DyeStat Illinois - Weekend Recap - August 28, 2016

Tuesday, August 30 2016 - Aurora City Cross Country Invitational

DyeStat Illinois - Weekend Recap - August 28, 2016

Published by DyeStatIL.com Aug 28th, 7:45pm

Above Photo: Ashley Tutt, Emily Shelton, and Mackenzie Callahan take the top 3 spots at Saturday’s meet at Normal West (Nick Lundin Photo)

By Michael Newman

DyeStat Illinois Editor

mike@dyestat.com

While most schools in Illinois will kick off their 2016 cross country meet season this coming week, there were some schools that started a little early. The weather was far from cooperative on Saturday with huge storms hitting the Chicago area in the morning. It left some of the courses a “little” wet and somewhat warm and humid. The weather in Edwardsville (where I was at) was 80 degrees and humidity at 85%. Not the best weather to run in. Then again, cross country runners will run in any kind of weather. Just don’t tell your school administrators that.

Here is a look at some of the meets that took place this opening week of the season. You can read more about the First to the Finish Kickoff Meet here.

Normal West Invitational @ Maxwell Park

The rain let up just in time for the start of the meet on the southern edge of Normal. The Girls race was the highlight of the meet as 2 of the #1 teams in the state faced off. 3A #1 Minooka took 4 of the first 7 spots on their way to the team win with 25 points. Ashley Tutt ran 18:29 for the individual win 7 seconds ahead of teammate Emily Shelton. Mackenzie Callahan ran 19:02 to finish 3^rd for the Indians. Their 5 runner split in the first meet of the year was 113 seconds. Their 5 runner split in this same meet a year ago was 141 seconds.

2A #1 Dunlap displayed a tight pack in scoring 36 points to finish 2^nd behind Minooka. Franny Verville and Abby Johnson led the way for the Eagles finishing 4^th and 5^th respectively. Their 5 runner overall split was only 40 seconds.

3A #9 Minooka ran under control in winning the Boys meet with only 19 points placing their top 5 within the first 8 runners in the race. They took the top 3 spaces led by the individual win by Soren Knudsen. The all-state runner used a temp pace to keep his teammates together then pulled away to win the race in 16:21.9. Sophomores Jordan Freese and Mark Dames were the next 2 runners in for Minooka.

McHenry County Meet @ Emricson Park, Woodstock

No scores were kept in this meet putting the focus on the individuals in what was some of the runners’ first action of the season. Jack Becker (Crystal Lake South HS) missed last fall due to injuries. He showed that he was ready to go for the 2016 season winning the Boys race against a good field. Becker’s time of 15:48 on the 3 mile Emricson Park Course was 9 seconds faster than 2^nd place Alex Ratkovich (Cary-Grove HS). Weston Sterchi (Crystal Lake Central HS) ran 16:02 to finish 3^rd. Filip Pajak (Prairie Ridge HS, Crystal Lake) was next in placing 4^th (16:07.4) just ahead of Jacobs’ Zach Albrecht (16:08.5).

Caitlin Bruzzini (Crystal Lake South HS) made it a Gator sweep as she won the Girls Individual race. The senior, who qualified for state last fall, ran 19:18.2 for the win 13 seconds ahead of Kate Jacobs (Woodstock HS). There was an 11 second gap then the next 4 runners finished within 9 seconds of each other. Janine Orvis (Crystal Lake Central HS) led the way running 19:42.7 for 3^rd followed by Chloe Gale (Prairie Ridge HS, Crystal Lake), Abigail Jones (Marian Central HS, Woodstock), and Kelly Doerr (Crystal Lake Central HS).

2A #4 Crystal Lake Central looked good in this race putting their top 5 runners in the first 14 with a 67 second split. Marian Central Catholic could be making some noise in 2A as they placed their top 3 runners within the first 10 places.

Aurora City Meet @ Waubonsie Valley HS

3A #11 Metea Valley was in full control during the Girls race placing 4 within the first 5 to score 25 points to win the team title. The first 3 runners were within 17 seconds of each other as Leanna Goldman finished 2^nd just ahead of teammates Nicki Cast and Terri Scarlett. Keely Weber finished 5^th followed by seniors Katie North and Talia Saleh who finished 11^thand 12^th. Their overall split on their first 5 was 77 seconds. Abby Fioresi (Aurora Central Catholic HS) won the individual race (18:47) 33 seconds ahead of Goldman. West Aurora scored 90 points to finish 2^nd 3 points ahead of 3^rd place Waubonsie Valley.

East Aurora’s pack pulled away after the first mile and then held off host Waubonsie Valley to win the Boys title with 33 points. Waubonsie Valley scored 41 points to finish 2^nd. Ricardo Del Toro (East Aurora HS) won the individual race (16:17.4) 4 seconds ahead of David Castillo (West Aurora HS). Waubonsive Valley’s Christian Freitag (16:26.9) and Wes York (16:43.3) finished 3^rd and 4^th. East Aurora’s split on 5 was only 58 seconds.

EIU Showdown @ Greene Valley FP, Woodridge (Wednesday)

Caleb Washington (Shepard HS, Palos Heights) put in some surges in the final mile to pull away from Zach Albrecht (Jacobs HS, Algonquin) to win the individual race by 7 seconds (15:54-16:01) on a warm and humid afternoon for running. It was a pack for the first 2 miles of the race as Alec Danner (Downers Grove North HS) stayed with Washington and Albrecht the first 2 laps. It was Washington’s surges that broke the pack apart. 3A #7 Downers Grove North won the team title with 25 points. Ryan Birkmeier placed 3^rd followed by Jacob Ridderhoff, Nick Chudzik, Danner, and Andrew Marek. There was only a 16 second split between the 5. 3A #23 Highland Park finished 2^nd with 64 points. Shepard also scored 64 points but was placed 3^rd.

Juliana Stogsdill (Plainfield North HS) held the lead for most of the race before being passed by Kelli Callahan (Shepard HS) in the final 800 meters of the race. Callahan ran 19:4 for the win 9 seconds ahead of Stogsdill. Emma Moravec (Downers Grove North HS) ran 19:41 to finish 3^rd. Plainfield North’s #2 through #5 runners built through the race passing Downers Grove North in the 2^nd half of the race. It was enough to give them the win 38-45 ahead of Downers Grove North. Megan Patton (5^th) and Brittany Drag (6^th) were the next 2 runners in for Plainfield North.

SWSC Pre-Season Meet @ Turtlehead Lake (Tuesday)

#13 Sandburg started off the 2016 season like they ended it last fall at Detweiller Park: with a win. Led by the 1-2 finish by Dylan Jacobs and Martin Skucas, the Eagles put 4 runners in the first 7 to easily win the meet with 27 points. Dylan Jacobs looks like he will be one of the top runners in the state this season especially after an early season opening 15:22.1 for the win. Skucas finished 2^nd 26 seconds behind his teammate. Evan Mitchell (Lincoln-Way West HS, New Lenox) ran 16:02 to finish 3^rd.

Lincoln-Way Central put 5 runners in the first 15 led by the 3^rd place finish of Madison Smith. It was good enough to win the Girls Team title 49-54 ahead of Sandburg. The Knights 5 runner split off of Smith was 56 seconds. 3A #12 Lockport Township finished 3^rd (75 points) behind Morgan Bollinger’s individual win. The senior ran 18:57 to win by 16 seconds ahead of Lincoln-Way West’s Jenna Diers.

Yorkville Invitational @ Hoover FP (Monday)

Just before the start of Monday’s meet, Yorkville Coach Chris Muth was wondering if he had done the right thing the day before. “Yesterday was such a beautiful morning. I just could not waste it,” Muth said. “I sent his team on a 4 mile tempo run.” It did not look like it effected the #2 team in 3A. Even though Muth held out their top runner Alexis Grandys and Alyssa Edwards was held back, they still put 4 runners in the first 5 to win the team championship with 22 points. Olivia Borowiak and Maddie Dearborn came in together with Borowiak winning by 1 second (18:03.2 – 18:04.8). Downers Grove South’s Katie Stapleton broke up the Yorkville pack finishing 3^rd (18:32.2). It was then Nicole Greyer and Alyssa Edwards coming in side by side to finish 4^th and 5^th. Emily Eberhart rounded out the top 5 for Yorkville by finishing 10^th. Yorkville’s 5 runner split was 63 seconds. Their split on the top 4 for them was only 38 seconds. 3A #20 Downers Grove South finished 2^nd with 53 points led by top ten finishes by Stapleton and Becky Versaskas (8^th).

Yorkville’s Boys team, currently ranked #12 in 3A, won the Boys team title 24—47 ahead of Oswego East. The Foxes placed 5 runners in the top 9 led by the individual win by Alexx Nauman who ran 15:56.9. Yorkville’s split on their top 5 was 61 seconds.