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Boys cross country: Downers Grove North repeats state championship

After winning the Class 3A state championship last year, No. 1-ranked Downers Grove North had destiny at its doorstep as the Trojans tried to become one of only a handful of teams to capture back-to-back titles Saturday afternoon at the 78th IHSA boys state cross country meet in Peoria.

And DGN did just that in convincing fashion as they easily ran past runner-up Plainfield North by a score of 83-154 to win their third state crown, and ninth top-three state trophy in school history. Plainfield South held off Lake Zurich 248-264 for the third-place trophy while York (269 points) placed fifth.

New Trier's Ben Crane won the 3-mile race on the storied Detweiller Park course under some rainy running conditions downstate with a time of 14:03.40. DGN senior Grant Schroder's second-place finish was the highest finish in school history. The Trojans got a fourth from Philip Cupial, a 12th from Will Surratt, a 38th from John Courtney, and a 49th from Brady Travers to close the deal.

"It's really incredible. The race was really super-fast today, and the kids did an awesome job moving up throughout the race and just closed it down so well," said DGN coach John Sipple. "Grant (Schroder) was challenging the guy in the front, Philip closed it down really well, and I think it was the fastest five-man time average in Illinois state history."

After placing 10th as a junior, Schroder and DGN stuck to their same winning routine as usual heading into the pressure-packed meet on the legendary course.

"We just treated it like any other race. Our coaches told us we're not changing anything with our schedule and we ended up going back to back," said Schroder. "They just told us to go out there have fun and compete, and the results will come as long as we go out there and give our best effort."

Palatine (284 points) took eighth place to outdistance MSL rivals Barrington (322) in ninth, Prospect (338) in 10th, and Fremd (338, sixth-man tie-breaker) in 11th. Barrington's Joe Bregenzer (14:12.60) barely held off Cupial by a tenth of a second for third place while Fremd's Rory Gaan finished 3.9 seconds ahead of Palatine's Alex Krieg for seventh place.

Huntley's troops were led by Tommy Nitz in 11th place while Batavia's squad was paced by Francesco Benelli in 13th. Wheaton Warrenville South's Josiah Narayanan checked in with a 16th-place run followed by Wheaton North's Aidan Murphy in 18th, and WW South's Aiden Noel in 20th.

Lake Zurich's Karanveer Patil (21st) set a record for freshmen at the state meet with a time of 14:30.90 while Jacobs' Max Sudrzynski (23rd) and Maine South's Owynn Garrelts (25th) captured all-state honors. Naperville Central's Patrick Clune (26th) and Cary-Grove's Jameson Tenopir (28th) just missed the all-state team. Batavia got a 33rd from Edward Polaski while Palatine's Carter Hayes placed 35th.

"I'm very proud of them. It was a great season, they kept getting better and better and they ran their best race today so that was really good to see," said Lake Zurich coach J.B. Hanson. "Usually if you run a 14:30 (like Patil did) that is a top 10 time. He (Patil) did awesome, he is just incredibly focused in practice, and it's great to see that he's getting the accolades that he's worked for."

CLASS 2A

Chicago Payton won the Class 2A championship by a 113-191 margin over Morton while Chicago Latin edged Dixon 195-196 for third. Kaneland placed fifth with 222 points to outpace Marmion Academy (291) in seventh, Lakes (334) in ninth, and Benet Academy in 17th.

Benet's Finn Richards took home first place in 14:21.10 to beat runner-up Thomas Jochum of Glenbard South by 10 seconds. Kaneland teammates Evan Nosek and Carson Kaiser placed third and sixth, respectively, while Lakes' Jackson Summy placed seventh.

Kaneland's Evan Whildin placed 36th followed by Marmion's John Daffenberg (42nd), Benet's Aiden Hulett (47th), Crystal Lake South's Joseph Gonzalez (48th), and Hinsdale South's Wojtek Gilarski (57th).

CLASS 1A

In Class 1A, Northridge Prep won first place by a 126-156 margin over Elmwood followed by Aurora Central Catholic (215) in sixth, Montini (225) in seventh, and Harvest Christian Academy in 19th.

Montini was led by teammates Nino Pesola (10th) and Nolan Ferris (19th) while ACC was led by teammates Ben Bohr (23rd), and Jack Swiatek (30th). HCA 's Luca Bryja (62nd) edged ACC's John Reinbold (63rd).

Naperville Central's Patrick Clune competes in the Class 3A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
Glenbard East's Mason Hephner competes in the Class 3A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
Jacobs’ Maximilian Sudrzynski competes in the Class 3A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
Wheaton Warrenville South's Josiah Narayanan (left) and DeKalb’s Jacob Barraza (right) compete in the Class 3A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
St. Charles North's Samuel Hill competes in the Class 3A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
Hersey’s Mateus Salomao (left) competes in the Class 3A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
Fremd’s Rory Gaan competes in the Class 3A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
Glenbard South's Thomas Jochum (left) competes in the Class 2A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
Lakes’ Jackson Summy competes in the Class 2A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network
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