Cross country: Kaneland boys show few weaknesses

Kaneland is in the midst of a third consecutive season of high drama as the Class 2A boys cross country reaches its apex.

Matthew Richtman won the individual state championship in a barnburner two years ago; the Knights, however, missed the third and final team trophy to Bloomington by a single point last fall at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Kaneland has been the consensus top-ranked team since the dog days of late-summer training this year.

"I think the common team mindset is that rankings don't mean anything," Ethan Walker said in the glow of the Knights' celebration of a one-sided regional victory on their campus course in Maple Park. "We know what we can do. Provided we can replicate our success, the season will unfold as it does."

Walker was fifth overall - yet the senior was only fourth on his team - as the Knights overpowered Marmion 28-93 for the team title.

Sycamore (104), Burlington Central (108), Crystal Lake Central (122) and Hampshire (132) snared the other four team berths to the Belvidere sectional next week.

Kaneland has a formidable one-two punch at the top of its lineup as Austin Adams, denied all-state status by a mere place last fall, and Daniel Occhipinti were dynamite once again.

Adams discarded any thoughts of a climatic finish for the individual title with Burlington Central senior star Anthony Farmer in the opening stages.

Farmer was third in state last year for the Rockets.

"I took it out and did not see (Farmer) the entire time," said Adams, who blazed to the title in 15 minutes, 15.7 seconds. "I was just trying to be aggressive and end it quick. Farmer is really good."

Farmer was runner-up in 15:22.7.

Occhipinti, Isaiah Dallal and Walker followed in succession to flavor the Knights' knockout victory.

Marmion was the only other program with two runners in the top 10 as the Cadets' Anthony Zangler and Alex Carlson were sixth and eighth, respectively.

"It's absolutely awesome for me personally and for the team," Occhipinti said of Knights' current trend.

"I gave it everything I had today," said Farmer. "I took it almost like a workout."

In the girls race, the three Crystal Lake programs were firmly ensconced at the top of the pecking order.

South teammates Mackenzie Aldridge and Bella Gonzalez were inches apart at the finish line as the former captured the race by one one-hundredth of a second in 18:14.1.

"It's all Bella (pushing me)," Aldridge said. "(The individual championship) means a lot, but it's nothing without my team."

"Honestly, I didn't expect this at all," Gonzalez said.

But Prairie Ridge was the team champion with its 47-51 triumph over Crystal Lake South.

Kaneland (78), Crystal Lake Central (92), Burlington Central (129) and Sycamore (149) also advanced.

Rachel Richtman is the last of the famed running siblings for Kaneland.

Fighting through a debilitating illness, Richtman was fifth in pacing the Knights.

Richtman is seeking to become the first girl in Kaneland program history to earn four all-state medals.

"I have been sick with bronchitis, so I was just hoping to qualify my team today," Richtman said. "I felt really good for the first mile but the last two really beat me up."