2021 Peoria HS XC Invitational Meet Preview

By Michael Newman [email protected]

Will the rain predicted for the Peoria area hold off until Saturday afternoon? The final meet of the Peoria trilogy series of meets takes place Saturday morning at Detweiller Park. This is the original Peoria meet of the three starting almost 50 years ago.

Saturday’s four races should not disappoint. The 1A/2A Girls’ race is wide-open individually. The Boys race that follows 45 later features the top two individuals and top two teams in Class 2A. The 3A Girls’ race is sneaky good with some underrated runners ready to break into the spot light. The final race of the day at 11:15 AM features the top 3A team and possibly a preview of some of the top runners in the state.

Here is a look at each of the four races that will take place Saturday morning at Detweiller Park

MEET PAGE INCLUDING BOX ASSIGNMENTS

1A/2A Girls – 9:00 AM

2A Teams (11 Ranked):  #3 Dunlap, #7 Crystal Lake South, #9 Chatham-Glenwood, #11 Peoria Notre Dame, #12 Normal University, #14 Mt. Zion, #17 Morton, #18 Normal West, #19 Metamora, #24 Waterloo, #30 Fenwick; Bartonville Limestone, Belvidere, Bismarck Henning, Bloomington, Carbondale, Centralia, Champaign Central, Charleston, Decatur MacArthur, East Peoria, Fenton, Galesburg, Highland, Mascoutah, Mattoon, Mt. Vernon, Mundelein Carmel Catholic, Peoria, Peoria Notre Dame, Peoria Richwoods, Rock Island, Springfield, Sterling, Urbana;  1A Teams (1 Ranked): #21 Rockford Christian; Carlinville, Effingham St. Anthony, Freeburg, Hope Academy, Pontiac, Princeton

Runners to Watch: Angelynn Kanyuck, Waterloo; Isabella Gonzalez, Crystal Lake South; Delaney Fitzgerald, Normal University; Nia Gibson, Chatham-Glenwood; Danielle Mudd, Waterloo; Gabby Moreman, Bismarck-Henning, Teagan Cover, Peoria Notre Dame; Saniya Mathew, Dunlap; Ashley Anderson, Mt. Zion; Zoe Carter, Normal University; Addie Frisch, Crystal Lake South; Abby Machesky, Crystal Lake South; Ava Gorrie, Chatham-Glenwood, Abbie Gleason, Dunlap; Hailey Betzer, Mt. Zion; Jayda Williams, Mascoutah, Katie Lalumandier, Metamora; Sophie Krueger, Morton; Audrey Heil, Metamora, Bella Daley, Fenwick; Maria Stedwill, Peoria Notre Dame; Jaden Lucas, Pontiac, Kelly Giardina, Rockford Christian, Madeline Kim, Springfield

Preview – This could be an interesting team competition with 12 ranked teams toeing the line. #3 Dunlap did not race all of their team last week at East Peoria but will be at full strength in this meet. Keeping a split under 60 seconds off Saniya Mathew and Abbie Gleason and their top five will be something to watch for. #7 Crystal Lake South has the power up front with Isabella Gonzalez, Addie Fritsch, and Abby Machesky possibly finishing in the top 10 in this race. Three runners in front of the Dunlap pack could get the Gators close or ahead in the team standings. #9 Chatham-Glenwood has exhibited solid pack running led by Nia Gibson and Ava Gorrie. The Titans have to move their pack up in this race to challenge for the win. #11 Peoria Notre Dame has a similar pack to Chatham-Glenwood and will need to keep their split under 50 seconds to challenge for the team win. #12 Normal University has top 5 runners in this race with Delaney Fitzgerald and Zoe Carter. Watch for their split between Carter and pack in this race. #14 Mt. Zion is sneaky good and could challenge for a top three team finish.

This is the most wide-open individual race of the four races that will take place on Saturday. Isabella Gonzalez will be one of the runners to watch in the front. Angelynn Kanyuck won Wednesday at Troy Triad and cannot be counted out in this race.

1A/2A Boys – 9:45 AM

2A Teams (11 Ranked): #1 Fenwick, #2 Morton, #16 Peoria Notre Dame; #21 Urbana, #24 Waterloo; #25 Normal West, #26 Springfield, #27 Dunlap, #28 Chatham-Glenwood, #29 East Peoria, #30 Marion; Bartonville Limestone, Bloomington, Carbondale, Centralia, Champaign Central, Charleston, Decatur Eisenhower, Decatur MacArthur, Fenton, Galesburg, Hinsdale South, Mascoutah, Mattoon, Mt. Vernon, Mt. Zion, Mundelein Carmel Catholic, Peoria, Peoria Manual, Peoria Richwoods, Rock Island, Sterling, Waterloo;  1A Teams (4 Ranked): #3 Rockford Christian, #8 Normal University, #19 Bismarck-Henning, #26 Pontiac; Carlinville, Effingham St. Anthony, Freeburg, Hope Academy, Princeton

Runners to Watch: Wilson Georges, Limestone; Alex Partlow, Carbondale; Josh Weeks, Morton; Yonas Wuthrich, Morton; Sam Lambert, Urbana; Cade Zobrist, Morton; Dale Johnson, Sterling; Eli Mojonnier, Bismarck-Henning; Grayden Rill, Fenwick; Joe Schwartz, Waterloo; Brandt Henderson, Normal University; Sachit Muduli, Normal University; Lance Miller, Mascoutah; Samson Dessalines, Chatham-Glenwood; Nathan McKillop, Fenwick; Brock Davee, Mattoon; Carson Cowling, Metamora, Reese Dusek, Limestone; Weston Forward, Rockford Christian.

Preview – This race is about the top twos in Class 2A. We have the top two teams and top two individuals in this classification in this field. Wilson Georges is one of the runners to watch. Georges pulled away from the field at First to the Finish running a personal best of 14:46 on Detweiller’s course. He followed that up by running 14:55 the next week at Dunlap. If the conditions are right, we could see a time under 14:40 to win this race. Alex Partlow raced on Wednesday winning by over a minute at Troy Triad. Partlow blew away the field at Granite City on September 4 running 14:42. He won at the Trinity/Valkyre Invitational against a good regional field with a good 15:12 5k time. The two runners could push each other to something great Saturday morning. Eli Mojonnier ran 15:00 last week at St. Joseph-Ogden and should be watched for. Joe Schwartz and Sam Lambert could challenge for top five finishes after the gun goes off.

#2 Morton easily won over then #1 Mahomet-Seymour last week at Black Partridge Park. Now they get a chance to challenge #1 Fenwick in this meet. The Friars finished 10 last week at Palatine led by Grayden Rill and a pack led by Nathaniel McKillop that had an 18 second split from their second through fifth runners. Morton ran a 40 second split on their top five runners which was their best so far this season. It could be close on Saturday. Josh Weeks, Yonas Wuthrich, and Cade Zobrist need to finish ahead of McKillop in this race. Fenwick could win this team title if they place their top five runners in before Morton get’s their fourth runner across the line. Both teams should score under 100 points. The next team could either be Peoria Notre Dame, Urbana, and Waterloo will all challenge for the third spot and could be over 200 points.

3A Girls – 10:30 AM

Teams (4 Ranked): #3 Prospect, #8 Maine South, #14 Downers Grove South,  #25 Edwardsville; Alton, Aurora East, Aurora West, Belleville East, Belleville West, Buffalo Grove, East Moline, Fremd, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Granite City, Hoffman Estates, Homewood-Flossmoor, Huntley, Jacobs, Joliet Central, Maine East, Mather (2A), McHenry, Mundelein, Normal Community, Pekin, Rockford Auburn, Rockton Hononegah, Rolling Meadows, Warren, Wheeling

Runners to Watch: Holly Johnson, Downers Grove South; Ali Ince, Normal Community; Lily Ginsberg, Prospect; Hailey Erickson, Prospect;  Caroline Schoen, Homewood-Flossmoor; Maria Polyakov, Glenbrook North; Sophia McNerney, Downers Grove South; Sofia Acuri, Maine South; Mia Pasha, Warren; Breanna Burak, Huntley; Audrey Ginsberg, Prospect; Brenda Torres, Wheeling; Alyssa Elliott, Belleville West; Maggie Jortberg, Glenbrook South; Kelsey Casella, Downers Grove South; Maddie Miller, East Moline; Juliet Frum, Glenbrook North; Kelly Carpenter, Jacobs; Elizabeth Kania, Jacobs; Cameron Kalaway, Prospect;  Devon Tomas, Aurora West; Emily Nuttall, Edwardsville

Preview – Don’t fall asleep on this race. There are only four ranked teams in this field and the individual race does not have the star power that we have seen in previous Peoria races this fall. This could be a good team and individual race. #3 Prospect did not run their top runners together last week at Palatine but should be together in Peoria on Saturday. They come in as the favorite where they could have 5 runners in the top 15 in this race. Lily Ginsberg and Hailey Erickson are possibilities to finish in the top five. #14 Downers Grove South has not been at full strength since their opener at Fenton at the beginning of September. In that race, the Mustangs placed 3 runners in the top 7 but their 4-5 pack was back behind their top three by close to a minute. Holly Johnson and Sophia McNerney along with Kelsey Casella could all be in the top 10. Watch the gap between their pack and their fourth runner in this race. A tighter split could have them challenge for the team title. #8 Maine South should be in the hunt for the team title. The Hawks come off a fourth-place finish last week at Palatine led with a top 10 runner in freshman Sofia Acuri. It will be interesting to see where their ack falls in comparison to Prospect and Downers Grove South. Jacobs and Normal Community will look to challenge #25 Edwardsville for a top five team finish.

The individual race should be fascinating to watch. Holly Johnson is coming off a strong performance and win last week at Naperville. She also ran 17:15 at Detweiller 2 weeks ago at Richard Spring. Caroline Schoen has a 17:41 3-mile best this fall. The competitor in her could put her among the top runners in this race. Sophia McNerney has not raced in a month. She should be among the runners in the front. Lily Ginsberg ran 17:20 and Hailey Erickson ran 17:22 behind Johnson 2 weeks ago. I would keep an eye on them in the front. The one runner that could step into the spotlight is Maria Polyakov. The freshman has quietly been winning races early in this season. She has 17:31 but basically has been running solo in doing this. Watch for a big race from her on Saturday. Ali Ince ran 17:42 last week at Metamora, 17:46 on this course 2 weeks ago. We should expect to see her near the front in this race. Breanna Burak, Mia Pasha, Alyssa Elliott, Brenda Torres, and Kelly Carpenter all can be expected to challenge for top 10 finishes.

3A Boys – 11:15 AM

Teams (10 Ranked): #1 Sandburg, #2 New Trier, #3 York (JV), #9 St. Charles East, #10 Warren, #12 Neuqua Valley, #13 Downers Grove South, #22 Loyola Academy, #24 Edwardsville; #25 Prospect; Alton, Aurora East, Aurora West, Belleville East, Belleville West, Benet Academy, East Moline, Edwardsville, Fremd, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Granite City, Hoffman Estates, Homewood-Flossmoor, Huntley, Jacobs, Joliet West, Maine East, Maine South, Mather (2A), McHenry, Mundelein, Normal Community, Plainfield Central, Rockford Auburn, Rockton Hononegah, Rolling Meadows, Wheeling

Runners to Watch: Micah Wilson, St. Charles East; Luke Wiley, Warren; Declan Tunney, Sandburg; Grant Giblin, Sandburg; Marcellus Mines, Joliet West; Nick Falk, New Trier, Tim Neumann, Downers Grove South; Brock Rice, Sandburg; Aidan Simon, Loyola Academy; Spencer Werner, Loyola Academy; Byron Jones, Belleville East, George Cahill, New Trier; Geordan Patrylak, Edwardsville; Brian Hiltebrand, Glenbrook South; Cole Kaether, Warren, Noah Schalliol, Neuqua Valley; TJ Garland, Prospect.

Preview – The individual race within the race is what you will see in the final race of Saturday at Detweiller Park. It could also be a pre-state meet race with most of the top runners in the state. Micah Wilson ran under control in the heat 2 weeks ago when he won at Richard Spring with a 14:37 time. Grant Giblin and Declan Tunney were right behind him and should challenge in the front on Saturday. Luke Wiley’s first 2 races this fall have consisted of a 14:34 on his home course followed by running 15:05 for 5k in Wisconsin last week. Wiley will be a runner to watch for in the front. Marcellus Mines ran 14:45 on this course two weeks ago. He ran 14:40 on a slower course at Palatine last week. What kind of times will this sophomore run on Saturday? Nick Falk pushed the pace last week at Palatine running 14:42. He will be in the front in this race. Tim Neumann was fourth at 14:48 at Palatine. Watch for him also in the front. Ryan Watts was fifth at Palatine in his first all out race of the season. I count on him to be in the front on Saturday. This is the seventh time that Wilson has raced at Detweiller. He knows what he wants to do. Who will be the runner that counters those moves on Saturday? If the course is in good shape without rain, we could see a time at or under 14:30.

#1 Sandburg was the class of the field when they ran on this course 2 weeks ago. Let’s see if they equal or better that effort late Saturday morning. Putting 5 runners in the first 20 is possible with this group. #2 New Trier is coming off a win at Palatine without one of their top five runners. How close will the Trevians’ pack be to Sandburg in this meet? The battle for third between St. Charles East, Neuqua Valley, and Warren could be interesting. Warren has a strong top three. Let’s see where their fourth and fifth runners finish in their first big meet of the year.