Plainfield North’s James Suchy takes a leap in Saturday’s 3A Lockport Regional (@pntrack photo)

By Michael Newman

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Normal Regional

One of the biggest races of the day in 3A was at Maxwell Park where #2 Minooka faced off against #3 Yorkville in the first of three straight weeks. Minooka’s Mackenzie Callahan caught Yorkville’s Nicole Greyer for the lead with less than a half mile to go in the race. Callahan went on to win in 17:04 just three seconds ahead of Greyer. The team race was just as close as expected. Minooka placed four in the first six places to edge Yorkville 28-32.  Minooka’s split on their first four was only 39 seconds with a split of 105 seconds on their top five. Yorkville stayed close together placing all five scorers in the top ten with an 85 second split on the group.

Soren Knudsen (Minooka HS) stormed away from the pack from the start opening a huge lead by going through the first mile in a blazing 4:34. He went on to run 14:29 on Maxwell’s 3.0 mile circuit for the win. He won by 64 seconds ahead of East Moline United’s Dalton Martin.  #20 Minooka took home the regional title on the Boys side as well as they placed three runners in the top six scoring 37 points. Yorkville, led by the 3-4 finish by Ben Summers and Zack Price, finished second with 48 points.

Andrew Regional

#17 Lincoln-Way East won the Boys regional championship with 32 points led by Noah Healy’s individual win. Healy ran 15:27 to win the race by six seconds ahead of Lincoln-Way West’s Ryan Taylor. The Griffins placed four runners in the first seven while running a 71 second split on their top five. Lincoln-Way Central (51 points) and Lincoln-Way West (69 points) finished second and third.

Even though Lincoln-Way Central held out Madison Smith and Kelly Robbins from Saturday’s race, it still did not affect the Knights as they placed six runners in the first ten to win the regional title with 32 points. Jenna Couwenhoven (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort) won the individual race (18:42) just seven seconds ahead of Jenna Diers (Lincoln-Way West HS, New Lenox). Lincoln-Way East had their five scorers in the first sixteen to finish second with 46 points.

Quincy Regional

Edwardsville swept both titles in this regional. It was close in the Girls race as #23 Edwardsville placed five in the first eleven, led by the 2-3 finish by Melissa Spencer and Jaycie Hudson, to win with 27 points. The Tigers were nine points ahead of conference rival O’Fallon (36 points). Brooke Witzel led the Panthers with the individual win (18:32) thirteen seconds ahead of Edwardsville’s Spencer. Quincy finished third with 92 points. Edwardsville did not run freshman and #1 runner most of the season Abby Korak.

#24 O’Fallon did not run their top runners in this race opening the door for #25 Edwardsville. The Tigers placed five runners in the first seven to win 19-70 ahead of O’Fallon. Franky Romano led Edwardsville with the individual title crossing the line in 15:52 eight seconds ahead of teammate Roland Prenzler.

Grant Regional

#4 Lake Zurich placed four runners in the top nine to win the team title 31-75 ahead of #14 Palatine. Brian Griffith led Zurich winning the individual title (15:38) three seconds ahead of teammate Matt Pereira. Crystal Lake South’s Jack Becker ran 15:43 to finish third and qualify individually for next week’s sectional at Waukegan. Lake Zurich had their top five split under 60 seconds again as they ran a 55 second split. Dundee-Crown finished third (98 points) just ahead of Cary-Grove (104 points).

Danya Lloyd finished second to lead #10 Palatine to the regional title 38-76 ahead of host #18 Grant. #19 Barrington was third just four points behind Grant. Barrington’s Jocelyn Long ran away with the individual win (17:58) 23 seconds ahead of Palatine’s Lloyd. Palatine ran a 58 second split on their top five.

Hoffman Estates Regional

Hersey’s first year Girls Coach Danielle Freeman was a little in shock as her runners crossed the line. The #12 Huskies finished third in last week’s MSL race but came on strong to win the team title placing their top three runners in the first six. They scored 46 points to finish eleven points ahead of MSL champion #8 Propsect. Hersey had control of the race from the first mile on as Prospect went out slower than normal and had play catch-up in the final mile of the race. “We had a fabulous week of workouts heading into this meet. We just had to rest a little more this week than before conference,” Freeman said. “The girls were asking me after the race if we won. They improved so much that winning did not even matter. This is regionals and all I know is we are moving forward.” Brooke Wilson (Prospect HS) did not take the lead until the final 400 meters when she passed Madison Marasco for the lead and the eventual win. Wilson’s time of 17:06 was just four seconds ahead of the Schaumburg junior.

#5 Hersey held out four of their top seven in the Boys race. #7 Prospect did not move until the second mile towards the front. They had the team race at that point. Led by the fifth place finish by Sean Sanaghan, Prospect had only a seventeen second split on their top five as they won the regional title with 37 points. Fremd scored 66 points to finish second led by the second place finish by Danny Peterson. Hoffman Estates’ Jack Worman took the lead at the start and never looked back as he won the individual title (15:00) six seconds ahead of Peterson. “We wanted to be more relaxed this week. They wanted to win the conference meet for me last week (Prospect has not won the MSL title in 23 years). They were a little out of control in the race last week,” Prospect close Mike Stokes said. “They were back to business as normal with our pack. They looked very smooth.”

Libertyville Regional

Brett Chody (Lake Forest HS) won the Girls individual race (18:05) by fifteen seconds ahead of Stevenson’s Isabelle Sparreo. The Patriots had the upper hand in the team race as they placed five in the first thirteen to win 37-64 ahead of Lake Forest. Libertyville finished third (94 points) without their #1 runner Melissa Manetsch who did not race in this meet.

It was close in the Boys race as #22 Mundelein out packed #21 Highland Park to win the team title 58-62. Mundelein, led by the fourth place finish by Robert St. Clair, placed three runners in the first nine and five in the first twenty-one with a 34 second split on the top five. Jonathan Rosenfeld led Highland Park with an eighth place finish. The Giants placed their top five in the first fifteen with only a 22 second split on the group. Alex Tam (Libertyville HS) was the individual winner running 15:28 and finishing just one second ahead of Waukegan’s Marcos Garcia.

West Chicago Regional

The morning session at Kress Creek Farms featured this regional that had two good races. #1 Naperville North was in complete control of the Girls race placing five runners in the first nine led by the individual win by Sarah Schmitt. The North junior ran 17:13 to finish fifteen seconds ahead of Audrey Ernst (St. Charles North HS). The Huskies had a 53 second split on their top five. The split from second runner Alex Morris to fifth runner Claire Hamilton was only twenty seconds. #11 Geneva finished second (76 points) without one of their top three runners Emma Eberhardt. The Vikings were still led by a 3-4 finish by Sophia McDonnell and Andrine Larsen. Naperville Central finished third (83 points) with only a 30 second five runner split off of the tenth place finish by Carolyn Carpenter.

It was extremely close in the Boys race as #15 Geneva used a 2-3 finish by Tyler Dau and Josh Rodgers to edge Naperville Central 55-58 for the team title. #19 St. Charles East finished third (64 points) just three points ahead of Naperville North. Naperville Central sophomore Thomas Shilgalis bounced back from his DVC race to win individually (15:01) six seconds ahead of Geneva’s Dau.

Batavia Regional

The afternoon session featured US #2 Neuqua Valley. The Wildcats held out some of their top runners but prevailed winning the team title with only 24 points. It was a close finish in the individual race as Matt Milostan (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) ran 14:50 to edge Oswego East’s Dylan Zangri and Neuqua’s Zach Kinne by ne second for the regional individual title. Neuqua Valley placed all seven of their runners in the first twelve and five in the first nine with only a 27 seconds on the scoring group. #13 Marmion Academy (72 points) finished second ahead of a surprising Waubonsie Valley team that scored 112 points to finish third.

#16 Neuqua Valley and #13 Metea Valley both scored 53 points putting them on top in the team standings of this regional. Neuqua Valley won the regional title on a sixth runner tie-breaker. They were led by the third place finish by Caitlin Horn. Metea placed four runners in the top eleven led by the fourth place finish by Leana Goldman. #15 Batavia had a 44 second split on their top five to finish third led by a fifth place finish by Audrey Pellico. Oswego’s Isabelle Christiansen ran 17:36 to win the individual race fifteen seconds ahead of teammate Grace Pagone. Their 1-2 finish led #21 Oswego to place fourth.

Rockford Guilford Regional

Mary Raclwaski led three Huntley runners in the top ten on their way to a regional championship with 41 points. Hononegah scored 50 points to finish second behind the 1-2 finish by Alicia Repka and Taylor Frommier. Ripka’s time of 17:50 was fifteen seconds ahead of teammate Frommier. DeKalb finished third 68 points.

Huntley used the same formula in the Boys race putting three runners in the first ten to win the regional championship with 39 points. Huntley’s Jeremy Roe won the individual race (15:41) finishing three seconds ahead of Jordan VanBarriger (Rockford East HS). DeKalb finished second (51 points) led by the 5-6 finish by Thomas Wuchte and Jacob Trapp.

Lake Park Regional

Things looked dismal for Glenbard West before the start of the Girls race as they were without their #3 runner Katie Hohe who is sidelined with an injury. Freshman Emma Hall stepped up as the team’s fifth runner finishing fourteenth. That gave them the edge to slip by #5 Wheaton-Warrenville South 34-36. Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart led from the start running a great 16:32 to win the regional title 21 seconds ahead of teammate Lindsey Payne. Glenbard also got finishes from Chloe Connolly (7^th) and Janie Nabholz (10^th) who led South by four points (20-24) after four runners scored. The Tigers were led by the 3-4 finish by Sara Atkins and Allison McGrath who crossed the finish line at the same time (17:28). #22 York finished third (67 points) behind Sarah May’s sixth place finish.

#8 York stayed under control the first half of the race but moved in the final mile to win the regional team championship. They were led by the individual win by Charlie Kern (15:01) who finished nine seconds ahead of teammate Sean MacGregor. York had a 39 second split on their top five. The Dukes 44 points were only five points ahead of a fired up Glenbard West team who ran their best race of the season in this meet. The Hilltoppers had three runners in the top six led by sophomores Stephen Moody and Rory Cavan’s 3-5 finish. #11 Wheaton-Warrenville South scored 54 points to finish third with Kyle Thompson leading the way with a fourth place finish.

Loyola Academy Regional

Reese Jordan ran 15:14 to win the individual title two seconds ahead of Warren Blood (New Trier HS, Winnetka). The #10 Trevians placed five runners in the first fourteen to win the team title 38-77 ahead of Glenbrook South. Loyola Academy finished third (89 points). #6 Maine South finished fourth (96 points) as they did not run two of their top five runners.

A 1-2 finish by Madeline Dingle and Olivia Nizolek paced #14 Maine South to a narrow 38-40 win ahead of #20 New Trier for the Girls Regional title. Dingle and Niziolek finished within a second of each other (17:43 – 17:44). New Trier was led by the 3-5 finish of Caroline Fix and Grace Fagan.

St. Ignatius Regional

Fenwick placed three in the first six to win the Girls team title scoring 37 points. The Friars placed their five scorers, led by Nicole Finn’s fourth place finish, in the top twelve with only a 27 second split on the group. Whitney Young finished second (62 points) followed by Lane Tech (69 points) and Jones College Prep (72 points). Lane Tech’s Maggie Scholle won the individual race (18:16) finishing thirteen seconds ahead of teammate Maddy King.

There was drama in the Boys race. #12 Whitney Young received a win from Keduse Worku and a fifth place finish by Sam Rivera to lead the Dolphins to the regional win with 49 points. Michael Obroin finished fourth to lead #23 St. Ignatius to 70 points and second place. Worku won the individual race in a sprint holding off Von Steuben’s Jaimie Marcos. Both were recorded with the same time (15:21). The drama came in figuring out the other four teams that would advance to the Niles West Sectional. Von Steuben finished third with 101 points. Then came Fenwick (118 points), Lane Tech (119 points), and Illiana Christian (119 points) with Joes Prep missing by three points. At the finish, one of Von Steuben’s runners was disqualified moving Jones into sixth with Von Steuben. After the results were published, it was noticed that one of Von Steuben’s runner’s timing chips did not read at the finish. Officials were notified of the error and went to do a second video review. Von Steuben was moved into third moving Jones back into seventh. Jones College Prep did qualify four individuals, but did not run three of their top five runners including #1 runner Jeremy Adams.

Hinsdale Central Regional

#3 Lyons Township did not run some of their top runners including Danny Kilrea and Vince Zona while #9 Hinsdale Central held out Blake Evertsen. That left Oak Park-River Forest’s Irwin Loud to run by himself. He ran 14:47 to win by 35 seconds ahead of Hinsdale Central’s Ryan Doorhy. The Red Devils ran a seventeen second split on their top five to win the Boys team title with 26 points. Oak Park-River Forest (45 points) and Lyons Township (65 points) finished second and third.

Sarah Barcelona and Emily Henkel finished 1-2 to lead #7 Lyons Township to the regional title 29-36 ahead of #9 Hinsdale Central. Barcelona ran 17:22 to finish three seconds ahead of her teammate. The Lions also put five runners in the top eleven. Hinsdale received a 3-4-5 finish by Reilly Revord, Grace McCabe, and McKenna Revord placing five runners in the first fourteen.

Lockport Regional

#2 Downers Grove North ran under control on the hilly Dellwood Park course putting five in the first six to score only sixteen points. Alec Danner ran 15:51 for the win finishing eight seconds ahead of teammate Jacob Ridderhoff. Crosstown rival Downers Grove South scored 86 points to finish second. Plainfield South (86 points) had the same point total to finish third.

#6 Downers Grove South placed five in the first twelve, led by the fifth place finish by Brenna Cohoon, scored 43 points to edge #17 Lockport 43-48 to win the regional title. Lockport’s Morgan Bollinger ran 18:40 to win the individual title by four seconds ahead of Plainfield North’s Juliana Stogsdill. #24 Plainfield North scored 95 points to finish third.

Sandburg Regional

Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs showed that he was ready for the state series running a quick 14:18 to win the individual title by 43 seconds ahead of Caleb Washington (Shepard HS, Palos Heights) and another three seconds ahead of Sandburg’s Martin Skucas. The Eagles placed five runners in the first twelve to win the team title with 30 points. Lindblom placed second (90 points) behind Daniel Cervantes and his seventh place finish.

Marist’s four runners in the first nine was the difference maker as they held off Mother McAuley 37-42 to win the Girls team title. Marist’s Maryclare Leonard won the individual title (18:03) by twelve seconds ahead of Ashley Bryja (Mother McAuley HS, Chicago).