Blackhawks surge to championship

AURORA -- Led by juniors Matt Muth and Steve Loran, the West Aurora boys cross country team accomplished a feat Saturday at Oakhurst Forest Preserve that had not been done in nearly 20 years -- win the Aurora City Meet.

With the course rerouted due to standing water in the woods, the duo paced themselves early in the race as Aurora Central Catholic runners leapt out to an early lead.

As they entered the heart of the course, the duo took charge and surged to the lead, with teammates junior Ryan Bartell and senior David Herrera not too far off their lead.

"It was a fast course," said Muth. "We knew it was going to be a little muddy, but we didn't care if it was this course or that course, cross country is about running on anything and not being afraid of getting a little dirty."

Muth won the individual title in a blistering time of 14:38, followed closely by Loran's 14:47.7.

"Our main goal today was working as a team and running together," Muth added. "We have been working our butts off all summer."

The Blackhawks notched the victory by scoring four runners in the Top 10, for a team total of 35. Joining Muth and Loran on the podium were Bartell (4th) and Herrera (10th).

"It's been awesome having them finishing so close together," West Aurora coach Matt Sinnott said of Muth and Loran. "It wasn't the case last year, but Matt put in a great summer."

Sinnott added that having Muth and Loran paralleling each other will only make his squad stronger.

Paced by junior Bennett Marsh, Marmion placed second with 55 points, followed by Waubonsie Valley's 78 and Aurora Central Catholic's 94. Aurora Christian was fifth with 122 points, just ahead of East Aurora with 128 and IMSA at 192.

"It was a very balanced meet," Chargers' coach Troy Kerber said. "The results are deceiving."

Waubonsie Valley junior David Groeber finished just behind Muth and Loran to take third-place with a time of 14:56.4.

"It was a decent start," Warriors' coach Kevin Rafferty said of Groeber's performance. "Overall, we (Waubonsie Valley) looked OK. It's the first meet for a lot of these guys with the green and gold."

With the addition of Metea Valley High School in District 204, many of Rafferty's sophomore runners attended Neuqua Valley last year or one of its middle school subsidiaries.

Also getting off to a decent start was the Tomcats combo of Andy Parra and Gerardo Palio, who finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

"We were together the whole time," Parra said. Palio finished six seconds off of Parra's mark of 15:07.7.

Manuel Sauceda of ACC and Waubonsie Valley's Shenil Dodhia finished right behind Palio to take eighth and ninth places, respectively.

Boys Cross Country: Aurora City Meet