Above: Lake Zurich’s Boys team celebrates their win at Saturday’s Wheeling Invitational (Photo courtesy of @lzxctf)

By Michael Newman

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This weekend is usually the time where some of the top schools take some time off to practice in gearing up for the push to the state meet in four weeks. The week before conference meet weekend in Illinois has a lighter than normal schedule throughout the state.  There were still some of the teams at the top of the rankings chose to race as one final tune-up for what is to come.

Here is a look at some of the meets that took place this weekend.

Here are links of some of the meets that we covered over the past week. Okaw Valley Conference Meet | Naperville Twilight Invitational | West Aurora Stampede

Wheeling Invitational

One of the questions that #15 Lake Zurich had after the Palatine Invitational was on how they could cut down their 5 man split. They made strides towards cutting that down in Saturday’s race at Heritage Park in Wheeling. The Bears put three runners in the first four as they easily won the Boys Varsity race with 57 points. Matt Pereira (Lake Zurich HS) won the individual race outkicking Brett Davidson (Highland Park HS) in the final straightaway to win by less than a second (15:07.2 – 15:08.1). The race was supposed to be a dual between Pereira and Keagan Smith (Huntley). Pereira and teammates Brian and Kyle Griffith were with Smith as the quartet passed the mile in 4:50. Smith, who after the race stated that his legs felt a little heavy especially after his win at Peoria the week before, started to fall back from the pack. Up came Davidson who pushed the pace with Pereira. Brian finished third while his brother Kyle finished fourth.

The key to Lake Zurich was their five runner split. It was over two minutes at the Palatine Invitational. In this meet, the gap had fallen to 97 seconds. The split between Lake Zurich’s #4 runner Patrick Burns (who finished 12^th overall in the race) and #5 man Nate Quinn (38^th overall) was 56 seconds. Highland Park finished second with 101 points. #13 Huntley was four points back in third. 2A #7 Belvidere North, behind Eryk Yunk’s 5^th place finish, placed fourth with 113 points.

#7 Barrington placed three runners in the top ten to easily win the Girls Varsity Race. The Fillies were led by the individual win by Jocelyn Long. The sophomore ran 17:25 to win the race by eight seconds ahead of Caitlin Shepard (Lake Zurich HS). Barrington also got top ten finishes by Lauren Conroy (4^th) and Sophie Hoeltgen (8^th). The overall five runner split for Barrington was 117 seconds. #8 Lake Forest had four runners in the top ten in placing second with 70 points. Emma Milburn again led the Scouts with a third place finish. Katie Condon (7^th), Brett Chody (9^th), and Lauren Garriques (10^th) were close behind their teammate running a 51 second split between them. Their overall five runner split could be a concern as it is 140 seconds. New Trier held out almost all of their top seven but placed third overall behind Grace Fagan’s 11^th place finish.

Metamora Runnin’ Red Invitational

Peoria Notre Dame’s Maryjeanne Gilbert showed that she is ready to defend her 2A state championship with another strong performance in winning the individual race Saturday at Black Partridge Park. Gilbert won the individual race in 16:49 and 35 seconds ahead of second place Kelly O’Brien (Palatine HS) on the 2.94 mile course. Lauren Whitehouse (Mahomet-Seymour HS) was 13 seconds behind O’Brien in finishing third (17:37). 2A #2 Dunlap made a statement in winning the Girls Varsity team title ahead of 3A #9 Palatine 45-61. Frannie Verville led the Eagles with her fourth place finish. Dunlap placed 5 runners in the top 18 while running a 42 second split on their scorers.

Palatine looked strong through four as they placed four runners in the first thirteen while having a 49 second split on the group. Their split on five is getting better. In this meet, it was at 93 seconds. 2A #17 Washington finished third with 137 points. 2A # St. Teresa and Metamora finished fourth and fifth.

2A #1 Mahomet-Seymour also mad a statement telling future opponents they will be tough to beat. The Bulldogs dominated the team competition putting seven runners in the first thirteen to easily win with only 26 points. #14 Metamora was second with 114 points followed by #10 Peoria Notre Dame eight points back. #8 Springfield and Dunlap rounded out the top five. Mahomet-Seymour was led by the individual win by Alex Keeble. The senior ran 14:37 to win by 13 seconds ahead of Jake Gillum (Metamora HS). The one thing to watch for Mahomet-Seymour is that the gap between Keeble and their #2 runner Andrew Walmer (3^rd overall) was only 18 seconds. The split for the Bulldogs on five was 39 seconds.

Sterling Invitational

One of the concerns for the Minooka Girls team early this season was their top five split which was close to two minutes. The Indians have narrowed that gap in the two meets that they have ran in the past week demonstrating they could be a challenger for a state trophy. Without #3 MacKenzie Callahan who did not run in this race, #3 Minooka still won the team championship with 35 points placing four runners in the top ten. Ashley Tutt led the way again for her team winning the individual race in 17:06. Rockford Boylan duo Delaney Appino (17:21) and Grace McLaughlin (17:37) finished second and third overall. Minooka was boosted by top ten finishes by Emily Shelton (4^th), Vivian Van Eck (8^th), and Morgan Crouch (9^th). Emily Ellis finished 13^th as the team’s fifth runner. The split on Minooka’s top four was only 79 seconds and that was without normal #3 runner Callahan. Southwest Prairie Conference rival #16 Oswego was second with 83 points behind Isabelle Christiansen’s seventh place finish. The Panthers had a 55 second split on their top five. #23 Schaumburg scored 93 points to place third. Hoffman Estates and Rockton Hononegah were only separated by one point in placing fourth and fifth (163-164).

Pleasant Valley IA won the Boys Varsity team title placing three runners in the top ten. They scored 57 points for the win. Oswego scored 101 points to place second. Minooka, who is still without #1 runner Soren Knudsen, was third with 115 points. Dixon and 2A #14 Fenwick finished fourth and fifth. Pleasant Valley’s Karson Sommer won the individual race against Sycamore’s Stephen Poorten. It had to go to a photo finish as both were timed at 15:14.1. Jonathan Landis (Sterling HS) finished third six seconds back (15:20).

Toledo Cumberland Invitational

1A #1 Tolono Unity placed five in the first six to easily win the team title in this meet with only 17 points. Only Logan Hall (Arthur-Lovington HS) broke up Unity’s top five with his fourth place finish. Andrew Warnes won his second individual race this week running 15:24 for the victory. Getch Eisenmenger and Alex Morris were next for the Rockets seven seconds behind their teammate and separated by less than a second. Unity’s 5 man split in this race was only 25 seconds. #2 St. Joseph-Ogden was powered by top ten finishes by Justin Phillips (7^th), Brennan Guido (8^th), and Austin Earp (9^th) as they finished second with 52 points.

#3 St. Joseph-Ogden, led by the third place finish of Faith Houston, won the Girls team championship with 34 points. The Spartans bounced back with this meet win after losing to Tolono Unity 38-41 at the Okaw Valley Conference Meet. #2 Unity, without top five runners Nicole Bagwell and Taylor Renfroe, scored 51 points to place second. Anna Sophia Keller led #16 Effingham St. Anthony with an impressive third place finish with 85 points. The two time 1A champion won the individual race easily as she ran 16:55 to win by 108 seconds ahead of Unity’s Jordan Harmon.

Liberty Invitational

2A #3 Rochester dominated the Girls race placing five runners in the first thirteen to win the team championship with 39 points. It was a freshman dual up front as Rochester’s Katherine Petty ran 17:45 for the race win 33 seconds ahead of second place Katelyn Robbins (Liberty HS). The Rockets also got top ten finishes by Madeline Campbell (6^th) and Ellie Tjelmeland (8^th). Host 1A #4 Liberty, behind top five finishes by Robbins and Jacki Graham (5^th), scored 66 points to place second. #15 Springfield Lutheran placed four runners in the top ten in placing third with 86 points. Maddy Eck led her team with a fourth place finish followed by Bernadette & Brigid Tournoux (7^th & 9^th) and Jackie Eck (10^th). The split on that quartet was only 28 seconds. Their split on five is 6:20.

Quincy scored 51 points to win the Boys team championship behind the third place finish by Brendan Kroeger. Josh Cable ran 16:00 to win the individual race and to lead Rochester to second place. 1A #14 Liberty scored 68 points to place third four points behind Rochester.

Prairie Central Invitational

1A #1 Urbana University was without their top runner Arielle Summitt in this race. U-High, led by the individual win by Annemarie Michael, put five runners in the top twelve to win the team championship with 35 points. #9 Eureka, behind the 2-3 finish by Mercer Mack and Emma Argo, finished second with 54 points. Michael dominated in the individual race running 18:20 to win by 42 seconds ahead of Mack.

#3 Shelbyville dominated the Boys race winning with 37 points placing four runners in the first six. The individual race was close as Tyler Johnson ran 15:05 to win by two seconds ahead of Shelbyville’s Marcus Skinner. Shelbyville was also paced by top ten finishes by Tyler Pasley (3^rd), Ryan Skowronski (4^th), and Jordan Sieger (6^th). #12 Eureka, led by the 9^th place finish by Logan Ogg, used a 29 second split on their top five to place second with 71 points. #21 Urbana University (87 points) and #17 Pleasant Plains (96 points) finished third and fourth overall.

Benet Academy Joe Fedaric Invitational

Host Benet Academy swept both Varsity race titles at this meet held at Lisle’s Community Park. In the Girls race, the Redwings placed four runners in the top ten to score 37 points. Lincoln-Way East scored 69 points to finish second. Kyleigh Spearing (St. Ignatius Prep, Chicago) ran 17:57 to win the individual race by 25 seconds ahead of Grace McCabe (Benet Academy HS, Lisle). Benet Academy took three of the first nine places to win the Boys Varsity title with 48 points ahead of second place Lincoln-Way East (76 points) and third place Romeoville (80 points). Scott Platek (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort) ran 15:51 to edge Mario Scarcelli (Joliet West HS) by a second to win the individual race.

Jimmy Daniels Olympian Run

2A #8 Lemont put all five scorers in the top nine to win the Girls Team Championship 23-37 over #15 Marist. Maryclare Leonard (Marist HS) ran 18:34 to win the race by eight seconds ahead of Lemont’s Gabby Voltarel. Taylor Campos (3^rd), Beata Drozda (4^th), and Bridget Kukel (5^th) followed their teammate Voltarel in the top five. Their 5 runner split was 57 seconds. Palatine, led by Evan Eckels 4^th place finish, tuned up for next weekend’s Mid Suburban League Championship by placing four in the first ten to win the Boys team championship with 48 points. 2A #18 Lincoln-Way West, led by the individual win by Evan Mitchell, was only two points back in second place. Mitchell ran 15:54 to win the individual race by 15 seconds ahead of Matt Wagner (Marist HS, Chicago).

Elmwood Park Invitational

Trinity put four runners in the first eight to easily win the Girls team title with 30 points. WSC-Gold teams Morton (61 points) and Leyden (63 points) finished second and third. Haley Hansen (Trinity HS, River Forest) ran 18:29 to win the individual race by 22 seconds ahead of teammate Emily Doyle. Morton used a 2-3 finish by Eduardo Martinez and Armando Arreola to win the Boys team championship with 33 points. Host Elmwood Park scored 58 points to finish second. Jose Vazquez-Perez (Fenton HS, Bensenville) dominated the individual race winning by 42 seconds ahead of Morton’s Martinez. Vazquez-Perez’s winning time was 15:19.

East Alton-Wood River Invitational

Jersey’s Ben Flowers and Waterloo’s Jenna Schwartz ran the fastest times in this meet that is run by school classes. Flowers won the Boys Junior race (15:34) by thirteen seconds ahead of Jake Schwartz (15:47). Carlinville’s Cory Landon and Nolan Kriepe had the next fastest times as both ran 16:08 to finish 1-2 in the senior race. Jenna Schwartz ran 18:09 to win the freshman race by 68 seconds ahead of Litchfield’s Madi Throne. Keri Burmester (Red Bud HS) ran 18:11 to win the senior race eight seconds ahead of Colleen Madden (Carlinville HS).

Chicago Northside / Southside Challenge at Northerly Island XC Course

This meet underwent a new format moving the meet from the finish of the Chicago Marathon to a new course on the Chicago Lakefront. The meet was also moved from Sunday to the Wednesday before the marathon. It was close in the Girls race as 3A #17 Geneva placed four runners in the first nine to hold off Lincoln-Way Central 38-39 for the team title. McKenzie Altmayer led Geneva winning the individual race (17:10) by 31 seconds ahead of Lane Tech’s Maggie Schoelle. Lane Tech finished a distant third with 125 points.

Geneva also captured the Boys team race as their #25 Boys team placed all five runners in the top ten using a 34 second split to easily win the team championship (33 points) ahead of second place Lindblom Academy (108 points). Lincoln-Way Central finished third with 121 points. The individual race came down to two of the top runners in the Chicago Public League. Lindblom’s Walmer Saavedra ran 15:04 to win the individual race by five seconds ahead of Von Steuben’s Jaime Marcos.