David opens season with 16:51 at First to Finish Invitational

 

Viger, Plainfield South win in 3A Boys; Naperville North packs it up to 3A Girls win; Storms comes back from 3A Girls race

 

By Michael Newman [email protected]

 

Peoria, Ill --- The heat of this September Saturday morning in Peoria was starting to heat up as the gun went off for the start of the Girls 2A race at the First to the Finish Invitational. By the end of the morning, the temperatures had climbed past 80 degrees with humidity past 80%. It did not bother some of the runners.

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The pack from that 2A Girls race closed to the first turn on the course. Out from that group came Richland County’s Tatum David who had memories of approaching that turn when she was a freshman.

 

It was almost three years later but it felt right at home for the Richland County senior.

 

“It is really good to be back. This is one of my favorite courses,” David said after the race. “It was a lot of fun to run here again.”

 

David was the favorite in this race and did not disappoint those pre-race expectations. She passed by the first mile in a slower than expected 5:26 for the opening mile. In these conditions, David ran under control.

 

“The race did not go like I had planned. I was hoping to start out faster,” David added. “I did not have a goal time. This was my season opener. It was a good starting point.”

 

David did not a humungous lead at the first check point. Natalie Bierbaum of Normal University and Becca Heitzig of Lincoln were just 10 seconds behind David as the trio headed towards the triangle portion of the course.

 

There was a little rust in David’s racing being that it was her first time in spikes on a cross country course this fall. That rust was slowly disappearing with each step put down on this fabled course. She was under 11-minutes at 2-miles passing that point. Not a breakneck pace, but still in control. Bierbaum and Heitzig were still holding on, but now the gap was 15 seconds.

 

She made the left turn down the Route 29 side of the course. The pace started to pick up as her competition started to fade into the distance.

 

David was under control as she crossed the line with the win in 16:51.3. Heitzig outkicked Bierbaum for second finishing 25 seconds behind David with a good 17:16 time. The Normal University freshman ran 17:18 to finish third.

 

The first big meet at Detweiller Park this season brought some things we thought would happen along with some big surprises. That is what happens at the beginning of a cross-country season.

 

Here are recaps of each of the six races that took place on Saturday

 

Class 3A Boys – Results

Plainfield South’s Camyn Viger and Riley Newport came through the second mile at 9:30 both looking relaxed as they made their way up the 4% incline the second time. Viger made his move in the final kilometer of the race. He ran 4:52 in the final mile but it looked faster. His winning time of 14:22.8 ties for the fourth fastest time ever in this meet. Danny Kilrea holds the meet record (14:02).

 

Newport came across the line in second still under 14:40 (14:36.9). Mario Torres of Buffalo Grove is the early season surprise. He missed all of his junior season. His third-place finish of 14:40.7 was impressive to say the least. Zac Balzer of Minooka ran a season’s best of 14:42.5 to finish fourth. Zac Close of Neuqua Valley ran 14:49.2 to finish fifth.

 

Nine runners ran under 15-minutes in this race. Five of those runners were either from Plainfield South or Downers Grove North. It was either purple or navy blue in the first mile of this race as the two teams made their presence known. It was Downers Grove North that held the advantage the first mile of the race. Plainfield South took over the race lead in the triangle.

 

#3 Plainfield South place 4 runners in the top 11, 5 in the first 21 to win the team title with 48 points. The Cougars had two more runners in the top 10 after Viger as Ethan Reynoso (7th) and Dylan Maloney (8th) came in together at 14:51. BJ Sorg was next running 15:04 to finish 11th. Gavin Borger was the team’s fifth runner (15:21) placing 21st. Their top five split was 59 seconds in this race. Their split from Reynoso to Borger was 30 seconds.

 

#2 Downers Grove North finished second (71 points) placing their scorers in the first 25. Topher Ferris led the Trojans running 14:50 to finish sixth overall. Asa Gasper ran a great race to finish ninth running 14:55. Grant Schroder (14th), Caden Weber (17th), and Zach Bender (25th). Their top five split was 36 seconds. #4 Neuqua Valley finished third (139 points) led by Close’s top 10 finish and the pack led by Ryan Palmer (22nd overall). Their top five split was 61 seconds but only 28 seconds on the pack.

 

#15 Plainfield North finished fourth (153 points) behind top 20 finishes from Oliver Burns (12th) and Ryan Tracey (16th). #12 Lyons Township finished fifth (172 points) led by Cillian Henning finish tenth.

 

Class 3A Girls – Results

The last time we saw Barrington’s Scout Storms competing was in the prelims of the 3A 1600 Meter Run last May. An injury suffered in that race forced her out of the 3200 Meter Run along with taking some time off to recover from that injury.

 

Saturday’s race showed that she has recovered from that. The sophomore pulled away from the rest of the pack in the triangle. She went through 2-miles in 11:28 opening up a five second lead on Kate Tueting of Naperville Central and Julie Piot of Naperville North.

 

Storms was under control coming up the final incline running 17:25.1 to win the race. Tueting (17:32) and Piot (17:35) finished second and third. Three other runners finished under 18-minutes in this race. Naperville North freshman Shania Tandon ran 17:53 to finish fourth followed by Danielle Jensen of McHenry (17:56) and Liv Phillips of Naperville Central (17:58) that finished fifth and sixth.

 

While most attention in Class 3A Girls has been focused on York and Prospect, #3 Naperville North quietly has put together two strong opening races. The Huskies cruised to the team win in the race scoring 63 points placing 5 runners in the top 35 including 4 runners in the first 11 places. Piot and Tandon led the way in the top five. Logan Brennan (10th) and Rianna Tandon (11th) were within five seconds of each other as the team’s fourth and fifth runners. Lexi Pera finished 35th as the team’s fifth runner. The top four split was 46 seconds. Their overall top five split was 94 seconds.

 

#17 Batavia (129 points) and #4 Lyons Township were separated by one point finishing second and third. The Bulldogs were led by Liliana Bednarek’s 15th place finish. They also had a nice pack with a 41 second split on their top five. Lyons Township is still without their top runner Catherine Sommerfeld. They still displayed some nice pack running with a 29 second split on their top five led by top 20 finishes from Shannon Cranny and Julianne Melby.

 

#9 Naperville Central had everyone back in finishing fourth scoring 159 points and led by the finishes from Tueting and Phillips. #5 Minooka placed fifth (176 points). Gabriella McCollom led the Indians with a seventh-place finish.

 

Class 2A Boys – Results

Cooper Marrs pulled away in the final mile to win the individual race in this class and help Riverside-Brookfield win the team title. Marrs was part of a huge pack that went through the first mile in 4:56 that also included Dale Johnson of Sterling, Evan Nosek of Kaneland, and Brenden Heitzig of Lincoln. Marrs started to extend his lead just before 2 miles passing that point in 9:54. Johnson and Heitzig were hanging on, but that was about it.

 

Marrs was the only runner under 15-minutes in this race winning with a 14:54 time. Heitzig (15:03) and Johnson (15:08) maintained their positions finishing second and third. Evan Horgan of Belvidere North moved up during the race finishing fourth (15:09). Nosek and Morton’s Josh Weeks both ran 15:11 to finish fifth and sixth.

 

#2 Riverside-Brookfield won a close three way team race scoring 184 points ahead of Glenbard South (194 points) and Prairie Ridge (202 points). The Bulldogs have a strong top four as Jack O’Brien (15th), Brady Norman (35th), and Zach Gaynor (37th) followed as the first four runners. The split on those three runners behind Marrs was 36 seconds. Their split to fifth runner Hayden Marrs (96th) was another 46 seconds.

 

#11 Glenbard South relied on a tenth-place finish from Jaden Frederick to lead the Raiders. Ryan Chung (21st) and Tim Jochum (32nd) were 37 seconds behind Frederick. Their top five split was 77 seconds. #12 Prairie Ridge were led by top 20 finishes from Gerrit Dam and Will Gelon. They also had a top five split of 59 seconds.

 

#27 Woodstock scored 229 points to finish fourth with Ishan Patel (8th) and Aryan Patel (24th) finishing in the top 25. #13 Belvidere North (236 points) and #8 Morton (243 points) finished fifth and sixth.

 

Class 2A Girls – Results

#2 Lakes Community came into this meet as the team to beat and they satisfied their ranking. The Eagles scored 118 points influenced putting 3 runners in the top 20. Becca Runyan (9th), Madison Twarling (11th), and Paige-Elicia Caruth (17th) all finished within 16 seconds of each other. Madison Perez (35th) and Hannah Rojas (57th) were the team’s fourth and fifth runners. Lakes had an 84 second split on those five runners.

 

#5 Dunlap had a solid 55 second split while putting their 5 scorers in the top 50. The Eagles scored 151 points to finish second led by the 16th place finish from Abby Tudeen. #6 Dixon finished third (177 points) behind the 12th place finish from Emma Smith. #4 Washington finished fourth (204 points) with three runners within 14 seconds led by Olivia Nordheilm finishing 19th. #13 Lake Forest placed fifth (238 points) paced by Isabella Marsico finishing fifth.

 

Class 1A Boys – Results

Charlie Bardwell of Eureka pulled away from the field just before 2-miles and surprised some by winning this race. The senior ran 15:29 while holding off Tuscola duo of Josiah Hortin (15:32) and Jackson Barrett (15:33) who finished second and third. The Rockford Christian pair of Aidan Sosnowski (15:38) and Weston Forward (15:39) finished fourth and fifth.

 

Latin School ran this race but did not have two of their top seven including Akili Parekh who was on a college visit. The #1 Class 1A team this week in the state finished sixth overall with 240 points.

 

#2 Normal University displayed some great packing in this race putting their top four runners in between 9th and 17th to win the team title with 90 points. Brandt Henderson finished ninth to lead his team. Mason Hart (11th), Landen Alcorn (15th), and Mitchell Hayes (17th) followed. This pack was separated by only 19 seconds. Their fifth runner Connor Hartman finished 52nd overall giving the Pioneers a 55 second split on their top five.

 

#7 Decatur St. Teresa was impressive building off a good race last week at Harvest Christian Academy. The Bulldogs finished second (187 points) paced by an 8-13 finish from Evan Cook and Caleb Kernaghan. #6 Eureka scored 198 point to finish third paced by Bardwell’s win. #8 Aurora Central Catholic finished fourth (207 points) led by top 20 finish from Patrick Hilby (8th) and James Stolfe (19th). #4 Rockford Christian finish fifth (217 points) led by Sosnowski, Forward, and Noah Shook who finished 12th.

 

Class 1A Girls – Results

The first race of this meet was though to be one of the meet before it began. In the end, it failed to disappoint. Grace Erb of Winnebago made up five seconds in the final to overtake Ahry Comer of Pope County and win by 11 seconds running 17:42 to take home the individual title.

 

A pack of 30+ runners went through the first mile in 5:56 with none of the runners wanting to take the lead. Comer took command in the triangle pushing the pace and passing 2-miles in 11:36. Erb and Kate Ahmari of Urbana University were the only runners that could withstand that pickup. It was Erb at the end that had a little more closing speed.

 

Comer ran 17:53 to finish second 11 seconds behind Erb. Ahmari held on to third running 18:03. Louisa Wilson of Williamsville (18:10) and Kaitlyn Hatley of Father McGivney (18:10) finished fourth and fifth.

 

It was Tolono Unity’s pack that sealed the deal in the team race. The #1 Rockets dominated the field scoring only 94 points and winning by more than 100 points. Erica Woodard led the way running 18:15 to finish ninth. Emily Decker (19th), Mackenzie Pound (23rd), Olivia Shike (33rd), and Reagen Stringer (42nd) were within 64 seconds of each other. Their top five split was 104 seconds.

 

#3 Eureka finished second with 197 points with Laurel Munson (24th), Claire Albertson (28th), and Meika Bender (29th) separated by only 26 seconds. #5 Winnebago finished third (200 points). Bago placed 3 runners in the top 11 led by Erb, Woolery (9th), and Roggensack (11th). This team did have five runners under 22:02 which is positive for this group.

 

#9 Stanford Olympia was 104 points behind Winnebago finishing fourth with 304 points. It was close as the next three teams were separated by three points. #21 Anna Jonesboro scored 310 points to finish fifth followed by #15 Pleasant Plains (312 points) and #16 Urbana University (313 points) finished sixth and seventh.