Girls cross country: Marasco marches on; Prospect wins team title

Schaumburg senior Maddie Marasco has definitely been on a roll.

And she is showing no signs of slowing down.

The Saxons senior ran to the Mid-Suburban League title eight days ago in Rolling Meadows and she didn't miss a beat Saturday in the Hoffman Estates Class 3A girls cross country regional.

Marasco separated from the field early and kept on moving to capture the regional title in an impressive 16:54 at Busse Woods.

"The end of the season is when you want to be under 17 minutes," said Schaumburg coach Kristin Zillmer of her star runner. "And she is right on track."

Marasco skated through the first mile in 5:30, hit the second mile in 11:13 and kept cruising through the third mile on a mild fall morning.

"I wasn't expecting that today," said Marasco who made a verbal commitment to run at Illinois on Thursday. "I knew there would be a lot of competition and next week there will be even more. I just wanted to stay up with the pace, and in the third mile I just tried to zone in."

Prospect also seems to be in the right zone.

The Knights placed six runners in the top 18 positions, running to its first regional title since 2015. Hersey (73 points) took second followed by Fremd (85 points), Glenbrook South (86 points), Hoffman Estates (120 points) and Schaumburg (135 points). All six teams advanced to the Hoffman Estates sectional next week at Busse Woods. The girls race starts at 10 a.m.

Prospect senior Mikayla Olsen (18:20) took fourth place to pace the Knights and was followed by freshman Reese Lettow (18:43) in eighth.

"We focused on the start," said Olsen, whose team ran to a second-place finish at the MSL meet. "Last week we got out way too fast. This week we were a bit more controlled."

Junior Marissa Valentini (18:49) added an 11th-place finish, followed by sophomore Emily Hubbard (19:03), junior Julia O'Grady (19:07) and senior Sydney Kitzmiller (19:08) who took 15th, 17th, and 18th place to seal the victory for the Knights.

"Today was about taking care of business and getting back into the groove," said Prospect coach Pete Wintermute.

Hersey sophomore Katie Fredian (18:34) and junior Veronika Makowski (18:37) gave the Huskies a big lift by taking sixth and seventh place.

Makowski did not run at the MSL meet due to a quad injury but came back strong to support the Huskies attack on Saturday.

Fredian has also been on the move after starting the season with shin splints. The Huskies sophomore is now healthy and it showed on Saturday.

"I'm feeling a lot better," said Fredian who finished 10th at the MSL meet. "Week by week I've been getting my momentum back."

Sophomore Aubrey Hasley (18:55) aided the Huskies with a 13th-place finish.

Fremd sophomore Marissa Ban has also been on the move. She delivered a fifth-place finish (18:29) to powering Fremd to third place.

"I'm feeling much more confident," said Ban whose team finished sixth at the MSL meet. "We really wanted to bounce back and we all stayed strong throughout the race."

Sophomore Rebecca Markham (18:45) and senior Nupur Pokharkar (18:51) boosted the Vikings' strong run by securing ninth and 12th place.

Hoffman Estates junior Nikki Rong (19:10) and junior Anna Miller (19:13) took 19th and 20th place to power a strong fifth-place performance by the Hawks.

Hoffman did a nice job of moving throughout the race and seems to be peaking at the right time.

"That is the race plan," said Hoffman coach Kirk Macnider of the Hawks' move. "We just have to take one more step next week."

Marasco led the charge for Schaumburg and was supported by senior Rachael Vaccaro (18:57) who added a 14th-place finish for the Saxons who secured the final team qualifying spot.

Individual sectional qualifiers included Elk Grove junior Monica Casillas (23rd) and Rolling Meadows junior Elizabeth Clark (31st).

Palatine regional: Barrington's girls cross country team took first at the Mid-Suburban League meet last week, and the Fillies kept the line moving on Saturday in the Palatine Class 3A regional.

Senior Jocelyn Long (17:25) and freshman Molly Fitzpatrick (17:32) went 1-2in powering the Fillies to the title with 32 points at Deer Grove East.

Cary-Grove (68 points) took second followed by host Palatine (87 points), Lake Zurich (104 points), Grant (137 points) and Wheeling (178 points), who all advanced to the Hoffman Estates sectional next week at 10 a.m.

Barrington placed five runners in the top 14 spots to earn the regional title.

Freshman Katherine Shein (18:32) and sophomore Alyssa Norris (18:33) secured seventh and eighth place with freshman Anne Berquist (18:50) sealed the victory for Barrington with a 14th-place finish.

Sophomore Allison Drage (18:09) delivered a fifth-place finish to pace Cary-Grove to second place.

Palatine freshman Anne Marie Jordan (18:05) took third to lift Palatine to a third-place finish. Senior Lauryn Simons (18:51), junior Kate Lechowicz (18:54), and junior Liz Lechowicz (19:22) added 15th, 17th and 22nd-place finishes to aid the Pirates' effort.

Senior Yailene Leon (19:11) and junior Christina Pierini (19:16) took 20th and 21st place in helping Wheeling secure the sixth and final qualifying sectional team spot.

Buffalo Grove senior Rylee Bers and sophomore Kailyn Hellyer both qualified individually to the sectional meet.

Whitney Young regional: Leyden advanced three individual runners to the sectional round. Junior Jazmin Santoyo (34th place), sophomore Brenda Bolivar (39th place), and senior Anmar Cabral (40th place) all qualified to the Lake Park sectional next Saturday on Lake Park East campus, where the girls' race is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Niles West regional: Maine West junior Sarah Magnoni (20:08) took 29th place at the Niles West regional and will advance as an individual to the Lake Park sectional next Saturday.

Class 2A at Fenton: St. Viator stormed to the regional title with 23 points, with Deerfield taking second with 44 points. Freshman Katie Castelli (19:23) won the individual title to lead the way for the Lions. Junior Payton McDonnell (20:06) and senior Loreta Dugo (20:09) followed by taking third and fourth place for Viator.

Senior Maddie Fitzpatrick (20:44), freshman Sophie Limberakis (20:46) and junior Claire Bottcher (20:46) kept the line moving by securing 7-8-9, with junior Maura Hogaboom (21:08) adding a 12th-place finish in a dominant Lions performance.

St. Viator advances to the Chicago University sectional at Washington Park next Saturday, with the girls race starting at 9 a.m.