By Michael Newman

DyeStat IL Editor

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The first steps to Detweiller Park start on Saturday as 15 2A Regionals will take place across the state. Teams that finish in the top six in their regional will advance to next week’s sectional races. Here is a look at each of the regional meets.

Belvidere Sectional

Burlington Central Regional

Boys - #4 Crystal Lake Central and #7 Sterling are the two top ranked teams in this rough and tough regional. It is possible that a top 25 ranked team may not advance to next week’s sectional. Sycamore may have the slight edge after winning the NIB-12 Conference title led by #1 runner Stephen Poorten. The pack behind him needs to stay within thirty seconds of Poorten as well as twenty seconds within each other. Crystal Lake Central has Cole Barkocy and Weston Sterchi that could finish in the top five. The key for the Tigers is getting their fourth and fifth runner close to Sycamore’s fifth.

The one surprise team could be Vernon Hills who is coming on strong just at the right time. Even though they finished seventh in the Central Suburban League last week, the Cougars ran a split on the top five led by Shane Williamson at 48 seconds. That kind of race could put them within fifteen points of Crystal Lake Central and Sycamore. #15 Hampshire could make it to Belvidere but will need Jacob Oury on the top ten and their split on five under 40 seconds. Prairie Ridge did not run a great race last week at FVC, but will need to get Filip Pajak and Mike Ostrow in the top five and their third runner in the low 20’s. #21 Kaneland finished fifth last week at NIB-12. Matt Richtman should be one of the top runners in the race. Their split needs to come under 90 seconds to advance. #16 Burlington Central will need to get Josh Keets in the top ten, Tate Henrikson in the top fifteen, and their split under 55 seconds if they want to place in the top six.

The individual race should be a dandy with Filip Pajak, Matt Richtman, Cole Barkocy, and Stephen Poorten all challenging for the individual regional championship.

Girls - #3 Vernon Hills is coming off of a great race to win the CSL Championships and should be the favorite in this meet. The Cougars have the strength up front with Lauren Katz and Payton Makowskyj in the top five as well as a good pack with five runners possibly within 50 seconds of each other. #4 Crystal Lake Central will have Janine Orvis towards the front. Their pack needs to move up with possibly one more runner besides Orvis in the top ten. Their split needs to be under 65 seconds. Hampshire could be a surprise in this race. Marie Mayer and Sophia Oury have the talent to be in the top ten. Five runners in the first twenty could get them close to these two squads. #14 Kaneland will have Rachel Richtman in the top five.  The pack behind Richtman needs to be within 30 seconds of each other and within 60 seconds of their #1 runner.

Katz should be the favorite in this race with Makowskyj, Orvis, Richtman, and Burlington Central’s Megan Safranski close behind.

Sterling Regional @ Hoover Park

Boys - #9 Sterling and #14 Dixon should be the top teams in this race. Sterling will look to bounce back after finish second at the NIB-12 meet last week. It is possible that Jacob Gebhardt, Jonathan Landis, and Bryce Tessman take the first three spots. The Warriors will need to keep their top five in the first ten if they want to stay close to Dixon. The Dukes ran a 33 second split in winning the Big Northern Meet last week. Sean Masterson should be their top runner. If they can put their top five in before Sterling’s fourth, Dixon could be the team championships. #24 Belvidere North will lead the next teams in. Their split could be down to under 35 seconds with Alec Scott possibly in the top ten.

Girls – The individual race should be fantastic with 2A individual favorites Jenna Lutzow (Belvidere North HS) and Delaney Appino (Boylan Catholic HS, Rockford) facing off for the second week in a row. Lutzow is undefeated this year and is coming off of a seven second win last week at the NIC-10 Championships. Appino’s teammate Grace McLaughlin should be the next runner in. #1 Belvidere North should be the big favorite in this race led by Lutzow. They could place six runners in the top ten. #13 Dixon has Freshman Nicquelette Fazekas along with Kira Goral that could place in the top ten. A split of 60 seconds with five runners in the top fifteen could get them within 20 points of the Blue Thunder. Rockford Boylan and #22 Sterling will challenge for the third place spot.

Woodstock North Regional @ Emricson Park

Boys – #3 Grayslake Central and #13 Lakes Community finished 1-2 last week at the North Lake County Conference Meet. It should be these two teams challenging for the team title with Grayslake Central the slight advantage. Defending 2A state champion Jack Aho should be the big favorite in this race coming off running 14:14 last week for the conference win. His brother Matt should be close behind. The pack behind the Aho’s needs to stay within 50 seconds of each other and 38 seconds behind Matt in order to secure the win. Lakes will have Jeremy Wallace challenging for a top three finish. If they can place six runners in before Grayslake Central’s fourth runner, things could get interesting.

Girls – This is a strong race with five ranked teams in the top 25. #6 Lakes Community has the edge especially after winning the NLCC last week. Freshman Olivia Schmidt has been the sparkplug for the team which has a great pack behind her. It is possible the four runners in the pack could be within fifteen seconds of each other. #11 Grayslake Central has Megan Girmschied and Elizabeth Aho that could finish in the top ten. To beat Lakes, they will need to get their top five in before Lakes’ top five. #15 Marian Central Catholic finished third last week in the ESCC Meet and could be the surprise in this race. Abigail Jones is running strong. They could have three runners in the top ten. Their split is close to three minutes which could hurt them in this race. #18 Carmel Catholic could have a 40 second split on their top five led by a top five finish by Aileen Hull. Their key is getting their pack behind Hull starting in 11^th place. #17 Woodstock could place three runners in the first eight led by Kate Jacobs. The gap between the pack and #4 runner Lauren Wietermann is close to two minutes. That needs to narrow if this team wants to finish among the first four teams. Schmidt should be the individual favorite almost 45 seconds better than the rest of the field.

Decatur MacArthur Sectional

Danville Regional @ Kennekuk Park

Boys - #8 Danville is the big favorite in this race especially on their home course. It is hard to picture their top five up front, but they could still run five runners in the first thirteen with only a split under 20 seconds led by Phillip Hall and William Powell. Mt. Zion is sneaky good and should be the next team led by Tristan Balgemann. The Braves should have five in the first twenty-five. It is Danville’s pack that is too good for everyone else in this race. Mattoon, Charleston, and Salem are close together and will challenge for 3-4-5. Mattoon’s Mitchell Kremer will be challenged by Balgemann and Charleston’s Austin Ames for the individual title.

Girls - #21 Urbana has the fire power up front with four runners within the first ten a possibility in this race. Their flaw is the gap between their fourth and fifth is close to two minutes. If that gap does not narrow to 90 seconds, Mattoon could sneak in to win the team title. The split for the Green Wave needs to be under 50 seconds on their scorers with at least three runners in the first ten. Charleston could also be close to Mattoon if they can place five in ahead of Mattoon’s fifth with Hope Griffin and Elizabeth Buescher in the top five. Mt. Zion has a pack similar to Charleston that could finish in the top three only if their 5 runner split is under 55 seconds. Urbana’s Olivia Rosenstein and Chian Scott will challenge Danville’s Shanice Garbutt for the individual title.

Jacksonville Regional @ Community Park

Boys – Last week’s team title at the CS8 Meet between #6 Chatham-Glenwood and #12 Springfield had to be decided by a sixth runner tie-breaker. It could be just as close in this race. Both teams have similar splits around 72 to 75 seconds on their top five. Chris Durr has been the #1 runner for Glenwood most of the year. Their pack led by Dathan Maton needs to be at the most 22 seconds behind his teammate with a split of 35 seconds on the quartet. Springfield will have Jackson Esela and Kyle Boughter should be in the top five. Their three runner pack needs to be under 40 seconds within the three and fifteen seconds within the front two to capture the regional championship. Taylorville should be the next team in after the two ranked squad. Ben Flowers (Jerseyville HS) twisted his ankle a week ago and did not run in the MVC Championships last Thursday. If he is healthy, he is the big favorite having run 14:45 at Detweiller Park at the beginning of the month.

Girls – Will it be close in this race just like the Boys race? It is a possibility even though #12 Chatham-Glenwood ran convincingly to win the CS8 Girls title last week. Glenwood should have three runners in the first ten and their top five in the first twenty. The Titans will win if they can keep their scoring split under 70 seconds. Springfield has come on strong the past few weeks and could pull a surprise. Their improvement has come from freshman Shay Doty, Ella Kurmann, and Varsha Iyer moving into the top three. The Lady Senators did not run their best race last week at conference. There is the potential of Springfield winning if they can place five runners in the top fifteen with a split under 45 seconds. CS8 champion Katherine Petty (Rochester HS) and Anna Lowry (Taylorville HS) will race each other for the individual title.

Troy Triad Regional

Boys - #10 Marion should be the favorite in this race led by individual favorite Zach Young along with freshman John Bruce. Their top five needs to be within the first fourteen to secure the win. #19 Waterloo has the same split average as Marion led by Jake Schwartz. They will need to have Schwartz ahead of Marion’s Bruce along with five runners in the first fifteen to pull off the win. #17 Mascoutah will have three runners in the first ten led by Ethan Price. It looks like they will have five in the first thirty in this meet. If that can close to five in the first twenty, Mascoutah could surpass Waterloo for second. Marion’s Young will be challenged by Carbondale’s Atlantis Green for the individual crown.

Girls – Waterloo has the slight edge ahead of #24 Mascoutah especially in as smaller team meet. Jenna Schwartz and Ella King should be among the top three runners. If they can place five runners in the first fifteen it could offset the power that Mascoutah has up front. Mascoutah’s top four could place four in the first eleven in this race. They will need Mackenzie Dixon in the top five with a 58 second split on their top five for Mascoutah to win. Mt. Vernon and Carbondale are two teams that could get close to the MVC powers in this race. Schwartz and Mt. Vernon’s Kate Bushue will be the top two runners to watch up front.

Fenton Sectional

Chicago University Regional @ Washington Park

Boys – Not much to be said in this race. Chicago University has the possibility to sweep the first five places in this race led by Harrison Shapiro. Kenwood and De La Salle are the teams that will battle for second place.

Girls – St. Ignatius is the slight favorite in this meet. Chicago University could be within fifteen points of St. Ignatius. De La Salle could be closer than people think (within 20 points) if they can get one or two runners to break into U-High’s top four. U-High’s Elsa Erling should be the favorite in this race.

Latin School Regional @ LaBagh Woods FP, Chicago

Boys – Payton Prep should be the team favorite with the possibility of placing their first five in the top ten. Latin School, led by David Haffner, has a good split of under 40 seconds, but will need to have Haffner finish in the top four. Lakeview and Pritzker could get close to Latin School. Payton’s Alejandro Vargas and Pritzer’s Ulises Bautista should be the top two runners in this race.

Girls - #20 Payton Prep comes off of a good race at the City Championships and should be the favorite in this race. Alana Chandler and Molly Crotteau could lead four runners in the first nine for Payton. #23 Latin School should be under 60 points in this meet but do not have the fire power to challenge Payton. Keep an eye on Trinity led by Hailey Hansen who could get close to Latin School and Payton.  Lauren Katunas could be in the top four in this race.

St. Viator Regional @ Melas Park, Mt. Prospect

Boys – The toughest of all three regionals in this sectional. Fenton has the slight edge led by individual favorite Cristian Sanchez. The Bison will need to have five runners in the first sixteen with a split under 50 seconds in order to win. St. Viator has a good 1-2 punch up front led by Sam Brey and Kevin Goss. Their split needs to be between 50 & 53 seconds to challenge Fenton with Brey and Goss in the top four. Elmwood Park is a dark horse but has the talent to challenge these two teams. They will need Amadeus Lopez in the top four and five runners in the first seventeen to make that possible.

Girls – Northside comes off of their City championship race last Saturday and should be the favorite in this race. Sara McCoy and Fiona Casey should finish 1-2 in the race with all seven runners in the first twelve. Mather is a solid second place team in this race. St. Viator and Elmwood Park will challenge for third.

Metamora Sectional

Galesburg Regional @ Lake Storey Park

Boys – We could have three teams within fifteen points in this race. #20 Dunlap is the slight favorite. They could have four runners in the first eight led by Drew Fick. Their gap between the pack and their fourth and fifth runners is over 40 seconds. That could hurt them in this race. #18 Peoria Notre Dame will have Patrick Bruch as one of the individual race favorites and will need Mitch Maushard in the top five. The Irish have the same problem as Dunlap with their fifth runner too far back. Notre Dame could have four in the first twelve but their fifth runner needs to move up. Keep an eye on Rock Island Alleman. The Pioneers could have their first three runners in the top ten led by Augie Darrow and Spencer Smith. They will need to have their top six runners in before Dunlap’s fifth in order to win the team title. The individual race should also be close with Bruch and Darrow within three seconds of each other for the regional title.

Girls – No doubt that #2 Dunlap should be the big favorite in this race. It is possible that they could rest some of their top runners in this race but that is not a guarantee. If they are at full strength, The Eagles could place their top seven in the first nine. #19 Notre Dame will be the closest team to Dunlap led by Grace Breitbach. If Dunlap does not rest anyone, Franny Verville and Abby Johnson could lead the way.

Morris Regional

Boys - #25 LaSalle-Peru has stayed in the top 25 most of the season and should roll to the regional title in this race. It is possible that they place three in the first four led by Brendon Sebastian and Ryan Porter. They should score under 35 points in this race. Morris and Streator are teams that will challenge for the second place spot.

Girls – Ottawa improves with every race and should be the favorite Saturday morning. Their key is placing five runners within the top thirteen led by Hannah Schilling. They should also have their split on five under 55 seconds. Morris and LaSalle-Peru will challenge for second. Rachel Hickey (LaSalle-Peru HS) and Charlene Mascote (Streator HS) are two runners to watch up front.

Normal University Regional @ Maxwell Park

Boys – This is one of the toughest regionals in 2A with three of the top five 2A teams in the state in this field. Do we see the same dominant performance by #1 Mahomet-Seymour like we did last Thursday on this same course to win the Corn Belt title? That 12 second split on their top five was impressive with six runners under 15 minutes. Will the Bulldogs rest a few of their runners this week in preparation for sectionals? We will know Saturday morning. #2 U-High did not run in their best race last week but it was not their worst. Jack Franklin and Jared Schuckman lead the Pioneers that will need to run better than a sixty second split on their top five in order to get closer to Mahomet-Seymour. MIC Champion #5 Metamora has Jake Gillum who will challenge for the regional individual title. The Redbirds could challenge U-High for second but will need to put their top five in the first 22. Franklin and Gillum will challenge for the individual title along with Mahomet-Seymour trio of Gabe Pommier, Andrew Walmer, and Riley Fortune.

Girls – This race will be closer than people think. #7 Metamora has the slight edge led by Kari Lalunmandier. Metamora’s power up front could have three runners in the top five. Their fourth and fifth runners could be near twentieth. With the quality in this race, that could not be enough to win. #8 Mahomet-Seymour won by only two points ahead of #9 Normal University last week. They could be that close again on Saturday. Mahomet will have Brisa McGrath and Megan Churm in the top ten but will need to keep their split under 60 seconds moving all five runners into the top twenty. U-High has freshman Katy Clausen that will challenge for the individual win. The Pioneers could have three in the first eleven but will need to have five in the first twenty to challenge for first. Don’t sleep on #16 Washington. They could finish second with Kara Jacobs and Kassidy Dexheimer in the first ten. Their split on five averages near 40 seconds. That pack could be the difference in a high finish. Lalumander and Clausen should challenge for the individual title.

Wheaton Academy Sectional

Hinsdale South Regional @ Katherine Legge Memorial

Boys – The team race is up for grabs. The team to keep an eye on could be Brother Rice. They have rarely run a Varsity race this fall. They only time they put their top five together was at Wheaton Academy at the beginning of October when they finished third. Joe Sweeney and Steve Sloan are possibilities in the top ten. They could score under 70 points if they place five runners in the first twenty. #22 Hinsdale South will have Chris Joseph and Brett Haffner in the top five. The Hornets need to lower their split under 80 seconds placing five in the first twenty-five in order to capture the team title. St. Francis and Wheaton Academy could also win. Both teams will have two runners in the top ten. It is a matter of getting their splits under 90 seconds to challenge for the top. Jonah Jones (Wheaton Academy HS, West Chicago) and Nick Brouch (St. Francis HS, Wheaton) are the two runners to watch up front.

Girls – Five points could separate #10 Lemont and #25 Rosary in this meet. Lemont comes off of scoring a perfect 15 in their conference meet. They will need to keep their split on five under 55 seconds with five runners in the first sixteen. Rosary is stronger up front with Claire Hengesbaugh, Megan Ronzone, and Hannah Regan possibly finishing in the first six. They need to have five in the first eighteen with an 80 second split in order to win. Abby Fioresi (Aurora Central Catholic HS) is the big favorite to win the individual race.

Illiana Christian Regional @ Washington Park, Chicago

Boys – Bremen and Tinley Park should be within twelve points of each other with TF North capable of also winning. Bremen runs a good pack with a split under 45 seconds under on their top five. Watch for Danny Meza and Javier Simental should finish in the top five. Tinley Park has been running a split of 85 seconds most of the year. Joey Davies will be the individual favorite and will help Tinley Park challenge for the regional title. Thornridge’s Jazare Jones and Johnny Dickson will challenge Davies for the individual title.

Girls – Illiana Christian and Marian Catholic should challenge for the team title with Tinley Park close. Illiana’s Gillian Fiene should challenge Marian Catholic’s Samantha Barrett and Kelly Mindak for the individual title.

Riverside-Brookfield Regional @ Sundown Meadows FP

Boys - #11 Riverside-Brookfield is the big favorite in this race. Watch for them to put all seven of their runners in the top ten. Nazareth Academy, Solorio Academy, and Evergreen Park will battle for second. RB’s Mateo Nunez should be the favorite but will be challenged by Kennedy’s Jesus Palmerin.

Girls – The same story in the Girls race: Riverside-Brookfield should dominate placing five runners in the first eight. Nazareth Academy will challenge for second. RB’s Tara Janney will be challenged by teammate Hailey Jurgens for the individual title.