Cross country: York’s Janowski, Downers Grove North’s Cupial win state titles

Saturday was a great day for the York girls cross country team with a third-place finish, but an even greater day for sophomore Karlin Janowski, who won the Class 3A state title on the 3-mile Detweiller Park course in 16:10 flat.

Barrington ran to back-to-back state titles in the 46th IHSA state meet with 144 points followed by Prospect (159 points) in second, and the Dukes (187) in third. Hersey edged Lake Zurich 199-209 for fourth followed by Hinsdale Central (254) in seventh, and Glenbard West (295) in 10th.

"I'm so excited for Karlin, she was so laser-focused going into this race, she knew that she was going to have to take a risk, and her smart racing paid off," said York coach Lauren Deangelis. "The team did awesome. It's been kind of an up-and-down season, and it was a complete team race to finish strong after sitting in fourth place going into that last mile."

After taking second place last year as a freshman, Janowski held off Batavia junior Avery Hacker by 3.98 seconds to take first place. Downers Grove North's Macy Ermitage placed third while Geneva's Sofia Borter placed sixth.

"It was a very fast first mile. I executed our team plan, and I'm really proud of how I did and how our team did," said Janowski, who had a PR. "I was like in shock after I finished, and top three was a huge accomplishment. We were underdogs, and being a family as a team was the key."

Jacobs freshman Lennox Szymonik placed 10th followed by York's Sophia Galiano-Sanchez in 11th, St. Charles North's Gwen Hobson in 13th, and Glenbard West's Alexa Novak in 15th. Benet's Keira Jenke (25th) took the final all-state spot. Huntley's Haley Rahman placed 40th.

Montini senior Sydney Gertsen was on the top of her game in the Class 2A meet as she took first place in 16:34.79 to win the race by 13 seconds over Prairie Ridge's Emaline Foster.

"It was a pretty dramatic race. Sydney was able to get the win, and we're very proud of her," said Montini coach Alex Zasso, whose team placed 14th. "We were six for seven on PRs for the day. She (Gertsen) had a fantastic career, and we're excited to see how she will do at St. Louis University next year."

Glenwood rolled to the Class 2A title by an 81-129 margin over runner-up St. Francis followed by Prairie Ridge (150) in third, and Wheaton Academy (221) in fourth.

St. Francis junior Elena Mamminga edged Fenton's Josslyn Wade by .10 seconds for eighth place while St. Francis' Erin Hinsdale placed 11th. Aurora Central Catholic's Cece Hilby placed 14th followed by St. Francis' Abby Yarusso (29th), Wheaton Academy's Sydnie Becker (34th), Montini's Ashlynn Lindt (36th), and Crystal Lake South's Caroline Lucas (40th).

In the Class 1A meet, Westmont senior Kyla Babb took third place in 16:20.78 as she improved her third-place time from last year by 15 seconds. Winnebago rolled to the team title with 150 points.

Boys race: The Downers Grove North boys cross country team made a strong run for their third straight Class 3A state title Saturday afternoon, but the Trojans fell just short of the mark despite senior Philip Cupial winning the 3-mile race in 14:03.20.

Plainfield North held off runner-up DGN 149-169 in the massive 28-team field while Hersey toppled Lake Zurich 198-211 for the third-place trophy. York (226) placed fifth while St. Charles North (273 placed eighth.

"I'm just so happy for him (Cupial). He's done an awesome job, and he just took it from start to finish," said DGN coach John Sipple. "The guys were right there competing for a state title, but Plainfield North closed out the last mile really well."

Cupial held off Lake Zurich's Gordon Libby by four seconds for first place after he placed fourth in the state last year.

Downers Grove South's Conrad Saner placed fifth followed by St. Charles North's Samuel Hill (ninth), Neuqua Valley's Grayson Meek (14th), DGN's William Surratt (18th), and Neuqua Valley's Jesse Gudauskas (24th).

York's Patrick Hill placed 27th followed by Glenbard West's Matt King in 31st, York Harrison Manternach in 32nd, DGN's Stephen Cox in 33rd, Addison Trail's Nathan Gundersen in 37th, York's Carter Olsen in 43rd, Willowbrook's Miteku Branch in 50th, St. Charles North's Matt Russell in 56th, and Dundee-Crown's Logan Grey in 57th.

In Class 2A, Dixon captured the championship by a 115-143 margin over Mahomet-Seymour while Kaneland sophomore Carson Kaiser (14:12.90) outdistanced Glenbard South's Thomas Jochum by three seconds for third place.

Deerfield (155) took third while Aurora Central Catholic (312) took eighth. Cary-Grove senior Jameson Tenopir took 13th place while ACC's John Reinbold was all-state in 24th place. Glenbard South's Giancarlo Pietrasanta placed 28th followed by Montini's Nino Pesola in 35th and Crystal Lake South's Joseph Gonzalez in 38th.