By Michael Newman

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Here are highlights from each of the 15 3A regionals that took place on October 21.

Lake Park Sectional

Wheaton North Regional

It was a “Tiger-type” day at St. James Farm as Wheaton-Warrenville South swept both regional titles. In the Girls race, #4 Wheaton-Warrenville South off set the Glenbard West 1-2-3 finish of Katelynne Hart, Lindsey Payne, and Katie Hohe with a pack of their own. Led by the fourth-place finish by Samantha Poglitsch, the Tigers placed all their 7 runners in the first 12 to win the team title with 34 points. #5 Glenbard West scored 44 points to finish second followed by #20 York (70 points). It was Hart’s race from the gun as she never trailed running 16:21 for the win 35 seconds ahead of Payne. Wheaton-Warrenville South’s pack was impressive as they had a 33 second split on their top five but only a 9 second split from their second through fifth runners.

#3 Wheaton-Warrenville South was just as impressive in the Boys race having a strong pack throughout the race. The Tigers charged towards the front at the end placing 4 runners in the top 9 on their way to a regional title with 35 points. #8 Glenbard West, who was without one of their top five runners Will O’Brien, finished second (47 points) ahead of #7 York (68 points) who was led by the fourth-place finish from Sean MacGregor. Rory Cavan of Glenbard West pulled away from the field just after 1.5 miles to secure the win (14:44.9) just ahead of Wheaton-Warrenville South’s William Hauenstein (14:50.7) and Sean Maison (14:53.7). South’s split on their top five was 33 seconds. Their split on their top four was only 24 seconds.

Whitney Young Regional

Host Whitney Young swept both regional team titles Saturday morning at Washington Park. Clayton Mendez led a Dolphin sweep of the first three places as they won the team title (25 points) ahead of Lane Tech (47 points) and Leyden (64 points). Mendez cruised to the win (15:04.8) ahead of teammate Charlie Nevins by 28 seconds. Whitney Young’s Sam Rivera was another 19 seconds back in third.

Whitney Young rebounded from what their coach Bob Geiger described as a horrible City championship race on Monday to win the Girls regional title. The Dolphins scored 53 points placing 5 runners in the first 15 led by the fifth-place finish from Ella Behrens. Eight points separated the next three teams as Fenwick finished second (64 points) ahead of Lane Tech (69 points) and Northside Prep’s (72 points). Taft’s Sydney Partyka won the individual race (18:37.2) by 23 seconds ahead of Northside Prep’s Sara McCoy.

Niles West Regional

#25 Maine South got a 1-2 finish from Tommy Brady and Brandon Christopher to win the Boys regional title 47-50 ahead of #20 New Trier. The Trevians were without their top runner Patrick Norrick. Evanston Township (61 points) finished third. Maine South placed 3 runners in the first 6 as well as 5 runners in the first 20 with a 70 second split on their top 5. New Trier had a 12 second split on their top five led by the seventh-place finish from Charlie Forbes.

Enyaeva Michelin of Evanston tuned up for her sectional showdown with Katelynne Hart with a convincing win in the Girls race. Michelin’s time of 17:30 was 40 seconds ahead of second-place Olivia Niziolek of Maine South. #13 New Trier continues to improve as they placed their top 5 runners in the first 11 to win the team title with only 36 points ahead of #23 Maine South (59 points). The split for the Lady Trevians on their scorers was only 14 seconds.

Hoffman Estates Sectional

Palatine Regional

#8 Barrington was in control during the Girls race placing 4 in the first 8 to score only 32 points. Cary Grove (68 points) and #15 Palatine (87 points) finished second and third. The Fillies were paced by the individual win from Jocelyn Long. Her time of 17:25 was seven seconds ahead of teammate Molly FitzPatrick.

#16 Lake Zurich is on the rise as they won their second “big” race in a row this week capturing the Boys regional title (50 points) ahead of #23 Dundee-Crown (71 points), Palatine (81 points), and #22 Barrington (91 points). The Bears placed 4 runners in the first 12, five in the top 21 led by the second-place finish from Patrick Burns (15:25). Barrington’s Nick Laning (15:01) won the individual race by 24 seconds.

Hoffman Estates Regional

One of the most impressive individual performances of the weekend came from Schaumburg’s Madison Marasco in the Girls race. The senior, who made a verbal commitment to the University of Illinois this week, ran 16:54 to win the individual race ahead of Glenbrook South’s Kate Jortberg by 52 seconds. #11 Prospect used good pack running to secure the regional title with 55 points placing 6 runners in the top 18 led by the fourth-place finish from Mikayla Olsen.

#5 Hersey looked just as strong in the Boys race. The Huskies, led by the 2-3 finish from Josh Methner and Ryan Theisen, put 5 runners in the top 11 to win the team title with only 29 points. #15 Prospect (63 points) and Fremd (100 points) finished second and third. The split on Hersey’s top 5 was 36 seconds. Prospect’s Jack Terry picked up the regional title (15:12) winning by two seconds ahead of Hersey’s Methner.

Lake Forest Regional

#17 Mundelein held out a couple of their top five runners but still had enough to win the team title placing 3 runners in the top 12 scoring 68 points. Robert St. Clair led the Mustangs with a third-place finish. Stevenson finished second (73 points) followed by Highland Park (83 points) and Libertyville (86 points). Libertyville’s Alex Tam ran 14:52 to win the regional individual title by five seconds ahead of Stevenson’s Nikita Smyrnov (14:57).

Only five points separated #17 Stevenson and #19 Libertyville in the Girls race Monday at the North Suburban Conference Meet. It was closer in this race as Stevenson still had the edge winning the regional team title 45-47 ahead of Libertyville. Melissa Manetsch of Libertyville ran away from the field for the race title (16:57) finishing 17 seconds ahead of Lake Forest’s Brett Chody.

Hinsdale Central Sectional

Plainfield South Regional

#1 Downers Grove North put 5 runners in the top 6, 6 runners in the top 9 to easily win the Boys team title with 17 points. Jacob Ridderhoff led a Trojan 1-2-3 finishing running 15:25 for the individual win followed by teammates Jack Roberts (15:32) and Ryan Birkmeier (15:34). The split on North’s top five was only 16 seconds. #12 Downers Grove South finished second (79 points) followed by #10 Plainfield South (81 points).

#3 Downers Grove South held out one of their top five runners and still survived a good #21 Benet Academy team edging the Redwings 35-38. South took the top two spots as Brenna Cohoon won the individual race (18:26) finishing six seconds ahead of teammate Melissa Weidner. Benet’s Mae Tully was one second back finishing in third.

Lyons Township Regional

Ranked Lyons Township, Hinsdale Central, and St. Ignatius held out some of their top runners in the Boys race. #6 Hinsdale Central still had the depth to win the team title (38 points) ahead of #4 Lyons Township (51 points) and Jones College Prep (52 points). Morton Township’s Guillermo Ibarra ran 15:40 to edge Hinsdale Central’s Alec Hill by one second to capture the individual title.

#9 Lyons Township has been hot as of late. They continued that trend scoring 33 points to win the regional team title ahead of #6 Hinsdale Central (41 points). The Lions placed 5 runners in the first 11 led by the second-place finish from Emily Henkel. Argo’s Abby Lopez ran 17:31 to win the individual race finishing 22 seconds ahead of Henkel.

Marist Regional

Dylan Jacobs and some of his teammates were not on the line for #9 Sandburg. It did not matter as the Eagles still put in 5 runners in the top 10 to score 37 points to win the regional title led by the fourth-place finish from Nico Calderon. Stagg (61 points) finished second. Daniel Cervantes of Lindblom Academy ran 15:26 to win the individual race ten seconds ahead of Stagg’s Jared Tarrantino.

Marist swept the first four places to win the regional team title on their home course scoring 25 points. Stagg (57 points) and Mother McAuley (69 points) finished second and third. Marist freshman Cecila Light won the individual title (18:34) finishing 16 seconds ahead of teammate Jill Borza.

Waubonsie Valley Sectional

West Chicago Regional

The top two runners for #1 Naperville North Sarah Schmitt and Alex Morris did not run in this race. That did not matter as the Huskies placed 5 runners in the top 8 to win the regional title with 21 points. Hannah Ricci led North with the individual win (18:00) 23 seconds ahead of teammate Claire Hill. Geneva’s Sophia McDonnell (18:37) finished third. #24 Naperville Central (61 points) and #22 Geneva (91 points) finished second and third in the team standings.

St. Charles East appears to be getting healthy just at the right time. The Saints placed 4 runners in the top 8 to win the Boys team crown with 36 points. #13 Naperville Central, who held out their #1 runner Thomas Shilgalis in this race, finished second (43 points). East was led by the second-place finish from Cole Adesso. Their split on the top four was 20 seconds, 34 seconds on their top five. Geneva’s Josh Rodgers won the individual title by 15 seconds crossing the line in 15:35.

West Aurora Regional

#2 Neuqua Valley got a 1-2 finish from Zach Kinne and Ryan Kennedy as they placed 5 in the first 11. The Wildcats scored 27 points to win the regional title ahead of #24 Marmion Academy (80 points). It was close for the final four sectional qualifying spots. Oswego East led the pack (106 points) followed by Oswego (110 points), Waubonsie Valley (112 points), and #11 Batavia (116 points). Kinne’s winning time on the 3-mile course (14:43) was 12 seconds ahead of Kennedy.

Marygrace Golden led #12 Batavia to the Girls title (29 points) with her individual win. The Bulldogs placed 4 runners in the top 8, 5 in the first 12 for the win ahead of Oswego (77 points) and #25 Oswego East (82 points). Golden and teammate Mia Gianfrancesco were separated by only one second as Golden crossed the line first in 17:37. Oswego’s Isabelle Christensen finished third (17:50).

Hononegah Regional

Host #18 Hononegah placed 3 runners in the top 5 on their way to winning the Girls Regional title with 44 points. Jacobs (62 points) and Huntley (65 points) were the next two teams. Katherine Olsen of DeKalb pulled away for the individual title (18:07) ahead of Hononegah’s Lauren Johnston and Alicia Repka.

#14 Huntley looked strong in the Boys race placing 4 runners in the first 8 to win the team title with 34 points finishing ahead of Jacobs (53 points) and DeKalb (64 points). The split from Huntley’s top runner Ian Geisler )3^rd place overall) and #5 runner Jadon Conroy was 26 seconds. The split on their top 4 was only 12 seconds. Jacobs’ Zach Albrecht was dominant winning the race (15:47) by 20 seconds ahead of Rockford East’s Noah Friske.

Granite City Sectional

Minooka Regional

Yorkville swept both team titles in this regional. The #2 Girls team was in control in their race placing 5 runners in the top 7 to win with 22 points ahead of #10 Minooka (42 points) and #14 Lockport Township. Minooka ran without their #2 runner Vivian Van Eck. Minooka’s Emily Shelton ran 17:27 to win by 18 seconds ahead of Yorkville’s Alyssa Edwards.

It was closer in the Boys race as #18 Yorkville scored 65 points behind Ben Summers’ individual win. His time of 15:52 was four seconds ahead of second-place Dalton Martin of East Moline United. Lockport Township was close behind in second (69 points).

Belleville West Sectional

It was Edwardsville that swept both team titles in this regional. #7 Edwardsville was in charge of the Girls race taking three of the four places while winning the regional title with 26 points. O’Fallon finished second (51 points). In a close individual race, Abby Korak ran 17:39 for the win just four seconds ahead of Quincy’s Lydia Kurfman.

Andrew O’Keefe of Granite City ran 15:08 to win the individual race by four seconds. It was #22 Edwardsville, led by Roland Prenzler, that took home the next four places as the Tigers scored 21 points to win the Boys regional title ahead of O’Fallon (65 points).

Andrew Regional

#16 Lincoln-Way Central put all 7 runners in the first 11 to easily win the Girls regional title with only 19 points. Lincoln-Way East (45 points) and Lincoln-Way West (78 points) finished second and third. Mackenzie Brownrigg led a Lincoln-Way Central 1-2-3 finish as she ran 18:21 for the individual win.

Brett Gardner’s individual win led 5 Lincoln-Way East runners in the top 9 to win the Boys regional title 27-40 ahead of Lincoln-Way Central. Gardner’s time of 15:15 was 31 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Jared Kreis of Lincoln-Way Central.