Boys cross country: Big weekend for Aho(s), Grayslake Central
It was quite a week for Jack Aho.
The Grayslake Central senior verbally committed to run for the University of Michigan during the week. He then went out and won the Class 2A Woodstock North regional on Saturday.
Aho's time of 15:23 at Emricson Park edged out his brother, Matt, who finished one second behind in second place. Grayslake Central swept the top-three spots, as junior Eli Minsky (16:03) was third, and won the championship with 24 points, comfortably ahead of runner-up Lakes (50). Antioch (87) was third, followed by Grayslake North (102), Woodstock (129) and Carmel (138). All six teams qualified for the Belvidere sectional.
Luke Reblin (eighth, 17:06) and Ben Steinbeck (10th, 17:17) rounded out Grayslake Central's scoring. Mario Giannini (17:40) was 18th for the Rams.
Lakes was paced by the 5-7 finish of Jeremy Wallace (16:21) and Kael Moran (16:50). Ethan Schommer (11th, 17:20), Owen Wenberg (12th, 17:25) and Jack Erwin (15th, 17:35) completed the Eagles' scoring.
Antioch received a sixth-place run from freshman Charlie Smith (16:21). Kevin Vettesse (17:29) was 14th for the Sequoits. Antioch's pack also included Joe Sculuca (21st, 17:46), Josh Linck (22nd, 17:47) and Alex Besson (24th, 17:52).
Grayslake North senior Liam O'Connell (16:03) was fourth. The Knights also counted the runs of Cameron Detweiler (16th, 17:37), Brandt Batteau (23rd, 17:50), Blake Barrecca (27th, 18:01) and John Mutter (32nd. 18:16).
Carmel senior Stephen Lacke (17:14) was ninth. The Corsairs' sectional-qualifying squad also included Jack Teehan (13th, 17:28), Alex Slack (34th, 18:23), Zach Schnieder (37th, 18:34) and David Hoffman (45th, 19:55).
Burlington Central regional: At Burlington Central, Vernon Hills (109 points) and Wauconda (240) placed fifth and eighth, respectively, in the Class 2A regional. Vernon Hills' finish earned the Cougars a berth in the Belvidere sectional.
Shane Williamson's sixth-place finish led Vernon Hills, as the senior posted a time of 15:16. Fellow seniors Tim Krashevsky (15:55) and Nick Mohrdieck (16:07) were 13th and 16th, respectively. Theodore Chen (32d, 16:39), Evan Peepo (42nd, 17:03) and Evan Webber (44th, 17:08) also ran for Vernon Hills.
Wauconda advanced junior Adam Fox (34th, 16:43).
Crystal Lake Central won the championship with 59 points.
Grant regional: At Camp Henry Horner, Lake Zurich cruised to the Class 3A championship, as the Bears' 31 points comfortably outdistanced runner-up Palatine (75).
Race-champ Brian Griffith (15:38) and Matt Pereira (15:41) claimed the top-two finishes for Lake Zurich. Kyle Griffith (15:50) was fifth and Patrick Burns (16:10) took ninth for the Bears, who advanced to the Waukegan sectional. Eric Metzger (14th, 16:33) and Jacob Bieniek (32nd, 16:55) completed Lake Zurich's scoring.
Host Grant (288) placed 10th.