2024 IHSA Class 1A XC Sectional Meet Highlights

By Michael Newman

The Elmwood Sectional showed once again what a tough sectional it is as a top 10 team failed to advance to the IHSA State Meet. Isabella Keller and Kate Foltz finished one second of each other in one of the most exciting races of the day in Class 1A. Anna Jonesboro, Williamsville, Tolono Unity, and Winnebago all had impressive races setting up the Class 1A State Meet as a memorable one. Elmwood was impressive winning on their home course at their Boys Sectional. There are up to five teams that could end up leaving Peoria with the Class 1A Boys State trophy.

Here is a look back at the five sectional meets in Class 1A.

Elmwood Sectional – What was supposed to be the toughest sectional meet proved to be correct. #1 Williamsville will be one of the favorites in the first race next Saturday as they scored 76 points to win the sectional title. The Bullets placed 5 runners in the top 30 led by top 10 finishes by Louisa Wilson finishing third and Joelle Wilson finishing ninth. Hannah Nation (26th), Brooklyn Turley (28th), and Kaylee Hollinshead (30th) were 51 seconds behind Joelle Wilson but had a 3-5 spread of just 5 seconds. #3 El Paso-Gridley finished second (96 points) led by Caroline Wettstein (13th) and the team having a top 5 spread of 47 seconds. #5 Peoria Notre Dame scored 100 points to finish third followed by #10 Pleasant Plains (143 points). #25 Elmwood on their home course was the final team to make it to state scoring 173 points to finish sixth. #7 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin missed qualifying by seven points in finishing seventh.

It was close at the finish of this sectional. Klaire Eighner of Maroa-Forsyth had the edge in this race running 17:50 for the individual title five seconds ahead of Clinton freshman Aubrey Peterson (17:55). Louisa Wilson (18:01.17), Paityn Brady of Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (18:02), and Meghan Zopel of Peoria Notre Dame (18:07) were also a part of the top five finishers.

This time the Boys team finish was not as close as it was a week ago at Donovan Park as the top three teams in Class 1A were within points of each other. The margin was wider in this race. #3 Elmwood is the hot team right now in this classification as they scored 53 points in winning the Boys Sectional title placing 4 runners in the top 11, 5 runners in the top 29. Aiden Faulkner was the top runner for the team placing fourth followed by Reed Florey (8th), Darwin Herman (9th), Mika Nelson (11th), and Kai Nelson (29th). Their top four spread was only 11 seconds. Their overall spread on their scorers was 50 seconds. #1 Eureka (80 points) and #2 Peoria Notre Dame (94 points) finished second and third. #16 Illini Bluffs (145 points), #23 Pleasant Plains (151 points), and #13 Clinton (164 points) were the final three teams to make it to Peoria.

Maxwell Kirby of Peoria Notre Dame countered his regional win with a win in this race. Kirby ran 15:04 for the sectional as Tucker Hinkle of Eureka ran 15:10 to finish second. Elijah Teefey of Pleasant Plains finished third (15:20) ahead of Aiden Faulkner (15:26), and Coriell Green of Delavan (15:28).

Benton Sectional - #2 Anna-Jonesboro showed they are ready for next Saturday’s race with a commanding race on Benton’s 2.92-mile course. The Wildcats placed 5 runners in the top 13 scoring 44 points to claim the sectional title. Jadyn Gerardi again led her team placing second. She was followed by Zoe Jones (8th), Aleah Box (9th), Reagan Jones (11th), and Kinley Leek (13th). Their top five spread off Gerardi was 64 seconds. Their 2-5 spread in this race was 17 seconds. #16 Father McGivney scored 100 points to finish second led by top 10 finishes from Elana Rybak (5th) and Jane Cummins (7th). #13 Murphysboro scored 112 points to finish third. Pinckneyville (123 points), Breese Mater Dei (134 points), and Althoff Catholic (150 points) were the next three teams to make it to the Girls State Meet.

Miah Gilmore of Murphysboro ruled the Girls race running 16:58 to win by 26 seconds ahead of Jadyn Gerardi (17:24). Vanessa Teel of Pinckneyville ran 17:29 to finish third with Caroline Tepe of Okawville (17:33) and Elena Rybak (17:49) finishing fourth and fifth.

#21 Murphysboro ran one of their best races of the season scoring 79 points to win the Boys team title. The Red Devils placed 5 runners in the top 30 with a 46 second spread led by Hunter Douglas (9th) followed by Edgar Garcia (13th), Jonathan Witzman (15), Aiden Taylor (24th), and Jack Castleman (30th). #11 Pinckneyville was 10 points back scoring 89 points to finish second. #9 Benton placed 3 runners in the top 5, but did not have one of their top five runners Briggs Miller finish. The Rangers scored 107 points in finishing third. #24 Roxana (116 points), #30 Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran (139 points), and Father McGivney (156 points) also punched their tickets to Detweiller Park.

Benton runners took the top two places in this race. Gabe McLain ran 14:09 to capture the Boys individual race (14:09) by 24 seconds ahead of teammate Cole Buchanan (14:33). Landon Boman of Pinckneyville (14:38), Caiden Cook of DuQuoin (14:41), and Seager Sanchez of Benton (15:05 finished third through fifth.

Toledo Cumberland Sectional – The closest finish of all 13 sectionals on Saturday came at the Lakeland College course in the Girls race. Defending Class 1A State champion Isabella Keller of St. Anthony was challenged throughout this race from Kate Foltz of Tuscola. Keller came away with the win (16:35) by almost two seconds ahead of Foltz (16:36.7). Tessa Bowers of Shelbyville (17:21) placed third with Molly Farrell of Marshall (17:37) and Emily Decker of Tolono Unity (17:41) finished fourth and fifth.

Decker’s finish helped three-time defending Class 1A state champion #8 Tolono Unity scoring 79 points for the win. Decker was followed by Mackenzie Pound (9th), Ashlyn Denney (14th), Josie Cler (22nd), and Grace Wherley (34th). #6 Shelbyville scored 126 points to finish second with #15 St. Joseph-Ogden scoring 137 points to place third. #11 St. Anthony makes it to state placing fourth (164 points). #27 Fairfield and Paxton-Buckley-Loda both scored 176 points finishing fifth and sixth.

Great pack running by #10 Notre Dame de la Salette gave them the edge as the Lions scored 97 points to claim their first Sectional title in the program’s history. NDDLS had John Brauner as their top runner finishing fifth. The next runners of Marco Cruz (20th), Anthony Lillis (26th), Anthony Gross (27th), and Daniel Sullivan (32nd) were separated by 24 seconds. The team’s top five spread was 60 seconds. #14 St. Joseph-Ogden and #12 Urbana University both scored 152 points finishing second and third. #20 Tolono Unity placed fourth (194 points) with #28 Toledo Cumberland (221 points) and #22 Gilespie (228 points) finishing fifth and sixth.

Chaz Oberkfell of Gillespie ran 15:11 for the Boys win by nine seconds ahead of Evan Cook from Decatur St. Teresa (15:20). Will Fuson of Cerro Gordo-Bement (15:22) placed third with Jonathan Iacobazzi of Sullivan (15:32) and John Brauner (15:38) finishing fourth and fifth.

Rock Island Alleman Sectional - #4 Winnebago flexed their muscles for next week’s state race. The Indians scored 66 points for the Girls team win placing 5 runners in the top 31 with a 79 second spread. Molly Webb and Morgan Capriola finished seventh and eighth to lead the team. Svea Glidden (12th), Ella Carlson (26th), and Ashlynn Robinson (31st) followed. Byron’s pack pushed the Tigers to score 133 points to finish second. #26 Stark County scored 144 points to finish third three points ahead of #29 Sherrard (147 points) who finished fourth. #12 Cambridge (154 points), and Seneca (175 points) also qualified for the state meet.

Pre-sectional favorite Emily Dowling of Cambridge controlled this race running 17:46 to claim the Girls title by 13 seconds ahead of Alyssa Higgins from Knoxville (17:57). Dusti Smith of Stark County ran 18:26 to finish third ahead of Jana Vande Kemp of Cambridge (18:37) and Bethany Sennett of Princeville (18:44).

The third time was the charm for Rockford Christian after finishing second behind Winnebago in their conference and regional meets. The #7 Royal Lions led from a second-place finish from Andrew Kurien and fourth place finish from Evan White helped the team win the Boys Sectional title with 52 points. Rockford Christian also got top five finishes from Blake Lindberg (15th), Joel White (16th), and Julian Honeyville (21st). The team had an 80 second spread on their top five. #6 Winnebago helped by the individual win from Nicolai Martino and top 10 finish from Aiden Vazquez (6th) scored 77 points in finishing second. Kewanee Wethersfield scored 155 points to finish third with Princeville (160 points), Rockford Lutheran (178 points), and Byron (180 points) all qualified for the state meet. Mercer County and #29 Sherrard both scored 184 points finishing eighth and ninth. They missed qualifying for state by four points.

Nicolai Martino is ready for next Saturday and the state meet winning the sectional title running 15:16. Andrew Kurien was four seconds behind running 15:20 to finish second. Tim Starwalt of Byron ran 15:37 to finish third ahead of fourth-place Evan White (15:46), and Braeden Bode of Riverdale (15:47).

Lisle Sectional – Last year’s second-place state finisher Mia Kotler of Latin School ran her first race of the cross-country season and first race since last April. Kyla Babb of Westmont was the runner that had the moves in this race running 17:37 for the Girls sectional win. Kotler had a good opening time of 17:52 to finish second. Sydney Gertsen of Montini was another 41 seconds behind finishing third with Cecilia Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic (19:05) and Francesca Mora of Latin (19:06) finished fourth and fifth.

The top five finishes from Kotler and Lara gave the #14 Romans a comfortable cushion ahead of the rest of the field scoring 65 points for the Girls team title. Vivian Sidrys (14th), Ruby Larsen (24th), and Julia Steffen (33rd) were part of Latin’s top five. #30 Herscher and #21 Montini both scored 143 points finishing second and third. IC Catholic Prep ran their best team race of the season scoring 154 points to finish fourth and make the state trip. Regina Dominican (157 points) and #19 Aurora Central Catholic (166 points). #28 Chicago Christian missed qualifying for state by six points. Timothy Christian missed state by nine points.

The Boys race went to form led by three top 10 ranked teams in Class 1A. #4 Aurora Central Catholic. The Chargers placed 5 runners in the top 13 running a 43 second spread scoring 42 points for the Boys team title. Ben Bohr led the way, finishing fourth. Teammate Jack Swiatek and John Reinbold were next placing sixth and seventh. AJ Viveros (12) and David Valencia (13th) were the team’s fourth and fifth runners. #5 Northridge Prep had top 10 finishes from Peter Kipp (3rd) and John Masaka (8th) and 5 runners in the top 23 to score 57 points to finish second. #8 Montini scored 67 points to finish third with #25 Harvest Christian Academy scoring 129 points to finish fourth. #15 Herscher (142 points and Cullom Tr-Point (178 points) made it to state finishing fifth and sixth.

Nolan Ferris of Montini was pushed to the finish by Grady Smith of Johnsburg as the two runners finished side-by-side both running 16:06. Ferris won by three tenths of a second. Peter Kipp was just a second behind running 16:07 to finish third. Ben Bohr ran 16:19 to finish fourth with Nino Pesola of Montini running 16:24 to finish fifth.