 20.

Harvest's counting scores at the sectional where senior Michael Sisko (4th), junior Anthony Dobrescu (11th), sophomore Payton Kasper (16th), junior Mark Davila (20th) and junior Connor Seals (34th).

Sisko said a focus on cadence has helped him trim time off his runs. "I've worked the most on my form and cadence," he said. "I've moved from a very slow cadence of probably 20 steps per 20 seconds and have stepped it up to 29 steps per 20 seconds and that's every time my left foot hits the ground in 20 seconds. It's been one of my biggest contributors to my improvement this year."

Sisko added extra work in the offseason didn't hurt either. "I ran about 600 miles in the summer," he noted. "If I didn't do that, I'd be running similar times to last year."

Sisko said his goal is a sub 15:20 mark on the faster Detweiller course. "Coach (Steve Bland) has a goal for me to get a sub-15. We'll see how that goes."

Sisko has qualified for state all four years, but did not compete last year due to injury.

"We're all very excited to be going down there a fourth year in a row," he said. "We love the state experience. We're going to be all hyped up and we'll run hard and show that all our hard work pays off."

In the Class 2A meet, Kaneland junior Matthew Richtman finished third at the sectional to qualify for his second state meet in a row.

"I've worked hard in practice and I have run a lot more miles than I have in previous years," he said. "I've worked together with the whole team. They helped me get to this point."

Richtman wants to get right up where the action is Saturday. "I am going to try and stay with the lead back or right behind the lead pack," he said. "I'm going to make sure I'm really competitive with the runners around me and either stay with them or be one step ahead of them. It's a big thrill to qualify. It's definitely different than all the other meets we run. There is going to be a lot of competition and that's going to motivate me to run faster and go farther and give it even more."

The Hampshire duo of seniors Jacob Oury and Will Matushek also will run in the Class 2A meet.

Marmion, Geneva and St. Charles East qualified as teams for the Class 3A meet. Charlie Zimmer leads the way for the Cadets. Geneva is paced by senior Tyler Dau and sophomore Josh Rodgers, while senior Jake Beno leads St. Charles East.

Crystal Lake South's Jack Becker and Dundee-Crown's Anthony Hurgoi will run as individuals in 3A.

Girls

Burlington Central senior Megan Safranski has only been competing in competitive cross-country races for two seasons and now has two state appearances to show for it. Safranski, a former soccer player, will compete in the Class 2A state meet Saturday.

"I put in a lot of time and work over the summer," she said. "Our team atmosphere helps. The girls are great, they are dedicated and they are motivated. They motivated me to have a great year of training. I definitely benefitted from them."

Safranski said consistency will be the key in Peoria. "I'm a pacer," she said. "I want to keep my splits consistent and run with the competition down there. I'm lucky to have the chance to run with all of these good runners."

Also in the Class 2A, Aurora Central Catholic senior Abby Firoesi will come into the meet fresh off a sectional individual championship a week ago. Hampshire junior Sophia Oury also will be in the field.

Kaneland (4th place sectional) and Rosary (4th place sectional) qualified as teams. Kaneland is paced by freshman Rachel Richtman (7th at sectional) and the Royals are led by junior Claire Hengesbaugh (third at the sectional).

In Class 3A, Geneva and Batavia both qualified as teams. Vikings senior Emma Ehrhardt was third at the sectional meet, while junior Marcygrace Golden leads the way for the Bulldogs.

Individually in 3A, St. Charles North seniors Audrey Ernst and Madison Kaufmann, St. Charles East senior Anna Arrick, Crystal Lake South senior Caitlin Bruzzini and Dundee-Crown junior Sylvia Waz will be part of the field. Bruzzini was fifth at the sectional level, while North Star runner Ernst was fourth.

Harvest Christian Academy qualified for state as a team in Class 1A, fueled by junior Nygia Pollard's sectional-championship finish. St. Edward freshman Madeline Ellsworth also will compete.