Above Photo: Roman Drabchuk and Charlie Nodus go 1-2 to lead Hinsdale South to the Marist Regional Championship (Jim Dickerson Photo)

 

By Michael Newman

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Here are brief recaps of the 15 2A regional meets that took place on Saturday.

 

 

Antioch Regional

 

#2 Grayslake Central displayed their dominance taking 6 of the first 7 spots in winning the Boys regional crown with only 18 points. Lakes scored 102 points to place 2^nd only 1 point ahead of 3^rd place Richmond-Burton. Jack Aho led the Rams winning the race in 15:21. He was ahead of his brother Matt who finished 2^nd and ran 15:57.

 

Megan Girmscheid finished 3^rd to lead Grayslake Central to a 49-68 regional championship ahead of #20 Lakes. #16 Carmel Catholic finished 3^rd with 81 points. Kortney Schardt (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) dominated the individually race running 18:50 to win by 26 seconds ahead of Kate Jacobs (Woodstock HS).

 

Belvidere North

 

Eryk Yunk ran 15:02 to win the individual race by 11 seconds ahead of Jacob Gebhardt (Sterling HS). His win helped #6 Belvidere North win the regional championship with 43 points. #16 Rockford Christian finished second and was only 2 points ahead of 3^rd place #17 Dixon. That was the same margin that separated the 2 teams last week at the Big Northern Conference Championships.

 

Rockford Boylan’s Delaney Appino and Grace McLauglin finished 1-3 in the individual race. That was not enough as #5 Belvidere North placed 5 in the top 12 to win 34-78 ahead of #23 Boylan. Freeport, who had 6 freshman or sophomores in their top 7, scored 101 points to finish 3^rd just 4 points ahead of Dixon. Appino’s winning time of 17:05 was 12 seconds faster than 2^nd place Jenna Lutzow (Belvidere North HS).

 

Fenton Regional

 

Sophomores’ Matthew Gold and Henry Shore finished 3^rd and 6^th to lead Deerfield to the regional title 51-62 over host Fenton. Jose Vazquez-Perez Ran 16:05 to lead Fenton winning the regional individual title by 5 seconds ahead of Robel Yemane (Mather HS). Saint Viator finished 3^rd only 2 points behind Fenton.

 

Deerfield also won the Girls title. They tied Mather 51-51 but was awarded the regional title on a 6^th runner tiebreaker. Saint Viator finished 3^rd with 62 points. Deerfield’s Kelly Osborn ran 19:01 to easily win the individual title by 52 seconds ahead of Mather’s Yarely Robledo.

 

DeLaSalle Regional

 

Chicago University took the first 7 places to score a perfect 15 points to win the team title. Noble Street Charter/Muchin was next with 54 points. Only 4 schools had complete teams. U-High’s Elsa Erling ran 19:47 for the win.

 

Only 5 teams had complete squads in the Boys meet. U-High’s Jacob Meyer ran 16:35 to win the individual race by 97 seconds ahead of teammate Abraham Zelchenko. U-High also won the team title with 25 points.

 

Marist Regional

 

The most competitive race out of all the regional meets on this day was in this Girls race. Aurora Central Catholic, who was ranked in the top 25 during the season, failed to make it out of this regional placing 7^th. #7 Lemont won the team title with 65 points behind Taylor Campos and her 5^th place finish. #10 Montini Catholic was only 2 points behind in 2^nd as they placed 3 runners in the top 6 led by the 3-4 finish of Emma Makowski and Gianna Salzbrunn. #15 Marist scored 80 points to place 3^rd. #11 Rosary had 96 points to place 4^th. Glenbard South (105 points) and Wheaton Academy (125 points) were the other 2 team qualifiers. Aurora Central’s score was 144 points. Rosary’s Madison Ronzone ran 18:06 to capture the individual regional title winning by 3 seconds ahead of Abby Fioresi (Aurora Central Catholic HS).

 

It was not as close in the Boys race. #4 Hinsdale South placed 3 in the top 5 to win the regional championship with 35 points. The Hornets received a 1-2 finish as Roman Drabchuk ran 15:00 to beat teammate Charlie Nodus by 6 seconds. Brett Haffner was the other Hinsdale runner in the top 5 finishing 5^th. #19 Wheaton Academy finished 2^nd (74 points) paced by the 3-4 finish of Jacob Robleski and Jonah Jones.

 

Crete-Monee Regional

 

Lincoln-Way West placed 4 in the top 8 to win the regional championship. Their scored of 42 points doubled that of 2^nd place Illiana Christian who scored 84 points. Ottawa was another point back in third. Rachel Hickey (LaSalle-Peru HS) won the individual race (20:00) by 11 seconds ahead of Teagan Lyke (Lincoln-Way West HS, New Lenox).

 

Evan Mitchell ran 16:25 to win and teammate John Stiglic was 22 seconds behind in second as Lincoln-Way West scored 32 points to win the regional championship. LaSalle-Peru finished 2^nd.

 

East Peoria Regional

 

In a closer than expected outcome, #1 Mahomet-Seymour held off #5 Normal University 41-53 placing 4 runners in the top 9. In another surprise, U-High’s Jack Franklin ran 14:57 to win the regional individual title by 5 seconds ahead of Mahomet’s Alex Keeble. Jake Gillum finished 3^rd to lead #8 Metamora to a third place finish with 80 points. #15 Danville finished fourth with 99 points. #25 Normal West was next with 141 points.

 

There was another surprise in the Girls race as Metamora’s Kari Lalumandier ran 18:19 to win the individual race by 12 seconds ahead of Morton’s Meagan Moreno. Lauren Whitehouse (Mahomet-Seymour HS) was 5 seconds behind in third (18:36). #22 Morton had a 10 second split from 2 to 5 to help them win the team title with 54 points. #14 Normal University scored 62 points to place second. #13 Mahomet-Seymour was third just 1 point back. #19 Metamora scored 75 points to finish fourth.

 

Elmwood Park Regional

 

#12 Fenwick dominated the Boys meet placing all 7 runners in the top 12 to win with 22 points. The Friars went 1-2-3 as Alex Marks won in 15:53 followed by Jack Darrow and Emmett McEnery. Fenwick had a 46 second split on their top 5. Host Elmwood Park was the closest team finishing 2^nd with 54 points.

 

Payton Prep, led by the 3^rd place finish by Alanah Chandler, won the Girls team championship with 37 points. Latin School, led by the individual win by Laura Katunas, scored 48 points to finish second. Katunas ran 19:03 to win by 6 seconds ahead of Aingel Matos (Elmwood Park HS).

 

Highland Regional

 

Troy Triad got a little bit of revenge after they finished second to Highland at last week’s MVC Championship 42-47. Triad used a 2-6 finish by Abigail Richter and Maddie Keller to help them win the regional championship 72-75 over #21 Highland. Mascoutah was 10 points behind in third with 85 points. Waterloo’s Jenna Schwartz ran 18:15 to win the individual race by 19 seconds over Triad’s Richter.

 

Mt. Vernon won the Boys regional crown as only 7 points separated the first 3 teams. The Rams, led by Hagen Schneider’s 6^th place finish, scored 60 points. They were just 2 points ahead of second place Carbondale. Mascoutah was another 5 points behind in third. Carbondale’s Atlantis Green ran 15:37 to win the individual race by 2 seconds ahead of Ethan Price (Mascoutah HS).

 

Jacksonville Regional

 

Both team races were close to say the least. Freshman Katherine Petty won the individual race (17:02) as #4 Rochester won the regional title 40-44 ahead of #8 Chatham-Glenwood. The Titans were led by a 4^th place finish by freshman Katie Curry. #18 Springfield, who received a 2-3 finish by Aly Goff and Natalie Motor, finished third with 66 points.

 

It was even closer in the Boys race. #7 Springfield ran a 50 second split on their top 5 and a 23 second 2 to 5 split to win the team title holding off #11 Chatham-Glenwood 39-41. Glenwood was led by the 3-5 finish by Landon Skelly and Chris Durr. Their split on their top 5 was only 40 seconds. Ben Flowers (Jerseyville HS) ran 14:49 on the 2.9 mile course to win by 7 seconds ahead of Heath Warren (Springfield HS).

 

Kaneland Regional

 

Vivian Overbeck and Lauren Katz finished 1-2 to help #3 Vernon Hills to the regional championship 43-52 ahead of #6 Crystal Lake Central. The Tigers were powered by a 4-5 finish by Janine Orvis and Katelyn Smith. Prairie Ridge, who has 4 freshman and 2 sophomores in their top 7, finished third with 106 points led by the 8^th place finish by Chloe Gale. Hampshire finished 4^th with the same score that was broken by sixth runner tiebreaker. #25 Kaneland finished fifth with 110 points.

 

It was a surprising outcome in the Boys race. #13 Crystal Lake Central won the team championship behind the 4-6 finish by Weston Sterchi and Cole Barkocy. The Tigers final point total of 72 points was just 1 point ahead of #18 Kaneland. The Knights were led by top 10 finishes by Matthew Richtman and Austin Kintz. #9 Vernon Hills (83 points), #20 Prairie Ridge (92 points), and #23 Sycamore (95 points) rounded out the top 5. Filip Pajak ran 15:44 to win the individual race by 6 seconds ahead of Shane Williamson (Vernon Hills HS) and Stephen Poorten (Sycamore HS).

 

Peoria Notre Dame Regional

 

Maryjeanne Gilbert (Notre Dame HS, Peoria) shaved 35 seconds off her Donovan Golf Club course record when she ran 17:56 to win the regional title by 103 seconds ahead of teammate Grace Breitbach. #9 Washington had 3 runners in the top 6 led by the 3^rd place finish by Josie Hermann to win the regional title 40-48 over #12 Peoria Notre Dame. #2 Dunlap did not run their top 5 in this race but finished 3^rd with 83 points. #24 Rock Island Alleman scored 123 points to place 4^th.

 

Victor Fortin’s 3^rd place finish led #10 Peoria Notre Dame to the regional title with 53 points. #14 Rock Island Alleman scored 87 points to finish second behind Aaron Golding (2^nd) and Augie Darrow (5^th). Geneseo was 3 points back in third (92 points). Matt Carr (Limestone HS, Bartonville) ran 16:36 to win the individual race 6 seconds ahead of Alleman’s Golding.

 

Riverside-Brookfield Regional

 

#21 Lindblom Academy took one step closer to their first state qualifying bid by winning this regional championship. The outcome was a little too close for comfort. The Eagles placed 5 in the first 12 to win 34-39 over host Riverside-Brookfield. Walmer Saavedra took the individual title (15:35) winning by 19 seconds ahead of Riverside Brookfield’s Mateo Nunez. The Bulldogs also have a good chance of making it to make it to Peoria putting 5 runners in the top 14 with a #2 to #5 split of 34 seconds.

 

A 1-2 finish by Hailey Jurgens and Nadia Kaczmarz helped Riverside-Brookfield win the regional title 35-50 ahead of Nazareth Academy. Jurgens’ time of 19:23 was 43 seconds ahead of her teammate. Solorio Academy advanced to sectionals by placing third in this meet scoring 66 points.

 

Taylorville Regional

 

Senior leadership with 3 runners in the top 7 made the jump from 1A to 2A a seamlessly easy one as #17 St. Teresa won the Girls Regional championship with only 41 points. Lauren Evelti led her team with a 3^rd place finish followed by teammates Kelsey Cleary (4^th) and Ashton Jerger (7^th). Charleston and Effingham both had 113 points with Charleston getting 2^nd via the tiebreaker. Libby Cultra (Urbana HS) ran 18:40 to win the individual race 15 seconds ahead of Anna Lowry (Taylorville HS).

 

Apollo Conference teams took the first 3 places in the Boys race separated by only 4 points. Charleston only had a 3 second split on their top 3 of Joe McKirahan (5^th), Ross Osterday (7^th), and Colton Bell (8^th) to help them to the regional championship with 60 points. Mattoon placed 2^nd with 63 points behind a 57 second split on their top 5 led by sophomore Mitchell Kremer’s 4^th place finish. Taylorvile was 1 point back in third led by the 1-2 finish by Lawrence Curtin and Luke Sloan. Curtin ran 15:54 for the 5 second win.

 

Yorkville Regional

 

The #1 Yorkville Girls team kept some of their top runners out of this meet but that did not matter in the outcome of this meet. The Lady Foxes put 7 runners in the top 8 including the first 5 places to easily win the regional championship with 15 points. Summer Pierson claimed the individual title (18:32) 21 seconds ahead of teammate Maggie Klemm. Marian Cathloic was a distant second with 95 points.

 

 

It was the same point total for #3 Yorkville’s Boys team. They only ran a 7 second split on their top 5 taking the first 7 spots to win the regional championship again with only 15 points. The Foxes have won nine straight regional championships since 2007. Senior Trevor Wills led his team with the individual win running 15:52. Oak Forest finished second (79 points) 3 points ahead of Bremen.