Girls cross country: Vernon Hills runs to regional triumph
Lauren Katz and Payton Makowskyj finished fifth and sixth, respectively, as Vernon Hills' girls cross country team continued its great run this season by capturing the championship of the Class 2A Burlington Central regional on Saturday.
The Cougars' 44 points were 10 fewer than runner-up Crystal Lake Central. Kaneland (104), Burlington Central (114), Hampshire (124) and Prairie Ridge (146) also qualified for the Belvidere sectional, where Vernon Hills will seek to advance to state for the fifth year in a row.
The junior Katz posted a time of 17:53, while the sophomore Makowskyj ran 18:05. Vernon Hills' lineup also included sophomores Leah Wilkowski (ninth, 18:17), Katie Wilkowski (10th, 18:18), Ryan Schofield (14th, 18:31), Hannah Ray (15th, 18:52) and Vivian Tsai (30th, 20:09).
Wauconda (seventh, 161) got through freshman Morgan Thompson (16th, 18:55), sophomore Abigail McHugh (24th, 19:07) and sophomore Dakota Thompson (38th, 20:33).
Vernon Hills entered the postseason having won the Central Suburban League North Division title and then the CSL crown in its inaugural season in the conference. The Cougars also won the Lake County, Woodstock and Antioch invitationals. They finished third at the prestigious, statewide First to the Finish meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria, as well.
Woodstock North regional: At Emricson Park, led by freshman Olivia Schmitt, who finished first in 18:51, Lakes won the Class 2A regional.
The Eagles' 69 points edged runner-up Grayslake Central (72). Woodstock (86), Marian Central (86), Grayslake North (98), and Carmel (102) also qualified for the Belvidere sectional.
Lakes' winning lineup also featured sophomore Rae Dwyer (12th, 20:02), senior Alyssa Stromsland (15th, 20:06), sophomore Simone Lippman (19th, 20:11) and sophomore Hannah Grant (22nd, 20:31).
Grayslake Central was led by senior Elizabeth Aho (19:39) and senior Megan Girmscheid (19:49) in ninth and 10th place, respectively. Freshman Leah Minsky (20:05) was 14th, sophomore Mali Chiodi (20:10) took 18th, and sophomore Lauren Brunk (20:26) finished 21st.
Freshman Kelli Tosic (19:28) was seventh for Grayslake North. The Knights also counted the finishes of freshman Gabby Conceicao (11th, 19:57), senior Cindy Alcala (20th, 20:22), freshman Madison Kubas (27th, 20:51) and senior Jaque Garza (33rd, 21:14).
Carmel junior Aileen Hull (19:19) was fourth. The Corsairs' other contributors included freshman Abigail Kuderna (17th, 20:09), junior Molly Machala (25th, 20:50), freshman Ezzie Posner (26th, 20:51) and sophomore Zella Stockhausen (30th, 21:11).
Antioch (139) was seventh but got through sophomore Natalie Hill (13th, 20:03), junior Jessica Lamberty (23rd, 20:35), freshman Natalie Svarc (28th, 20:52), freshman Tiana Fox (37th, 21:32) and senior Rylie Mercer (38th, 21:33).
Grant regional: At Camp Henry Horner, Palatine won the Class 3A regional with 38 points, while Grant (76) edged Barrington (80) for second place. Crystal Lake South (142), Cary-Grove (143) and McHenry (147) also advanced to the Waukegan sectional.
Lake Zurich (187) was ninth.
Grant sophomores Danielle Osmon (18:25) and Eva Cardy (18:33) led their team with third- and fourth-place runs, respectively. Senior Rachael Temple (17th, 19:38), sophomore Jana Nehila (22nd, 19:48) and junior Roxanne Temple (30th, 20:22) completed the Bulldogs' scoring.
Lake Zurich got through junior Melody Multra (18th, 19:40) and sophomore Emily Burns (19th, 19:42).