Cross country: Warren's Wiley, Grant's Negovetich claim sectional titles
Not only did Warren's Max Zeisler walk the cross country course at Hoffman Estates this past week he also videotaped it. Zeilser passed that tape on to teammate Luke Wiley, who used that information to run away from the pack Saturday at the Class 3A Hoffman Estates sectional.
Wiley pulled away after the second lap and wasn't challenged down the stretch to finish in 15:07.27.
"I felt so smooth the whole time," Wiley said. "I was planning on walking the course but didn't make it out here. Max was able to come out and tape it, so I had a sense of what to expect."
Lake Zurich's Jacob Myers, who beat Wiley in the North Suburban Conference championship two weeks ago, finished second in 15:19.05.
"It was really tactical and hard to fight for a position," Myers said. "He (Wiley) made a big move out there today."
New Trier's Nick Falk was third while teammate Charlie Siebert was fourth and Loyola's Spencer Werner was fifth.
Rolling Meadows' Stephen Barretto ran a 15:28.25 to hold off Evanston's Essay Tolosa for sixth place. It was a sense of revenge for Barretto, who lost to Tolosa at the wire in the regional finals last week.
"We were in the same position as last week coming around the corner," Barretto said. "This time I made sure that he wasn't near me at the end."
Lake Zurich's Jack Gilboy was eighth and Barrington's Joey Furlong was ninth, helping the Broncos to a second-place finish with 72 points. New Trier won the championship with 50 points. Alfredo Arnieri, Jake Ziebarth, Grant Ackard and Ryan Fryer helped pace Barrington.
Lake Zurich was third with 86 points followed by Hersey's 149 while Libertyville was sixth with 193.
•It was not the race that Grant's Aly Negovetich envisioned herself running in the girls' sectional.
But the junior led from start to finish and won the sectional title in a time of 17:35.06. Negovetich had a slight lead in the first of four laps, but broke away from the pack to finish ahead of Loyola's Morgan Mackie's 17:42.96.
"I didn't plan to break away so early," Negovetich said. "I honestly didn't mean to. I just started running and I went with how I felt in the first mile and that's how it ended up."
Lake Zurich's Brooke Johnston finished third in 17:49.65. Johnston, who finished first in the North Suburban Conference meet and was second last week at regionals, said that she felt prepared to run on Saturday.
"I think today went pretty good," Johnston said. "I think I was mentally stronger in this race. I had a pretty good workout this last Monday and that gave me confidence."
Hersey sophomore Anna Hardin finished fourth in 17:57.60.
"I am not super discouraged about my race," Hardin said. "I still got fourth. I learned that I need to have a better mental attitude and be prepared."
Prospect's Hailey Erickson was sixth, Barrington's Molly Fitzpatrick was seventh, Lake Zurich's Kristin Loftus was eighth and Prospect's Audrey Ginsberg was 11th.
With Erickson and Ginsberg leading the way, Prospect won the sectional title with 69 points. The Knights also got scoring from Cameron Kalaway, Annika Erickson and Lily Ginsburg.
Loyola was second with 99 points, Barrington third with 101 followed by Lake Zurich's 147.