Preview: 2024 IHSA Class 3A XC Sectional Meets

By Michael Newman

The Boys race at Busse Woods, the Girls race at Lake Park, and the Boys team race at Normal Community will be part of four Class 3A sectional meets where we will narrow the field to possibly 28 teams. The top 7 teams in each sectional will make the trip to Detweiller Park next weekend.

Hoffman Estates Sectional @ Busse Woods

Girls (10:00 AM)

Sectional Qualifying Teams - #1 Barrington, #6 Mt. Prospect (Prospect), #8 Arlington Heights (Hersey), #15 Lake Zurich, #19 Winnetka (New Trier), #21 Northbrook (Glenbrook North), #24 Schaumburg) | #30 Palatine (Fremd), Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Wilmette (Loyola Academy), Evanston (Township), Gurnee (Warren), Algonquin (Jacobs), Libertyville, Glenview (Glenbrook South), Mundelein, Zion-Benton.

Notes – Barrington’s top two of Mia Sirois and Scout Stoms will give their team the low numbers in the front and making them the team to beat in this race. Prospect is the one team that could get close to the top ranked team in the state. Veronica Znajda and Meg Peterson are the Knights top two runners that should be among the top five. They will need a top 12 finish from Ireland Wildhart to keep their team close to the Fillies. Madeline Bialko was sick at MSL and did not run last week at Palatine. Hersey should advance to state without her in the lineup. The Huskies will be closer to the top two if she is healthy. Lake Zurich is running strong as of late and should be among the top five teams in this race. New Trier, Glenbrook North, and Schaumburg along with Fremd and Palatine are all strong enough to make it to the state meet. Only three of those teams will advance.

The question is how much Mia Sirois wins in this race. She will be pushed in the front with Veronica Znajda and Scout Storms her chief competition. Meg Peterson and Sabrina Roach of Barrington will be near the front along with Josie Cahill of New Trier, Kaitlyn Burns of Glenbrook South, Jane Lynch of Loyola Academy, Madeline Bialko of Hersey, and Ireland Wildhart all challenging for positions finishing in the top 10 positions.

Boys (11:15 AM)

Sectional Qualifying Teams - #4 Palatine, #6 Winnetka (New Trier), #8 Palatine (Fremd), #11 Lake Zurich, #12 Barrington, #13 Mt Prospect (Prospect), #14 Arlington Heights (Hersey) | #22 Libertyville, #30 Evanston (Township), Highland Park, Vernon Hills, Deerfield, Glenview (Glenbrook South), Fox Lake (Grant), Hoffman Estates (Conant), Buffalo Grove, Gurnee (Warren), Algonquin (Jacobs).

Notes – There is a possibility that eight of the nine ranked teams will challenge for the seven spots. There are seven ranked teams among the top 14 teams in the state in this field. Palatine and Fremd tied for the Palatine Regional title with Palatine winning on the sixth runner. Palatine ran their best race of the season last week improving on their top four split. Fremd won against Palatine by three weeks ago on this course and will look to get the sectional title. New Trier has the power up front with Ben Crane leading them. Their pack running has improved that could the pressure on for the win. Lake Zurich, Barrington, Prospect, and Hersey all are ranked in the top 14 and might all advance. Libertyville showed their strength in their regional race and could be lurking near the top seven.

This could be one of the top sectional races of the weekend with some of the top runners in the state. Ben Crane of New Trier took it easy last week at Glenbrook South after winning his league title the week before with a 14:15 winning time, Joe Bregenzer of Barrington ran 14:22 last week at Warren and will be in the front. Evan Parker of Niles West finished 12 seconds behind Crane two weeks ago and will be in the mix for the win. Alex Krieg of Palatine, Rory Gaan and Jack Jennings of Fremd, Jameson Tenopir of Cary-Grove, Karanveer Patil of Lake Zurich, Elijah Mendoza of Mundelein, and Palatine’s James O’Sullivan and Carter Hayes are all in position to finish in the top 10.

Normal (Community Sectional @ Maxwell Park

Girls (10:00 AM)

Sectional Qualifying Teams - #4 Minooka, #9 Plainfield (North), #10 Edwardsville, #12 Yorkville, #28 O’Fallon, Normal (Community West), Lockport (Township) | New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central), Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East), Quincy, Pekin, Moline, Normal (Community), New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West), Bloomington, Tinley Park (Andrew), Springfield, Belleville (West).

Notes – There are a ton of teams in Class 3A that are showing improvement at the end of this season. One of those teams is Minooka who is a trophy contending team and a favorite in this sectional. The Indians have strengthened their pack behind Maya Ledesma which should put them in great position over the next two weeks. Plainfield North looked strong bouncing back from their conference race placing four runners in the top six. North could win in this race if their fifth runner moves closer to the first four. Edwardsville and Yorkville are solid teams that should make the trip to Peoria. They should finish among the top four teams in this sectional. Five teams will challenge for the final three spots led by ranked O’Fallon. Normal West, Lincoln-Way East, and Lincoln-Way Central have the talent to be a part of the top seven qualifying teams.

Maya Ledesma of Minooka is the hot runner in Class 3A and will be the runner to watch in this race. Ledesma on her final two times on her home course shattered her own record. Now we will see if she runs under 17-minutes on Saturday. Plainfield North could have three runners in the top six with Tessa Russo along with Elsie and Marlie Czarniewski. Ashley Schrader of Yorkville, Madison Popelar of Edwardsville, Renee Warren of Normal West, Ellie Bush of O’Fallon, Madison King of Joliet Central, along with Natalie Nahs and Taya Gummerson could all challenge for top 10 places.

Boys (11:00 AM)

Sectional Qualifying Teams - #2 Plainfield (North), #3 Plainfield (South), #5 Edwardsville, #16 New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central), #18 O’Fallon, Yorkville, Minooka | Normal (Community), New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West), Lockport (Township), Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East), Tinley Park (Andrew), Quincy, Normal (Community West), Springfield, Joliet (West), Belleville (West), Granite City.

Notes – Three of the power three teams in Class 3A will challenge each other for the team title in this race. Plainfield South and Plainfield North did not have their full lineups in last week’s regional but will be ready to go Saturday morning. The last time that the two Plainfield teams met was when North edged South by five points in their conference meet. Edwardsville finished ahead of Plainfield South but behind Plainfield North when the three teams met in Palatine at the end of September. It will be closer in this meet as the three teams battle for trophy spots at next week’s state meet. O’Fallon and Lincoln-Way Central are the only other ranked teams in the field. Both should advance to state. Yorkville is running strong and could grab one of the two final team spots along with Normal Community and Minooka.

It will be a question if this race becomes tactical or does Dylan Maloney of Plainfield South decide to blow away from the first mile of the race as he did in his conference win. Thomas Czerwinski and Quinn Davis of Plainfield North should be in the front along with Zach Thoman of O’Fallon and Gavin Rodgers of Edwardsville. Keep an eye on the top three teams’ packs in this race. That team title will come down to that aspect. Brayden Kloeppel of O’Fallon, Landon Harris of Granite City, Nico Cimino of Minooka, Owen Horeni of Minooka, and Dylan Buturusis of Plainfield South are some of the runners you will see in the top 10.

Hinsdale (Central) Sectional @ Katherine Legge Memorial

Girls (11:00 AM)

Sectional Qualifying Teams - #2 Downers Grove North, #5 Naperville (North), #13 Aurora (Waubonsie Valley), #18 Naperville (Central), #20 Naperville (Neuqua Valley), #22 Oswego (East), #23 Hinsdale (Central) | Downers Grove (South), Orland Park (Sandburg), LaGrange (Lyons Township), Chicago (Marist), Chicago (Mother McAuley), Villa Park (Willowbrook), Chicago (Jones Prep), Chicago (Whitney Young), Oak Lawn (Community), Burbank (Reavis), Palos Heights (Shepard).

Notes – It could be a showcase of two of the tp Class 3A teams in the state. Downers Grove North and Naperville North finished 1-2 at the Naperville Twilight meet almost a month ago. The Trojans top five split has improved going down to 26 second in their conference meet led by Lily Eddington and Alayna Todnem. The Huskies top three have gotten stronger led by Emma Berres along with Shania and Rianna Tandon that could get them closer to Downers in this race. There are five other ranked teams in this race. All five of those teams should advance. It could be tough for Downers Grove South to make it to state even though the Mustangs have improved the last two meets. The time difference is too great between Oswego East and Hinsdale Central and then Downers Grove South.

The top 10 runners in this race will be a combination of runners from Naperville North and Downers Grove North. The one runner though that has been running strong has been Amelie Ojeda of Willowbrook who won last week at Lyons Township. Berres and the two Tandon sisters will be among the top 10 in this race with four Downers North that could include Eddington, Todnem, McKenzie Willard, and Audrey Casten, Lily Babiak of Waubonsie Valley, Elizabeth Hall of Neuqua Valley, and Lola Satre-Morales of Naperville Central.

Boys (12:00 PM)

Sectional Qualifying Teams - #1 Downers Grove (North), #9 LaGrange (Lyons Township), #17 Naperville (Neuqua Valley), #20 Naperville (North), #21 Orland Park (Sandburg), #24 Berwyn-Cicero (Morton), #26 Naperville (Central) | Hinsdale (Central), Downers Grove (South), Villa Park (Willowbrook), Aurora (West Aurora), Riverside-Brookfield, Chicago (Whitney Young), Oswego (East), Oak Lawn (Richards), Burbank (Reavis), Palos Hills (AA Stagg), Chicago (Marist).

Notes – Who will be the six teams to qualify for the state meet after Downers Grove North? There is hard to see anyone in this field pass the top-rated team in the state. Lyons Township edged North by four points last week in the regional meet. Downers Grove North did not have their top three runners in that meet with Phillip Cupial, Grant Schroder, and Will Surratt. They will be on the line in this high noon starting time sectional. Five teams are also ranked with Sandburg challenging Neuqua Valley and Naperville North for the third spot.

We could see another 1-2 finish by Cupial and Schroder like we have seen in the past two races. Patrick Clune of Naperville Central is one runner we could see challenge for the win. Surratt should be in the top five. Ben Wuggazer of Lyons Township, Grayson Meek of Neuqua Valley, Luke Atzman of Sandburg, and Ammar Bhanputi of Naperville North are some of the runners you could see among the top 10 finishers.

Roselle (Lake Park) Sectional @ East Campus XC Course

Girls (1:00 PM)

Sectional Qualifying Teams - #3 Elmhurst (York), #7 Batavia, #11 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #14 Wheaton (North), #16 Huntley, #17 Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West), #25 Oak Park-River Forest | #26 Park Ridge (Maine South), #27 Chicago (Lane), #29 St. Charles (North), Hampshire, Geneva, Elk Grove Village (Elk Grove), Rockton (Hononegah), Roselle (Lake Park), Machesney Park (Harlem), DeKalb, Skokie (Niles West).

Notes – York comes into this meet into this sectional but will be challenged by Batavia in this team race. The two teams are close when it comes down to the top four runners. York could have the advantage on their 5-6-7 runners. Wheaton-Warrenville South have some of their runners under the weather last week in their narrow win over Wheaton North. The team is healthy and could get closer to the topo two teams. Wheaton North is improving and should be close to their crosstown rival. Huntley and Glenbard West are strong enough where they could make state. There are four more ranked teams in this meet all challenging for one spot. Maine South, Oak Park-River Forest, Lane, and St. Charles North will challenge for a state meet trip.

Freshman phenom Karlin Janowski of York has been one of the top runners in the state. She will be challenged by Avery Hacker of Batavia for the individual win. Sophia Arcuri of Maine South, Nicole Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South, Maddie Romaine of Wheaton North, and Julie Rodney of St. Charles North will all be in the mix to finish in the top five in this afternoon sectional.

Boys (2:00 PM)

Sectional Qualifying Teams - #7 Elmhurst (York), #10 Batavia, #15 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #19 Chicago (Lane), #23 Park Ridge (Maine South), #25 St. Charles (North), #27 Wheaton (North) | #28 Oak Park-River Forest, #29 Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West), St. Charles (East), Huntley, Skokie (Niles West), Geneva, South Elgin, Machesney Park (Harlem), Hampshire, Rockton (Hononegah), Chicago (Lincoln Park).

Notes – A highly competitive sectional with nine teams challenging for seven state qualifying spots. York looks the strongest in this meet after winning easily last week at Elk Grove running only a 17 second split on their top five runners. Batavia has looked strong since Naperville Twilight and should challenge the Dukes in this race. Wheaton-Warrenville South bounce back last week winning the regional meet at Glenbard West. The Tigers should also advance out of this meet. Lane has the edge on Maine South and Wheaton North for the fourth spot. St. Charles North, Oak Park-River Forest, Glenbard West, and St. Charles East will the teams to watch to get the final qualifying place.

Jacob Barraza of DeKalb edged Tommy Nitz of Huntley by less than a tenth of a second to win last week at Machesney Park Harlem. Josiah Narayanan of Wheaton-Warrenville South has recovered from an illness that slowed him down for the last month. He won his regional race running most of it after losing one of his spikes. Liam O’Connor of Oak Park-River Forest had a convincing win at the Elk Grove Regional. Francesco Benelli of Batavia, Aidan Murphy of Wheaton North, Aiden Noel of Wheaton-Warrenville South, and Owynn Garrelts of Maine South are some of the runners you could see towards the front in this sectional.