Cross country: Hill, St. Charles North in good early-season form at Elgin City Classic
With Michigan State-bound senior Samuel Hill leading the way at the Elgin City Classic Invitational Saturday morning, the St. Charles North boys cross country team looks like a force to be reckoned with this season.
The North Stars took home the championship of the season-opening meet at Elgin High School with 17 points. Bartlett held off St. Laurence 77-89 for runner-up honors followed closely by Wheaton Academy (104 points) in fourth, Hoffman Estates (113 points) in fifth and South Elgin (117 points) in sixth.
“I ran a 14:25 today (for 3 miles) and my PR is a 14:20, so it was definitely a good time for me,” said Hill, who placed ninth in Class 3A last year. “I'm hoping to try to win state, set the state record and go to nationals and get top 10.”
St. Charles North's Miles Dill took second, followed by teammates Logan Hitchings in third and Christian Enger in fourth. The host Maroons were led by Giovani Sanchez Munoz in fifth place, while Bartlett's Caleb Roberts placed sixth.
“A sub-14:30 time is good for (Hill), that is close to where he was running at state last year and we're aiming to get under that 14-minute mark,” said St. Charles North coach Kevin Harrington. “I thought the other guys ran really well, and it's going to come down to our fifth runner to find out how good we'll be.”
St. Charles North's John Tanig placed seventh followed by Bartlett's Adrian Rodela in eighth and Wheaton Academy's Andrew Sims in ninth. Wheaton Academy's Aksel Escareno placed 11th to edge Bartlett's Sean Yu in 12th.
“Caleb (Roberts) is a very strong athlete and he's only a sophomore so it's looking great for the future,” said Bartlett coach Angie Deku. “It was an amazing race, we came in strong at the end and we're excited because we had a lot of PRs today.”
At the Kane County Invitational, Kaneland took first place with 43 points as the Knights got a fourth-place finish from Nolan Reutimann.
Geneva (102 points) took third place followed by St. Charles East in fourth, Batavia in fifth and Benet Academy in sixth. Batavia's Braden Korn placed third, while Kaneland's Gavin Smith placed sixth.
Girls
The St. Charles North girls cross country team got their 2026 season off to a great start Saturday morning by winning the Elgin City Classic Invitational with 26 points as junior Kara Glenn rolled to first place in 16:48 on the 3-mile course.
South Elgin had a strong second-place showing as the Storm outdistanced third-place Willowbrook by a 43-58 margin. The host Maroons took fifth place.
“I just wanted to progress, and I got that done so that was my main goal,” said Glenn, who led the race from wire to wire. “I'm proud of our team and proud of what we're building. I definitely think we're an up-and-coming cross country program for sure, and I'm excited for our future.”
The North Stars' pack running was great as Julia Rodney placed second and teammate Gwen Hobson placed third.
“We looked pretty good in the front of the pack, and it was a good start to the season for us,” said St. Charles North coach Shari Hayes. “I think they're times were pretty good today, and our fifth runner will have to start closing the gap with the fourth runner. I'm just really happy how they ran today.”
South Elgin also put together a strong front pack as the trio of Kayleia Lindsey, Caitlin Wennerstrom, and Luna Pozos placed 4-5-7 to help the team take second place.
“The front three stayed together really well today, and this is a good starting point for them,” said South Elgin coach Jorie Bartholomew. “(Lindsey) was able to pull ahead of the rest of our group at the end, and she is a very strong runner.”
Senior Bethany Yurich led Willowbrook in sixth place, while St. Edward junior Hayden Poole took eighth place. St. Charles North got a ninth-place finish from Alyssa Oblak followed by Willowbrook teammates Paige Simek (10th) and Julie Oddo (11th).
Elgin was paced by senior Teagan Culver in 12th place while St. Charles North's Eden Custer placed 13th. South Elgin teammates Melody Guzman and Adeline Denny placed 14th and 15th respectively.
St. Charles East won the Kane County meet with 53 points. Hampshire (78 points) placed third. The Saints got a first-place finish from Adley Wilson (17:56.2), and St. Francis' Erin Hinsdale placed third.