#1 St. Joseph-Ogden wins Saturday at the Tuscola Regional (@sjorunning photo)

By Michael Newman

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Tuscola Regional

#1 St. Joseph-Ogden started out their road to the state meet by winning the Girls title in this regional with 38 points placing five runners in the first eleven with only a 34 second split on the group. Faith Houston led the Spartans with a third place finish. #3 Tolono Unity was within eleven points as the defending 1A champions scored 49 points. #5 Monticello finished third (67 points) followed by #17 St. Thomas More (87 points). Unity’s Jordan Harmon was the individual winner (18:44) by nine seconds ahead of Fran Hendrickson (St. Thomas More, Champaign).

Alex Helmuth (Monticello HS) ran 15:26 to win the Boys individual race by eight seconds ahead of Justin Phillips (St. Joseph-Ogden HS). #5 St. Joseph-Ogden received a top five finish from Wyatt Wolfersberger along with Phillips to win the Boys title with 56 points. #19 St. Thomas More finished second (89 points) led by freshman Luke Manolakes ninth place finish. #18 Monticello finished third (94 points) ahead of #25 Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

Robinson Regional

Anna Sophia Keller (St. Anthony HS, Effingham) started her road to her fourth straight individual championship with an easy win on Saturday. She might have some company with her in Peoria in a couple of weeks. #19 St. Anthony won the Girls team title (44 points) behind Keller’s win and Sarah Carr’s third place finish. Teutopolis finished second (67 points) ahead of Paris (87 points) and Lawrenceville (96 points). Keller’s winning time of 17:30 was 108 seconds faster than second place Kara Weichman (Teutopolis HS).

#11 Robinson is coming on strong heading into the state series as it showed on Saturday winning their regional on their home course. They placed five runners in the first fourteen to score 43 points for the easy win. Kobe Lorance and Lukas Baird led their team with fourth and fifth place finishes. #17 Lawrenceville scored 80 points to finish second behind Jack Holden’s third place finish. Marshall finished third (86 points). Kort McClellan (Toledo Cumberland HS) ran 15:38 to win by ten seconds ahead of Grady Wilkinson (Mt. Carmel HS).

Carlinville Regional

#11 Litchfield got top ten finishes from Alexis Throne (5^th), Madi Throne (6^th), and Briana Travis (7^th) to win the Girls Regional title 65-69 ahead of #15 St. Teresa. Veronica Hein led St. Teresa with a third place finish. #14 Shelbyville scored 72 points to finish third. Claudia Magnussen (Pana HS) dominated the individual race running 17:38 for the win. Lauren Bowers led Shelbyville as she crossed the line with teammate Ailey Mitchell with the same time to finish second and third.

#7 Carlinville ran a 31 second split on their top five to help them win the Boys race with 52 points. Jason Landon (6^th), Samuel Mock (7^th), and Charles Helton (8^th) all finished within two seconds of each other. #8 Shelbyville was second (83 points) as Tyler Pasley (2^nd), Ryan Skowronski (4^th), and Jordan Sieger (5^th) finished in the top five. The Rams were hurt by a 108 second split between their pack and their fourth runner. Logan Hall (Arthur-Lovington HS) displayed that he will be a threat for the 1A title. The junior ran 15:04 to win the individual race 25 seconds ahead of Shelbyville’s Pasley.

Winnebago Regional

Expectations were high as three of the top ten 1A Boys teams met Saturday at Fuller Forest Preserve. Fans who were at that regional were not disappointed. #3 Harvest Christian Academy scored 41 points placing four runners in the top ten with a 45 second split. Andrew Dobrescu and Michael Sisko finished third and fourth within a second of each other. #2 Rockford Christian scored 61 points to finish second just ahead of Richmond-Burton (64 points). The individual race was a great one as Riley Wells (Rockford Christian HS) edged Ryan Hommowun (Richmond-Burton HS) by fractions of a second. Both were timed at 14:21. The three teams are fairly evenly matched. Rockford Christian placed five runners in the top twenty-one with a split of 56 seconds. Richmond-Burton placed five runners in the top nineteen with a 54 second split.

There was a surprise in the Girls meet as #21 Richmond-Burton placed three runners in the first six to win with 60 points. #22 Harvest Christian Academy scored 75 points to finish second five points ahead of #10 Rockford Christian. Nygia Pollard (Harvest Christian Academy, Elgin) ran 16:48 on the 2.85 mile course to win by ten seconds ahead of Madison Franseen (Rockford Christian HS). Richmond-Burton was led by Emma Langlois (4^th), Breanne Retherford (5^th), and Amy Frisch (6^th).

Rock Falls Regional

Brayden Hamblen (Rock Falls HS) ran a tactical race as he ended up winning by two seconds ahead of Chris Ahlers (Newman Catholic HS, Sterling) as Hamblen ran 15:15. #21 Newman Catholic controlled the team race placing five runners in the first thirteen to score only 28 points for the win. #15 Rock Falls scored 58 points to finish second.

A 5-6 finish by Megan Grady and Erin Hosto helped #20 Amboy win the Girls team title with 48 points. Kewanee-Wethersfield finished second behind top ten finishes by Whitney Johnson (2^nd) and Kirstie Ramsey (7^th). Hailey Weidner (Bureau Valley HS, Manlius) ran 18:55 to win the individual race eight seconds ahead of Johnson.

Peru St. Bede Regional

Tanner Chada (Hinckley-Big Rock HS) tuned up for his sectional match up with Rock Falls’ Brayden Hamblen with a strong win at this meet. Chada’s time of 15:32 was 41 seconds faster than Seneca’s Christopher Collet. #14 Illinois Valley Central had top ten finishes by Owen Harbeger (3^rd) and Jordan Gerberding (6^th) to win the team championship with 46 points. Ottawa Marquette (85 points) and Seneca (98 points) finished second and third.

#12 Illinois Valley Central placed three in the first ten to win the Girls team title with 40 Points. The Grey Ghosts were led by the second place finish by Katherine Schroeder. #13 Seneca had a 3-4 finish from Carina Collet and Sarah Virgo to finish second with 50 points. Stark County finished third (77 points). Audrey Harrod (Hinckley-Big Rock HS) ran 19:25 to win the individual race by 24 seconds ahead of Schroeder.

Freeburg Regional

#1 Freeburg was without their #2 runner Alex Mack who was participating in ACT testing.  It did not matter as Freeburg placed their top five in the first six to easily win with 18 points. Breese Mater Dei (65 points) and Roxana (98 points) finished second and third. Freeburg’s Charlie Parrish easily won the individual race (15:42) by 25 seconds ahead of teammate Corbin Schwable. Their split on five was 58 seconds.

It was the pack of #9 Freeburg was the difference in the Girls race as they won 33-42 ahead of #16 Breese Mater Dei. Elyse Faust led Mater Dei with the individual win (19:07) eight seconds ahead of Freeburg’s Breanna Chandler. It was close through four runners as Freeburg had four runners in the first ten while Breese Mater Dei placed four in the first eight. It was Freeburg’s 95 second five runner split that was the difference compared to Mater Dei and the 136 that they had on their five scorers. Althoff Catholic (83 points) and New Athens (96 points) finished third and fourth.

Chester Regional

Pinckneyville won the Boys team race 50-68 over Steeleville placing three runners in the first nine. Grant Batteau led Pinckneyville finishing second. He was ten seconds behind individual winner Brandon Schnitker (Nashville HS) who ran 16:21. Nashville (110 points) and Red Bud (112 points) finished third and fourth. Freshman Sabrina Kollbaum finished third to lead Nashville to the Girls team win 64 to 94 over Okawville. Gabrielle Alongi (DuQuoin HS) ran 19:53 to win the individual race by thirty seconds ahead of Carterville’s Megan Adams.

Frankfort Regional

Benton edged Hamilton County 35-40 to win the Boys team title. Mason Wills helped Benton winning the individual race (15:54) ahead of teammate Kyle Sneed by 37 seconds. Carmi-White County scored 57 points to win the Girls team title. Hamilton County scored 69 points to finish second. Freshman Amelia McLain (Benton HS) ran 18:09 to win the individual title ahead of Carmi’s Payton Dixon by 76 seconds. McLain is the daughter of Benton Coach Brent McLain who won the 2A State Cross Country title in 1982.

Farmington Regional

#4 Elmwood-Brimfield is on track to challenging for the state title. The Trojans placed five runners in the first seventeen to win the regional title 42-67 ahead of #13 Deer Creek-Mackinaw. Cooper Hoffmann led Elmwood winning the individual race (15:23) four seconds ahead of teammate Trevor Dunkel. The split on their top five lowered to 51 seconds. #22 El Paso-Gridley finished third (77 points) followed by #9 Eureka (117 points) and #10 Tremont (140 points).

Shelby Siltman (Olympia HS, Stanford) showed that she is ready for Detweiller Park running 17:39 to win the individual race by 21 seconds ahead of Eureka’s Emma Argo. The second place finish by Argo and fifth place finish by Tessa Wiegand helped #8 Eureka win the team title 64-69 ahead of #7 Stanford Olympia. El Paso-Gridley (82 points) finished third followed by Deer Creek-Mackinaw (110 points) and Elmwood-Brimfield (118 points).

Liberty Regional

#2 Liberty just had a better pack in this meet than #6 Williamsville. Liberty placed three in the first five to score 43 points ahead of second place Williamsville who scored 53 points. Katelyn Robbins (2^nd), Kaela Wellman (4^th), and Megan Berry (5^th led Liberty who had their top five runners in the first nineteen. Williamsville had a tight four runner pack of only 25 seconds led by Caroline Gwaltney’s seventh place finish. Springfield Lutheran scored for the first time in a meet this year as they scored 88 points to finish third behind Maddy Eck’s third place finish.

Wyatt McIntyre (Athens HS) was dominating as he ran 15:16 to win the individual race 51 seconds ahead of second place Eli Ten Eyck (Pittsfield HS). Wyatt, along with his freshman brother Noah, finished in the top ten to lead #12 Athens to the Boys team win with 50 points. Liberty finished second (69 points) behind the third place finish by Lucas Booher.

Macomb Regional

Ryan Block led Knoxville by finishing third and helping her team win the regional title with 63 points. Monmouth-Roseville finished second with 67 points followed by Lewistown (74 points) and Macomb (82 points). Lewistown freshman Anna Heffren ran 18:03 to win the individual race just five seconds ahead of Maccomb’s Maya Stovall. Both runners went under the course record of 18:18 that Stovall set last season.

#16 Illini West ran an 18 second split on their top five to win the Boys team title 44-54 ahead of #20 Mercer County. Jacob Bryan led Illini West with a sixth place finish. Mercer County got top five finishes from Ethan Morrow (2^nd) and Ethan Adolphson (5^th). David Snider (Havana HS) won the individual race (15:51) fourteen seconds ahead of Morrow.

Kankakee McNamara Regional

Daly Galloway (Gardner-South Wilmington HS) used the regional race as another tune-up for the state meet in more than two weeks. The senior ran 17:30 to win the individual race by 35 seconds ahead of Chicago Christian’s April van Ryn. #4 Chicago Christian placed five in the first seventeen to win the team title 53-62 ahead of a good Herscher squad. They were led by the fourth place finish by Jillian Milton.

Clifton Central, whose top seven is comprised of freshmen and sophomores, won the Boys team title 66-86 surprising #24 Peotone. Sophomore Jeremy Snejberg and Isaiah Ditta led Central with fourth and sixth place finishes. Jake Maquet (Prairie Central HS, Fairbury) ran 16:22 to win the individual race by just two seconds ahead of Peotone’s Zach Crocker.

Lisle Regional

Walther Christian had Luis Dieguez (2^nd) and Jack Simzyk (5^th) in the top five to help Walther Christian to a 45-48 team win over Timothy Christian. Westmont scored 66 points to finish third. Westmont’s Matt Gedraitis ran 17:12 to win the individual race by nine seconds ahead of Walther Christian’s Dieguez. Halle Nash (Westmont HS) had a convincing win in the Girls race. Nash’s winning time of 19:22 was 56 seconds faster than second place Isabella Wolke (Christian Liberty Academy, Arlington Heights). #18 Westmont also dominated in the Girls team standings placing five in the first eight to score only 23 points for the win. Timothy Christian scored 47 points to finish second.

Luther North Regional

DePaul Prep put four runners in a row starting with fifth place Eric La Luz. They had five in the first eleven to edge #23 Niles Northridge Prep 37-39. Northridge was led by Peter Conroy (2^nd) and Sebastian Fuentes-Branas (4^th).  Willows Academy scored 51 points to win the Girls team title ahead of North Shore Country Day (68 points) and Luther North 76 points. Katie Glew (North Shore-Country Day, Winnetka) ran 20:15 to win the individual race by three seconds ahead of Noble Academy’s Michelle Villagran.