Cross country: Hersey girls, York boys win 3A state championships; MSL dominates girls race
A lot of people had to be shocked when they looked at the final results of the IHSA Class 3A girls cross country meet Saturday afternoon at Peoria's Detweiller Park.
Yes, a Mid-Suburban League team won the championship again. But this time it was Hersey's fabulous team effort that carried the Huskies to their first title in school history with 126 points.
Barrington (146 points) had four runners in the top 18 to take second place while Prospect (179 points) gave the MSL a clean sweep of the top three places. Maine South took fifth place while Lake Zurich (ninth) and St. Charles North rounded out the top 10.
"Today was the first day they ran how they were capable. They all ran personal bests, and you can not ask for more than that at the state meet," said Hersey coach Mikayla Olsen. "This morning there were a lot of nerves, but they showed up at the course confident, and today all seven runners clicked."
Hersey's road to the title was led by freshman Madeline Serur in 14th, sophomore Graceleen Mabry in 16th, Alexa Izenstark in 32nd, Gianna Suvada in 33rd, and Clara Vincent in 40th.
University of North Carolina-bound St. Charles North junior Kara Glenn absolutely rolled to the individual crown by smashing the previous course record of 15:53.4 with a winning time of 15:13.0.
"It was my best time by 38 or 39 seconds. I built up to this all season, and I peaked very well today," said Glenn. "Great job to everyone who was out there today. You could not have asked for a better day for running."
Defending champion Karlin Janowski of York placed second in 16:01.4 followed by the Barrington trio of Victoria Tarara in third, Angelica Hil in fourth, and Notre Dame-bound Mia Sirois in fifth.
"Hats off to Hersey, they ran a great race, they packed it together and they deserved to win," said Barrington coach Debbie Revolta, whose fifth runner placed 145th. "And how about the MSL going one, two, three? We push each other that's for sure and we have great respect for both teams because we just get better because of them."
Maine South's Tessie Bradley placed ninth followed by Downers Grove North's Macy Ermitage in 12th, Batavia's Avery Hacker in 13th, and Barrington's Ashleigh Forbes in 18th.
Prospect's Allison Kalkwarf placed 20th while St. Charles East's Adley Wilson (21st), Wheaton Warrenville South's Adelaide Lindsay (22nd), St. Charles North's Gwen Hobson (23rd), Lake Zurich's Celia Blaylock (24th), and South Elgin's Caitlin Wennerstrom (25th) also made the all-state (top 25) team. St. Charles North's Julia Rodney placed 26th.
In Class 2A, St. Francis senior Elena Mamminga ran to first place in 17:05.8, but Mahomet-Seymour edged the Spartans 183-190 for the third-place trophy.
St. Francis senior Erin Hinsdale took third place while sophomore teammate Abby Yarusso took 10th place. Cary-Grove's Alexandra Santoyo placed 18th while Montini's Natalia Pesola took 24th. Wheaton Academy's team placed sixth.
Boys race: Saturday was a very special day for the York boys cross country team at the IHSA Class 3A state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
After a 14-year drought, the Dukes rose to the top of the mountain to capture their state-record 29th championship in school history and their first title without legendary coach Joe Newton guiding the squad.
York held off runner-up New Trier 141-155 for the crown while St. Charles North captured the third-place trophy with 160 points. Prospect (207 points) placed fifth followed by Fremd (218) in sixth and Hersey (238) in eighth.
Junior Patrick Hill led the Dukes' push for the crown with a sixth-place finish. York's other scorers were George Knott (30th), Michael Gurgone (42nd), Harrison Manternach (54th), and Jacob McKillop (55th).
"The boys executed the race plan absolutely perfectly, and in the last mile and a half they passed about 150 people," said York coach Charlie Kern. "They have to walk past the trophy case every day so for them to have this mountain top experience is the greatest thing for me. He (Newton) wanted me to take over and now I can say to him that I helped these kids get to the top of the mountain."
Reavis' Santiago Chavez (14:04.8) took first place by five seconds over Lake Zurich junior Karanveer Patil.
"He (Patil) ran great, he's been running well the last couple of weeks, and it was the Reavis kid's day," said Lake Zurich coach J.B. Hanson. "There were good conditions down here. It was a PR for him (Patil), and his future is very bright for sure."
Michigan State-bound Sam Hill led St. Charles North's push for third place with a third-place run while Neuqua Valley's Jesse Gudauskas placed fourth. Addison Trail senior Nathan Gundersen had a strong eighth-place showing.
"We had a great day, and Sam (Hill) was the leader that we needed him to be," said St. Charles North coach Kevin Harrington. "The rest of the guys just ran like men, and this was our third trophy in school history."
Senior David Moore led Fremd in 11th place followed by Willowbrook's Legend Alka in 12th. Hinsdale Central teammates Johnny Krueger, Henry Miller and Elliot Kotleba placed 14th, 15th and 19th. Downers Grove North's Stephen Cox placed 16th while Downers Grove South's Conrad Saner placed 17th. Fremd's Jack Jennings (21st) also made the all-state team while Naperville Central's Derek Williamson (26th) just missed the cut-off.
In Class 2A, Kaneland junior Carson Kaiser took second place to Morris individual champion Cuyler Swanson (14:11.0) by six seconds.
Dixon rolled to the team title with 101 points while Montini took seventh place. Vernon Hills senior Bryant Lester placed 12th followed by Aurora Central Catholic's John Reinbold in 14th. Other all-state finishers were Glenbard South's Thomas Jochum (19th), and Lakes' Cooper Summy (20th).