Big meets this weekend at Lockport, Wheaton North, and Peoria

By Michael Newman

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This weekend signifies the almost half way point in the Illinois high school cross country season. In 36 days, we will be assembling at Detweiller Park for the IHSA State Cross Country Meet. Some schools will rest this weekend. Some will use this weekend as a mid-season check point.

Detweiller Park will host the final of the three Peoria meets. A huge boys meet at Lockport will be a must see. Some of the top individuals will head to St. James Farm in Warrenville for the Wheaton North Falcon Classic. Plus there will be many more meets that will test Illinois runners.

Here is a look at some of the top meets that will be contested throughout Illinois this weekend.

Locktoberfest at Dellwood Park, Lockport

Top teams: 3A - #2 Hinsdale Central, #5 Buffalo Grove, #9 Lyons Township, #10 Downers Grove North, #12 Lincoln-Way Central, #14 Neuqua Valley, #19 Plainfield South; 2A - #8 Dixon; 1A - #8 Champaign St. Thomas More

Individuals – It is still a great individual field but could be tainted just a little. Billy Magnesen (Central HS, Hinsdale) has an IT Band injury. He was cleared early this week, but considering the hilly terrain of Dellwood Park with a good chance of rain, it might be best for Magnesen not to run. Also on Thursday at a MSL-East dual meet, Steven Salvano (Buffalo Grove HS) did not run due to an ongoing illness that has been with him for the last three weeks. His status is up in the air for Saturday.

This individual race will still be a great one. Dan Lathrop (South HS, Plainfield) showed that he is up to the challenge of being a front runner two weeks ago at Peoria when he finished second. He will be up in the front on Saturday.  Ryan Clevenger and Zack Smith (North HS, Downers Grove) have showed that they are two of the front runners in the state so far this year. Clevenger especially has been a pleasant but an expected surprise for Downers Coach John Sipple. Expect these two runners to be in the front.

Joseph Suarez (East HS, Plainfield) has a pair of second place finishes this year at Lake Park and last week at Aurora to 4:08 Iowa miler Josh Evans. In the hills in the middle of the race, expect Suarez to be a difference in the race. Nick Hess (St. Thomas More HS, Champaign) ran a great race two weeks ago running 14:46 at Detweiller. Last week he was the champion at East Peoria. The top runner in 1A will be in the front of this race on Saturday. Simon Thorpe (Dixon HS) has a win last week at the Rock River Run. Do not discount him. He has the ability to be in the front in this race.

Nick Bushelle (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) is one runner to watch in this race as well. He is well rested having not raced in the last three weeks. Bushelle, along with junior teammate Daniel Weiss, could be two runners that could be towards the front in this race. Watch for both of them to finish in the top ten. Even though Billy Magnesen will not race, watch for his teammates Kevin Huang and Blake Evertsen. The two ran stride for stride most of the dual meet on Thursday with York’s top four runners. They will be up for the challenge to be towards the front on Saturday.

Teams – The question in this meet is how will #2 Hinsdale Central and #5 Buffalo Grove respond after running in races on Thursday. Hinsdale Central pushed York to the limit before losing to them 23-32. With Huang and Evertsen in the front and without Magnesen, this team still has the ability to keep an under 45 second pack in the hunt for the team championship. Buffalo Grove may be running without Steven Salvano. They still have Kevin Salvano who will be towards the front in the race as well. The Bison suffered a devastating 19-42 loss to #4 Hersey on Thursday. Under the leadership of new coach Zach Crandall who took over for departed long time coach Jamie Klotz, Buffalo Grove will try to bounce back at Dellwood Park.

#9 Lyons Township will be team to watch on Saturday. The Lions have been running better in the last week as demonstrated from their meets at Downers Grove North and last Saturday in Indiana. Henry Hostetler leads a team that has been running a tight pack. Last Saturday, it was twenty seconds. If they can run the same kind of pack with a Lyons runner in the top 15, this team could be in the mix for a team championship. It is hard to put a finger in #10 Downers Grove North. Without injured runners Jared Spilky and Jeremy Craven, the Trojans are just not the same team that climbed into the top five. They have the great front running in Smith and Clevenger. But without Spilky and Craven on Saturday, this team could finish fourth or fifth.

#12 Lincoln-Way Central has been sneaky good the last couple of weeks with a strong performance at Peoria then wins in the last two weeks at Edwardsville and Bartlett. Chris Kaminski should be a runner in the top 10 in this race. If they get top five runner Joey Nelson back in their line up and keep a 40 second spread, this team could leave Dellwood with a championship.

Just like Lincoln-Way Central, #14 Neuqua Valley with the way they run in a pack could also win. They will have the good front runners in Bushelle and Weiss, but if they can get their pack closer to the two, then the Wildcats could be in the mix. #16 Naperville North has been the mystery team having run only three races this year including an invitational. Kerry Gschwendtner, who was projected to be their top runner at the beginning of the year, should lead a Huskie squad that will win if they can keep their split near 35 seconds, which is possible.

Wheaton North Falcon Classic at St. James Farm, Warrenville

Top teams – 3A - #1 Naperville North, #2 New Trier, #4 Glenbard West, #6 O’Fallon, #8 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #9 Naperville Central, #13 Lyons Township, #15 Lockport Township, #16 Neuqua Valley, #21 Sandburg, #22 Jacobs; 2A - #1 Yorkville, #2 Glenbard South, #4 Crystal Lake Central, #7 Lake Forest, #21 Mahomet-Seymour.

Outlook – Instead of looking at the teams and the individuals for this meet, this preview will concentrate mainly on the individuals since this is a flight meet. Yes, three of the top four teams in 2A & 3A will compete in this meet. Included in that will be Wisconsin powers Arrowhead and Neenah. Team scores will be kept, but with the flight concept, we cannot compare teams.

In the seven flights, we will see the depth of Naperville North step up. They could pick anyone of four runners to run in that championship flight. But, the main focus will be on the championship race.

This race should not disappoint even though it looks right now there will be an 80% chance of rain making this course quite sloppy. Skyler Bollinger (Yorkville HS) will look to rebound after finishing third last week at Palatine. Mimi Smith (New Trier HS, Winnetka) is coming off of a second place finish last week to Mailin Struck at Oak Park. Expect her to be in the front on Saturday. Lindsay Graham (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) has been a front runner most of the season, but the individual invite win has eluded her. The sophomore could win this championship flight. Lauren Van Vlierbergen (Jacobs HS, Algonquin) ran 17:28 on a tough Sunrise Park course last week in winning at Bartlett. She should be in the mix for the win as well.

Sara Atkins (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton) finished in the top ten last week at Palatine. The freshman has been running better every week. She could be towards the front on Saturday if she is in the first flight. Who will run in the championship flight for Naperville North? Dan Iverson does have a choice. Elly DeTurris might be the choice, but either Kate Shannon or Maria McDaniel could be put in that spot as well. From Wisconsin, either Jennifer or Jessica Parker (Neenah HS WI) could make their presence known in the top of the race. Claire Costelloe (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) has shown improvement this year. She is another runner that could place in the top 10. Diane Lipa (Glenbard South HS, Glen Ellyn) is one runner that surprised some last fall finishing towards the front. It would not be a surprise if she is in the front again on Saturday. If she is put in the championship flight, freshman Morgan Bolliger (Lockport HS) looked impressive in finishing second last Friday at Naperville. She could be a threat to finish in the top ten.

Watch the second flight races as well. We could see a battle between Lisa Luczak (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) and either one of the Neenah, WI Parker sisters, or a runner from Naperville North that could challenge her.

Peoria Central Invitational at Detweiller Park

Boys Teams: 3A - #1 York (JV), #8 Sandburg, #23 Hoffman Estates; 2A - #3 Vernon Hills, #9 Metamora, #11 Springfield, #13 Rock Island Alleman, #15 Sterling, #16 Champaign Central, #20 Benet Academy, #22 Mt. Vernon, #24 Fenton; 1A - #10 Tremont, #12 Mt. Zion

Girls Team: 3A - #10 Hoffman Estates, #19 St. Ignatius, #20 Cary Grove, #22 Downers Grove South; 2A - #9 Springfield, #10 Peoria Notre Dame, #17 Vernon Hills, #20 Mattoon, #24 Metamora; 1A - #23 Mt. Zion

Girls Meet – The individual race should be a great race despite the fact that rain is expected which could slow down the course. Maryjeanne Gilbert (Notre Dame HS, Peoria) ran an aggressive race two weeks ago at Richard Spring before finishing sixth. She could be the runner pushing the pace. Olivia Ryan (Fenwick HS, Oak Park) did not have her best race last week at Oak Park but should be up towards the front in this race. Haley Albers (South HS, Downers Grove) easily won last week at Naperville. She is looking for a fast time Saturday at Detweiller. Lauren Opartny (McHenry HS) finished fifth last week at Palatine. The junior could run away with the individual race championship here. Also watch for Alondra Aguirre (Hoffman Estates HS), Allie Sweatt (Edwardsville HS), Talia Duzey (Cary-Grove HS) and Brooke Wilson (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect) to be towards the front in this individual race.

#10 Hoffman Estates should be the big favorite in the team battle. The Hawks should have three runners at least in the top 15 led by Aguirre, Megan Biddle, and Solome Halie. #19 St. Ignatius looked good last week in Aurora placing second to a tough Linn-Mar IA team. They could be close to Hoffman Estates. #20 Cary-Grove ran a good team race last week at Palatine and will look to repeat that effort on Saturday.

Boys Meet – This race, now in its 49^th year, is the oldest and the granddaddy of all the Peoria races. When it was the only regular season meet at Detweiller, teams were on a waiting list to get in this meet. Now, it is not the same. We should see some great individual racing after 11:15 AM Saturday. Jesse Reiser (McHenry HS) pushed the pace from the gun last week at Palatine before finishing second. He wants a fast time on this course on Saturday. There are two runners that could push him. The first is Billy Thomas (Hoffman Estates HS). The senior ran 14:38 at Lake Park three weeks ago. Even though he was rested the last week, I expect him to be the one runner to push Reiser early in the race. Johnny Leverenz (Danville HS) did run great last week finishing more than 30 seconds behind Conant’s Zach Dale. He does have the ability to stick with these two.

Other runers that I would keep an eye on include Connor Ehnle (Tremont HS), Josh McCoy and Zac Justus (Pontiac HS), Zach Hird (Alleman HS, Rock Island), Sam Doud (Bloomington HS), Kyle Whitney (Vernon Hills HS), and Curtis Reed (Mt. Zion HS).

Just like in the team battle in the girls’ meet, the discussion starts and ends with #8 Sandburg. The Eagles ran an impressive race two weeks ago at Richard Spring led by the strong pack running of Greg Burzinski, Sean Torpy, and Tom Brennan. #23 Hoffman Estates will be tough as well with Thomas up front, but can they match the depth of Sandburg? We will see. 2A #3 Vernon Hills is looking to make a statement in 2A and this could be their race. The Cougars tend to run with a 45-50 second split. If Kyle Whitney is in the top 10, this team could finish in the top 3.

There will be other great meets this weekend at St. Charles North, Elmwood, Wheaton Academy, Fithian Oakwood, Jacksonville, Niles West, Freeport, and Antioch.

Good luck to all athletes competing this weekend.