Hersey and Neuqua Valley place second and third; Methner’s move gives him individual championship

By Michael Newman

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Peoria – Wheaton-Warrenville South has been the top ranked team all season and the team to beat every time they stepped to the starting line. All they had to do was run the race they have run all season to capture a state championship. The Tigers did just that Saturday afternoon at Detweiller Park scoring 116 points for the 3A team title ahead of Hersey (156 points) and Neuqua Valley (159 points).

RESULTS

They did it through placing five runners in the top 59 with their top three in the first 15. That was their formula all season in winning. They liked that kind of a taste and applied that again in this race.

“I told them this morning to just go out and run like they have all year,” Wheaton-Warrenville South Coach Chris Kuntz said. “We always have run as a team. That’s our strength. They run together and that worked again today.”

South’s three all-state runners were led by William Hauenstein and his eighth-place finish. Scott Maison was ten seconds back finish 13^th. Jacob Kluckhohn was another three seconds back in 13^th. Sean Maison and Jared Peaslee came in together placing 58^th and 59^th. The team top five split was 38 seconds.

“We just had to run together, move together, stay together,” Scott Maison said. “We just did hat we have always done all year.”

Hersey was helped with great team running to finish second overall. It also helped that Josh Methner won the individual championship in this race.  The Huskies had another all state runner as Max Svienty finished 20^th. Ryan Buch followed in 32^nd along with Colin Safford (54^th) and Thomas McCarthy (99^th) as the team’s fourth and fifth runners. Their overall top five split was 69 seconds off Methner’s win. The split from Svienty to McCarthy was only 34 seconds.

After their top runner Zach Kinne moved to Pennsylvania during the summer, it was hard to imagine seeing Neuqua Valley in the position that they were in after the race on Saturday. Nicknamed “No-names” by their Coach Paul Vandersteen, their team did not have the runners that people knew. That made the Wildcats even tighter in a group. That closeness showed when they were just two points behind Hersey in the team standings. It showed in their top five split of only 32 seconds. They did have two all-state runners.

Michael Madiol (19^th) and Chris Keeley (21^st) were within two seconds of each other. Nicolas Dovalovsky was just three seconds back in 28^th as the team’s third runner. Michael O’Connor (51^st) and Matt Jett (90^th) completed their pack.

York, with a top seven of all underclassmen, finished fourth (185 points) led by Ethan Kern’s ninth-place finish. St. Charles East did not have their best race of the season, but still finished fifth (187 points) led by the 24^th place finish from Bennett Melone. Glenbard West received a 5-6 finish from Rory Cavan and Stephen Moody to finish sixth (217 points).

The win by Methner was tactical just like every other race that he has won this season. His only loss came in the first race of the season to Cavan. The rest of the year he defined the race and decided when he was going to win it.

He held back in the first mile of the race as the leaders went out in 61 seconds for the first 400. Tommy Brady of Maine South, Tyler Cushing of Bolingbrook, Thomas Shilgalis of Naperville Central, and Ethan Kern led the pack through a quick 2:11 for the first half.

The pace slowed down the next half as Methner joined the front of the pack. They passed in 4:41 with Methner looking around to see who was there. As they entered the triangle Brady made a move to test the field. Methner went along with him as Kern, Cavan, and Sam Rivera of Whitney Young stayed within a second.

The leaders went through the 1.5-mile point in 7:02.

Brady and Methner picked up the pace exiting the triangle as their lead opened up to four seconds. Methner had the lead passing by in 9:28 with Brady just a second back.

It was time to move.

Methner surged coming up the incline approaching the finish. He just started to push the pace behind the starting line as Brady tried to stay close. The Hersey junior methodically pulled away and had the race won as he entered the final 300-meters.

His winning time was the fifth fastest time by a junior at the state meet. Brady, who finished third last season, moved up to second running a personal best of 14:17.

“My first mile my goal was to keep Max (Svienty) and Ryan (Buch) close together with me so that they could finish in a good spot as a team,” Methner said after his win. “Brady was in front of me just after the triangle and we were making moves together. Just before the mile mark on the final, I made my move a little stronger. I just crossed the line thinking I did it. Then I turned back to look and see where my teammates were.”

Rivera followed in third (14:24). Jack Roberts of Downers Grove North, who had missed half the season due to a hamstring injury, finished strong placing fourth (14:29) just ahead of Cavan and Moody.

Read more about the IHSA State XC Championships - 1A Girls | 1A Boys | 2A Girls | 2A Boys | 3A Girls