Photo: Danny Kilrea of Lyons Township started his season setting a record of 14:10 on his home course (Michael Danner Photo)

By Michael Newman

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The first full weekend of the season was full of surprises. Here is a look at some of the meets that took place throughout Illinois and outside of the state with Illinois teams competing in them.

You can read more about the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational here.

Mike Kuharic Invitational @ Lyons Township South Campus Course

The mix of dry conditions and cool temperatures produced some of the fastest times in the state on this fast course. Two of the top runners in the state faced off with the host runner having the advantage. Danny Kilrea of Lyons Township was extremely impressive as he excited the crowd on the South Campus Course finishing in 14:10 for the win. Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs was a distant second running 14:34.

#5 Lyons Township also had the advantage in the Boys team race winning with 53 points. Lowell IN scored 83 points just ahead of #7 Downers Grove South (88 points) and #15 Sandburg (132 points). The split for the Lions was huge on their top five (102 seconds) as they placed five runners in the first 20. Their split from #2 runner Charles Harders (7^th overall) and Patrick Kane (20^th overall) was only 38 seconds.

The Girls team race was dominated by Indiana schools. It close as Valparaiso scored 41 points to finish just two points ahead of #5 Lyons Township who was without their top runner Sarah Barcelona who did not run because of injuries. Jordyn Boyer of Lowell won the individual race for the second year in a row finishing in 17:50. Lyons Township’s Emily Henkel ran 17:59 to finish second.

Leavey Invitational @ Leroy Oakes FP, St. Charles

#1 Downers Grove North flexed their muscles using this race on the rolling hills of Leroy Oakes as a tune up for next weekend’s race in Peoria. The Trojans easily won the team competition placing five runners in the first seven for only 27 points. North’s Jacob Ridderhoff won his second invitational race of the season but it was close. Ridderhoff held off Geneva’s Josh Rodgers in the final meters winning by only sixth tenths of a second. Both runners were timed at 15:18. Michael Ronzone of Marmion Academy was third (15:20) followed by Jacobs’ Zach Albrecht. Then came the Downers Grove North pack led by the fifth-place finish by Matt Moravec. North’s split on their top five was only 15 seconds.

Unranked Huntley placed 9^th through 11^th led by Jadon Conroy as they finished second with 87 points. #22 St. Charles East was third with 92 points followed by Upstate Eight rival Batavia with 110 points.

#24 Barrington was the surprise of the day in the Girls race placing four runners in the first 11 to win with 48 points. Barrington’s Jocelyn Long won the individual race in this meet for the third year in a row in a convincing matter. Her time of 17:50 was 30 seconds ahead of freshman teammate Molly FitzPatrick. #9 Batavia ran a 26 second split on their top five led by the 7^th place finish by Marygrace Golden. They finished second with 78 points. Benet Academy was a huge surprise in this meet finishing third (82 points). Six of their top seven runners were freshmen led by the 5^th place finish by Kelly Andrews. #17 York finished fourth (91 points) led by Sarah May’s 3^rd place finish.

Pleasant Valley Spartan Classic @ Bettendorf, Iowa

#1 Naperville North made their traditional opening week trip to Iowa a success as they won the Girls team title with 32 points. 2016 Minnesota state champion Edina (MN) scored 45 points to finish second. 2016 Iowa 4A State Champion Johnston was a distant third with 114 points.

The Lady Huskies placed 5 runners in the first 14, 4 runners in the top 8 in winning this race. Sarah Schmitt looked strong in winning the individual title (17:49 for 5000 meters) winning by 18 seconds ahead of Edina’s Emily Kompelien. North’s Alex Morris was next in third (18:12). Hannah Ricci (6^th), Claire Hill (8^th), and Sophia Bruce (14^th) were the other runners in their top five.

#24 Wheaton North finished second in the Boys race (65 points) behind team champion Edina (40 points. Iowa City West’s Kolby Greiner ran a course record 15:45 in winning the individual race. Justin Ostrem led the Falcons placing fifth overall. Joey Simon (7^th) and Connor Zydek (10^th) also finished in the top ten.

John Kurtz Early Bird Classic @ Fenton HS, Bensenville

#7 Downers Grove South place all their five scorers in the first ten to easily win the Girls team championship with only 32 points. South’s Brenna Cohoon won the individual race (18:09) six seconds ahead of Hononegah’s Taylor Frommer.

2A #3 Vernon Hills, led by the 4^th place finish by Lauren Katz, ran their second invitational of the week and looked strong in finishing second (76 points). Hononegah put three runners in the first five to finish third with 95 points.

After Cohoon’s individual win, South followed with Becky Versaskes (6^th), Erin Reidy (7^th), Kennedy Warden (8^th), and Melissa Weidner (10^th). The split on their top five was 41 seconds. The split from two to five was only 15 seconds.

Glenbard West made a statement of possibly being ranked this week winning the Boys team title 39 – 48 ahead of #4 Hersey who ran two of their top five Max Svienty and Josh Methner in the sophomore race. Glenbard West junior Stephen Moody was the individual winner (15:30) finishing more than two seconds ahead of WSC-Silver conference rival Matt Vietzen of Oak Park-River Forest. The Hilltoppers, led by Moody’s win, placed their top 5 in the first 13 to secure the win with Rory Cavan (3^rd), Will O’Brien (10^th), Ian Repking (12^th), and Cameron Benes (13^th). Their split on their top five was only 26 seconds. Hersey also was impressive led by the 5-6-7 finish by Ryan Buch, Nate Mayo, and Ryan Theisen. Their top five split was 32 seconds. It was only 8 seconds on their first four runners.

Granite City Invitational @ Wilson Park

Edwardsville was the big winner at this meet taking home titles in both the Girls and Boys Varsity races.

#11 Edwardsville proved in the Girls race that they will be a team to watch when we get to the state series. All their scorers placed in the first 12 to win with only 33 points. The split on their first five with a split of 56 seconds off second-place finisher Abby Korak.

2A #20 Waterloo finished second (75 points) behind Jenna Schwartz and her individual win. The junior, who finished sixth at state last fall, ran 17:32 for the win 16 seconds ahead of Korak. #13 O’Fallon (91 points), Troy Triad (147 points), and 2A #18 Chatham-Glenwood (207 points) rounded out the top five.

It was closer in the Boys race but with #13 Edwardsville still coming out of the meet with the win. Only 35 seconds separated their top five that placed in the first 22 runners. The Tigers scored 74 points for the win led by Roland Prenzler’s third-place finish. 2A #4 Chatham-Glenwood showed that they will be in the hunt for a state trophy scoring 91 points to finish second led by Dathan Maton’s seventh-place finish. St. Louis University (111 points), #19 O’Fallon (146 points), and 1A #9 Freeburg (187 points) were the other teams in the top five.

Andrew O’Keefe of Granite City took home the win on his home course. The junior ran 15:05 for the individual win seven seconds ahead of Freeburg’s Charlie Parrish.

Plainfield Central Invitational

DeKalb won their second team title in the past week winning the Boys championship with 40 points. The Barbs placed four runners in the first eight led by the third-place finish by Jacob Trapp. Plainfield East (94 points) and South Elgin (117 points) finished second and third. Clayton Mendez of Whitney Young made his seasonal debut a successful one as he ran 15:18 for the individual win. Teammate Charlie Nevins was six seconds behind in second. Whitney Young, who finished fourth overall, was without their #2 runner Sam Rivera.

Lockport Township scored 25 points to win the Girls meet title placing six runners in the top eight. DeKalb’s Katherine Olsen won the individual race timed at a swift 18:06. She was 41 seconds ahead of Hannah Anderson of South Elgin. Then came Lockport’s pack led by Kate Wojcikiewicz. Their split on their first five was only 19 seconds. DeKalb (69 points) and 2A #11 Lemont (118 points) finished second and third.

Galesburg Silver Streak Invitational @ Lake Storey Park

2A #2 Dunlap showed their strength of pack once again in tuning up for next weekend’s showdown with Belvidere North in Peoria. The Eagles finished in the first five spots to score a perfect 15 to win the team title. Franny Verville led Dunlap with the win (18:23) nine seconds ahead of teammate Abby Johnson. 35 seconds separated their scorers in the top five. Only ten points separated the next four teams led by second-place 2A #13 Metamora (118 points).

Sterling’s Jacob Gebhardt dominated the Boys individual race running 15:15 for the win. He was 32 seconds ahead of Alleman’s Spencer Smith.

Collin Grady (6^th) and Christian Seagren (8^th) finished in the top 10 to lead 2A #11 Dixon the win with 75 points followed by 2A #12 Metamora (83 points) and Rock Island Alleman (103 points).

Crystal Lake South Invitational

2A top ranked Belvidere North won for the second time this week capturing three of the first four individual spots to win the team title with 29 points ahead of Huntley (106 points) and Lake Zurich (112 points). Madison Diercks covered the hilly Veteran Acres five-kilometer course in 19:10 to win five seconds ahead of teammate Gianna Sagona. Rachel Richtman of Kaneland finished third (19:21).

Dundee-Crown displayed some great pack running in winning the Boys team title with only 58 points. The Chargers put their top 5 in the first 16 places for the title led by Anthony Hurgoi’s fourth-place finish. The split on their top 5 was only 31 seconds. The split form their second through fifth runners was only 10 seconds. Rolling Meadows (114 points) and 2A #8 Kaneland (115 points were in the next two team spots.

Two of the top 2A runners faced off with Jack Becker having the edge on his home course. Becker won (16:06) and by 13 seconds ahead of Kaneland’s Matt Richtman.

Chrisman Cowchip Classic

The flight oriented meet featured some of the top 1A runners in the state were all seven runners are scored. Logan Hall of Arthur-Lovington ran some great times during the track season. He continued on that trend Saturday by running 14:49 for the win breaking Jon Davis’ course record by six seconds. Hall won by 21 seconds in the championship flight ahead of Monticello’s Garrett Dixon. 1A #17 Monticello scored 10 points for the Boys meet win ahead of #10 St. Joseph-Ogden (16 points) and Urbana University (42 points).

Jordan Harmon of Tolono Unity had a convincing win in the Girls Championship Race. Her time of 17:58 took home the win by 31 seconds ahead of Urbana University’s Arielle Summitt. 1A #1 Tolono Unity won 9-16 ahead of 1A #2 St. Joseph-Ogden defeating their area rival for the second time in the last week. 1A #5 Monticello was third (21 points).

Racine Horlick Invitational @ UW-Parkside

Illinois ruled the roost north of the border taking home wins in both individual and team titles. On the individual side, it was all Libertyville. Melissa Manetsch was the individual winner in the Girls race running 14:44.2 for four-kilometers. Sydney Pitrof of Racine Horlick finished second (15:12). Alex Tam ran 15:46 for five-kilometers to take the win in the Boys race 11 seconds ahead of Luke Guttormson of West Bend West (WI). Zion-Benton’s Collin Luell finished third (16:10).

It was Oswego that was on top in both team titles. Isabelle Christiansen and Grace Pagone placed sixth and seventh to lead #14 Oswego to the Girls title 61-67 ahead of Waukesha West. Oswego placed 5 runners in the first 20 to win the Boys team title with 55 points led by the 4-5 finish of Keegan Murphy and Brandon Nelson. #18 Lake Zurich, who held out some of their top runners, was next with 115 points followed by Libertyville (154 points).

Charleston Invitational @ Eastern Illinois University

Defending 2A state champion held back keeping their pack together but still had enough to win the team title 43-57 ahead of 2A #3 Danville. Ryan Hodge led the Bulldogs with a 7^th place finish. The split on their top five was only 16 seconds. Charleston’s Nick Oakley won the individual race (15:08) by two seconds ahead of Mt. Zion’s Mason Jones.

2A #21 Mahomet-Seymour made it a sweep in the Girls race placing 5 runners in the first 11 to win with 31 points ahead of 2A #7 Urbana (97 points) and Charleston (100 points). Urbana’s Olivia Rosenstein ran 17:47 to win the individual race 20 seconds ahead of teammate Libby Cultra.

Lake County Invitational (Wednesday)

#17 Mundelein had one of the most impressive performances of the week in winning the Boys team title with only 33 points. Michael Parduhm’s third place finish led five runners in the first ten with only 25 seconds separating the group. Nick Laning of Barrington was the individual winner (15:12) winning by three seconds ahead of Libertyville’s Alex Tam.

It was close in the Girls team competition with 2A #3 Vernon Hills having the edge 42-50 ahead of #12 Stevenson. Lauren Katz led the Cougars with a third-place finish. Vernon Hills had a 45 second split on their top five that finished in the first 14. Melissa Manetsch of Libertyville was convincing in her win. She ran 18:02 to win by 40 seconds ahead of Stevenson’s Isabelle Sparreo.