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2019 IHSA State Cross Country Championships - Class 2A Girls PreviewPublished by
2019 IHSA State Cross Country Championships - Class 2A Girls Preview
By Michael Newman
The race of the day comes in this classification. We will find out how fast this race will be. Tatum David of Richland County is the freshman that everyone has wowed about ever since she ran 16:37 to win on this course in the middle of September. Since that race, she ahs been putting up some outrageous times with no other runner within two minutes of her. That changes in this race. Ava Parekh of Latin School raced against David at First to the Finish where she finished close to 30 seconds behind the freshman. Parekh has her confidence after running 16:34 to finish second at the Naperville Twilight Invitational one month ago. Don’t forget about defending state champion Brooke Stromsland that will be ready for the challenge. She has already run 16:46 this fall. There will be plenty of great runners in this race including Emma Skinner of Morton who has run 17:05 this season, Kaylie Politza of Lemont, Olivia Rosenstein of Urbana, Saniya Mathew of Dunlap, Isabella Gonzalez of Crystal Lake South, Kaitlin Skeate of Bloomington, and Maria Stedwill of Peoria Notre Dame. This could be one of the wildest team races for a state championship in recent memory with 12 schools that have a chance to finish in the top three. Benet Academy and Latin School are the top teams to watch for. We give you all the teams that will be racing in this classification.
Chicago (Latin School)
Preview – The Romans have spent most of the season ranked #3 in Class 2A without one of their top runners Marianne Mihas who finished third in the state race last November. Now with Mihas back, the Romans are ready to roll towards a state trophy. It could be a championship trophy that they leave with. Ava Parekh is one of the top sophomores in the nation and will challenge for the individual state championship in this race. Bea Parr demonstrated in last week sectional race that she could be one of the top 10 runners. Parr finished 54 seconds behind Parekh on a muddy Fenton course. You can look at the fact that Parekh could be in the low 16:10’s in this race. Imagine where Parr could be. It is hard to see where Mihas will be in this race. If she is close to Parr, then Latin could be tough to beat. Mihas in the top 20 will still be a huge help. The team split from Mihas to fifth runner Olivia Syftestad was 15 seconds last week. Forget the top five split with Parekh so far ahead. It will be keeping their second to five split at or under 60 seconds if they want to win the state championship.
Lisle (Benet Academy)
Preview – It is hard to say that Benet Academy has flown under the radar. While all attention have been on the teams from the Belvidere Sectional or the Fenton Sectional, here are the Redwings tuned up ready to chase after a state championship. There are no superstars on this team. It is all about solid pack running that could bring a state title back to Lisle. Benet was not challenged in winning their sectional championship at Thornridge. The split between #1 runner Joy Jackson and #5 runner Mary Weber was only 37 seconds last week. There split has been slowly dipping from 49 seconds in their conference race to their sectional effort. Jackson could be in the top 15 in this race. It is possible that Emily Spellman or another one of their top seven runners finds their way into all-state territory. The key for Benet in reference to Latin School is to have seven runners in before Latin’s fourth runner (or maybe fifth) crosses the line. If Mihas is close to Parr, then that pack needs to run their race to offset those low Latin numbers.
Chicago (St. Ignatius Prep)
Preview – There are nine other schools that could finish in the top three in this race. St. Ignatius Prep is one of them. The Wolfpack looked strong in their second place finish behind Latin School last week. They do have the talent to challenge for a trophy even the championship one. St. Ignatius has a strong trio of runners in the front with Lexi Affolter, Rhiannon O’Keefe, and Kristina Dalton that could all finish in the top 25. The three were separated by 22 seconds in their conference meet and 18 seconds last week at Fenton. Those are the split times that this group needs to shoot for. The team ran a 49 second split on their top five last week. It has been near or above 80 seconds most of the season. Keeping that split near 60 to 65 seconds could be good enough to secure a trophy for this team. A split similar to their sectional performance puts them in the money for a state championship.
Lake Villa (Lakes Community)
Preview – In the topsy-turvy world that we called the Belvidere Sectional, it was Lakes Community the team that came away with the sectional championship after being rated #5 among all sectional teams heading into that race. It will be interesting to see how this squad performs in this week’s state race. Defending Class 2A state champion Brooke Stromsland leads this team with hopes of winning another state title. Olivia Schmitt has stepped up to give the Eagles a strong second runner that could finish among the top 25. Lakes ran their best team race of the year with a split on their top five of 134 seconds. It was 40 seconds faster than their bests from the previous two weeks. The Eagles could contend for a trophy especially with low numbers from Stromsland and Schmitt. The key is tightening the split from their third to fifth runners even more.
Vernon Hills
Preview – When you have three freshmen among your top five runners, there could be some unpredictability of the outcome. Vernon Hills’ three freshman have run like seniors most of the season. The Cougars will need their team at full strength in order to challenge for a trophy on Saturday. Their top runner for most of the season has been Rose Sheridan. She was the top runner in their regional race, but third in their conference meet and sixth last week. Emma Wakefield stepped into the top spot last week finishing third. Sheridan, if she is at 100%, could finish in the top 10 in this race. Wakefield and Carly Sear could finish in the top 25. The team split without Sheridan in the front was 82 seconds. Normally, it is close to two minutes. The Cougars have that state history where they run their best race when it counts. Saturday could be one of those instances.
Belvidere (North)
Preview – It was just one of those days last Saturday for Belvidere North as they finished fifth in their sectional race. You can expect the defending 2A state champions bounce back in their race in Peoria. Gianna Sagona, Madison Diercks, and Sydnie Elder were within 28 and 21 seconds of each other in their two races leading to sectionals. It was 26 seconds last week at Belvidere but with Elder leading the way. All three runners should be in the top 25. Sagona and Diercks challenging for top 10 finishes would be a big help. The top five team split needs to be at or under 70 seconds in this race. It was 105 seconds in their sectional run.
Peoria (Notre Dame)
Preview – The Irish won their first sectional title for the Girls program last week at Maxwell Park. They will look for some more hardware in Saturday’s race. Freshmen Maria Stedwill and Eileen Zopel have been the top runners all season. Stedwill could finish in the top 25 in this race. Zopel will be close to that. In their best races this season, the top five split for the Irish has been close to 100 seconds. Going under 100 seconds in this meet could be a big thing for this team. A top five finish could be within their reach accomplishing that this weekend.
Dixon
Preview – Another team that could finish in the top three in this race on Saturday. The Duchesses just missed making it to state last year and are hungry for a top spot on Saturday. Paige Stees and Jade Miller were all-state in 2018. Both should finish in the top 25. Dixon has been floating near 85 seconds with a top five split the past couple of weeks. It could come down to 70 seconds on Saturday. They would need Nicquelette Fazekas to be within 20 seconds of Miller and Stees. Dixon would be in the hunt for a trophy if these things happen.
Crystal Lake (South)
Preview – The Gators have possible all-state runners with Isabella Gonzalez and Mackenzie Aldridge leading them, Gonzalez, a freshman, could finish in the top 10 on Saturday. Aldridge has the talent to be among the first 20 runners. South finished fourth last week at Belvidere with the team running their normal 110 second split on their top five runners. Their split between their third and fifth runners were only 10 seconds. Getting that pack 20 seconds closer to Aldridge could make this team a trophy contender.
Dunlap
Preview – The Eagles packed it up last week at Bloomington to run a 57 second split on their top five in finishing third. Saniya Mathew is having a fantastic freshman season with a chance of finishing 10th on Saturday. Macy Priess is a big meet runner that could be among the top 25 finishers. Having their finishers placing within 50 to 60 seconds of each other could get this team close to a trophy.
Oak Park (Fenwick)
Preview – The Friars finished fourth at a tough Fenton Sectional last Saturday. Even with that finish, Fenwick will be in the mix for a top five finish. There was only an eight second split on their top three runners at Fenton led by Maggie O’Malley. Bella Dailey and Maria Quinn should be close to O’Malley in this race. The team ran a 37 second top five split. The key will be moving that group closer to the front to position themselves for a higher finish.
Crystal Lake (Prairie Ridge)
Preview – Do we see the same scenario as last year when Prairie Ridge snuck up on some to finish third. It could be a little tougher this season for the Wolves with so many quality teams in this field. Colette Janik has been the top runner for most of the season except for last weekend when Rylee Lydon stepped into that spot. Both runners could finish in the first 40. Their top five split in their conference race was 74 seconds in their conference race, 77 seconds in their sectional race.
Chatham-Glenwood
Preview – The sectional champs at Decatur MacArthur will look for a top 10 finish on Saturday. Nia Gibson will be among the runners that will fight for places in the top 25. Pack running will carry the Titans into a top 10 finish. The team ran a 36 second two through five runner split behind second runner Emma Leahy. The margin between Gibson and Leahy was their best of the year at 27 seconds. The team split in that race was 63 seconds. Dropping that split another 10 seconds could move this team into the top 10.
Mahomet-Seymour
Preview – The Bulldogs just made it out of the Bloomington Sectional finishing fifth. All-state runner Elizabeth Sims has been the team’s #1 runner all season. She will be among the top 15 runners in this race. What hurt the team at Maxwell Park is that they had a top five split at 118 seconds. The split from their second to fifth runners were 49 seconds. Getting their second runner Klein Powell with 42 seconds of Sims will push this team into the upper half of the team standings.
Morton
Preview – The Potters advanced west to the state meet by finishing fourth at the Bloomington Sectional. Emma Skinner has been one of the Class 2A elite runners this fall and will be among the leaders on Saturday. The team split behind Skinner was 98 seconds between their second and fifth runners. That gap needs to shrink in order for this team to challenge for a top 15 finish.
Bloomington
Preview – It was no surprise that the Purple Raiders finished second in their own sectional after winning the Metamora Regional title the week before. Kaitlin Skeate has been the team’s #1 runner all season. Skeate finishing in the top 20 on Saturday is a possibility. The team’s top five split was at triple digits before their conference meet. It has gone down under 75 seconds with the group running 71 seconds last Saturday. Raegan Kaeb being within 23 seconds of Skeate and leading the pack could move this team near top 10 territory.
Mt. Zion
Preview – After finishing second by one point at the Apollo Conference Meet, Mt. Zion has come on strong winning the Mattoon Regional and finishing third last week at Decatur. The team top five split has been between 40 to 50 second most of the year. It was 50 seconds last week. Emma Mallory and Lucy Griffith have been the team’s top runners during championship season. They were within five seconds of each other last week.
Highland
Preview – The Bulldogs ran a season top five split of 46 seconds in finishing second in their sectional meet. Four runners have traded off the top spot on this team this fall. Grace Meyer was the team’s top runner last Saturday. The key for this team is to reduce their top split on their first four runners to under 21 seconds. It was 27 seconds in their sectional race.
Lemont
Preview – Lemont is at full strength after the return of their top runner Kaylee Politza. The sophomore missed most of the season due to a stress fracture. She finished third last week at Thornridge and could be among the top 15 runners in Peoria. Lemont finished second last week with only a 35 second two through five runner split led by Kailey Wasyliw. This team could be in the top 15 if their one-two split decreases from 87 seconds to 70 seconds.
Carbondale
Preview – Madeline Prideaux and Anna Schurz finished within 11 seconds of each other to lead the Terriers to a fourth-place finish in their sectional race. Both runners should finish in the top 50 at Detweiller Park. The top five team split was at 139 seconds last week.
River Forest (Trinity)
Preview – Trinity returns back to the state meet after finishing fifth at the Fenton Sectional. Freshman Delaney Burns has stepped into the top spot with Kate Foley 20 to 25 seconds back. The team split was at 127 seconds last week. The pack needs to move up, the split needs to come down for this team to finish in the top 20.
Mascoutah
Preview – The Indians just made it out of the Decatur Sectional finishing fifth. Chloe Latour is having a good freshman season and could be among the first 55 runners in this race. Mascoutah had over a two minute split on their top five runners last week.
Riverside-Brookfield
Preview – The Bulldogs advanced to the state meet after finishing third at the Thornridge Sectional and winning their own regional. Taylor Jurgens and Bryce Pacourek were only separated by seven seconds in last week’s sectional race. Jurgens could be close to a top 35 finish on Saturday.
Darien (Hinsdale South)
Preview – Abby Petersen stepped into the top spot early in the season. She helped her team qualify for the state meet as they finished fifth last Saturday. The freshman could be runner to watch in the lead pack in this race. The split on the top five last week was over three minutes. It could be tough for South to finish in the top 20.
LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy)
Preview – A fourth-place finish at the Thornridge Sectional helped push the Roadrunners to the state meet. Sectional race winner Colette Kinsella is ready for the challenge in Peoria which could mean a top 20 individual finish. The team had a top five split close to four minutes off Kinsella’s lead. More news |