As temperatures drop, these runners heat up
Cross country races ended at the Illinois High School Association level Nov. 9 at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
Nationally, the top runners just got going. There is a strong roster of area athletes who have signed up for the 45th Foot Locker Cross Country Championships’ Midwest regional on Saturday at Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha.
It’s one of four regional races, with the first 10 male and female finishers in each advancing to Foot Locker Nationals on Dec. 14 in San Diego.
Barrington sophomore Mia Sirois, who set a course record at Detweiller Park while leading the Broncos to the Class 3A title on Nov. 9, will test her mettle Nov. 30 against runners from Illinois and 12 other states at Foot Locker Midwest.
Sirois already ran in the preliminary of the other big prep national cross country meet, Nike Cross Nationals. On Nov. 17 in Terre Haute, Indiana, she was runner-up to Michigan’s Victoria Garces at its Midwest regional.
York’s Karlin Janowski and Prospect’s Veronica Znajda placed in the top-15 at NXN Midwest. At Detweiller Park they finished second and third in Class 3A, respectively, behind Sirois, and both have signed up to run at the Foot Locker regional.
Boys Class 2A winner Finn Richards of Benet, as well as 3A champ Ben Crane of New Trier also have signed up. Crane won the Nike regional with Richards in 16th.
Finishing between Crane and Richards in that regional were both Philip Cupial and Grant Schroder of repeat 3A champion Downers Grove North, whose club team won the NXN Midwest team title on Nov. 17 — as did the Downers North girls. That qualified them for the Nike Cross Nationals championship, Dec. 7 in Portland, Oregon.
Regulations forbid actual high school teams from competing in these events, but it’s basically a formality. For example, Janowski ran under York’s traditional club name, “Kroy.”
Cupial and Schroder will be in Kenosha as well for the Foot Locker regional, along with others such as Barrington’s Joe Bregenzer and Kaneland’s Evan Nosek, who finished third in Class 2A at the state meet.
Competing on a course where Wheeling Olympian Jorge Torres ran four straight years from 1995-98 is not a bad place to be.
The future
In October the Illinois Elementary School Association held its cross country finals, girls and boys from fifth- through eighth-grades qualifying out of eight sectionals, in four classes.
Champions included Adelaide Galla of Arlington Heights, Molly Mocko of Glen Ellyn, Jacob McKillop of Elmhurst, and Graceleen Mabry of Prospect Heights.
Two schools from Arlington Heights — St. James and Thomas — and others in Mt. Prospect, Elmhurst and Willowbrook won team titles.
AVCA All-Americans
The American Volleyball Coaches Association recently announced its girls high school All-America teams. Several area players are represented.
Timothy Christian’s Texas-bound Abby Van Der Wal and Benet’s duo of middle blocker Lynney Tarnow (Wisconsin) and libero Aniya Warren (Purdue) made the AVCA first team.
Purdue stated that Warren, the two-time Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area captain, is the nation’s top libero in the nation.
Second-team selections include St. Charles North’s Haley Burgdorf (Penn State) and St. Francis’ Addy Horner (Wisconsin).
Hannah Kenny of Willowbrook (Louisville) was named a third-team AVCA All-American.
Flag bearers
Aurora University on Nov. 19 announced it will be adding women’s flag football in 2026, increasing its roster of sports to 25. The Spartans are seeking a coach for the new sport.
The inaugural season will be held from February to May 2026, the school stated in a release.
Among Illinois colleges offering women’s flag football, Aurora will join Benedictine, Rockford and Illinois Wesleyan universities, and the College of DuPage.
Gustavo Silva, the Chicago Bears’ manager of youth and high school football, who has helped lead the charge for girls flag football in Illinois, estimated that about 40 colleges and universities nationwide offer the sport.
Most college flag football teams are in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) programs.
doberhelman@dailyherald.com