Saturday's prep roundup: Change of venue suits Kaneland XC invitational

MAPLE PARK – Kaneland cross country coaches and administrators rivaled athletes' fatigue levels at the end of Saturday's Eddington Invitational.

With the event shifting from Elburn Woods Forest Preserve to the Kaneland campus ahead of the Knights hosting a Class 2A sectional in November, it was all hands on deck, and then some.

"It's never one or two people to pull something like this off," Knights boys coach Chad Clarey said. "It was just amazing how every facet of it went off so well."

The Geneva girls team could attest after winning the 17-team girls race handily, scoring 40 points to defeat runner-up Belvidere North (83). The Vikings boasted a trio of top 10 individual finishers – McKenzie Altmayer (18:16, third); Emma Ehrhardt (18:26.1, fourth) and Brooke Nusser (18:57.6, seventh).

Rosary's Madison Ronzone was ninth in 19:02.4, three-plus seconds ahead of 10th-place finisher and teammate Emily Martin. The Royals (189) were seventh as a team, with Kaneland eighth behind Victoria Clinton (19:29.5, 18th).

Burlington Central (15th) and Mooseheart (17th) also competed.

In the boys race, Glenbard West was the comfortable team champion, but things were tighter elsewhere. St. Charles North and Geneva both totaled 185 team points, but North was awarded seventh place when its sixth runner finished one spot ahead of his Geneva counterpart.

Geneva's Mitchael Deamantopulos was fifth in 15:43.6, while North's top runner, Max Markowicz, was 17th in 16:15.2.

Clay Musial's seventh-place run in 15:52 buoyed Burlington Central. The host Knights finished 14th among 19 teams as Brandon Park took 49th individually in 16:52.6.

Although the meet included several Class 3A teams – namely the girls and boys winners – the field featured many of the same 2A schools that aspire to return to this course in early November with state meet berths on the line.

"Very well-run meet. Kaneland does a nice job, and it was a great field today, for sure," BC boys and girls coach Vince Neil said."I think a lot of teams were attracted to it just because they got a chance to preview the sectional course. It was nice to see that competition."

The course has hosted smaller duals before, but the Eddington marked the first invitational on the Kaneland campus. Clarey said 1,300 athletes across all levels competed on a course that was far flatter than Elburn Woods.

One especially welcome difference: the bigger space and ease of parking and transportation.

"I'm sure fans appreciated not riding the (shuttle) bus back and forth," Clarey said.

Clarey lauded Kaneland administration, maintenance staff, athletes and their families for helping ease the event along. Meet manager Eric Baron, whose diligence included lining the course this week, was unable to attend due to a wedding, but Clarey corresponded with him at meet's end to report a successful day.

"Just seeing how well it went with all the fans and people enjoying it, that's why we hosted it," Clarey said.

Richard Spring Invitational: At Peoria, veteran St. Charles East girls senior Torree Scull helped steer the Saints to a fifth-place finish among 57 teams in familiar surroundings. Peoria's Detweiller Park is the site of the IHSA state meet in November.

Scull finished fifth in 17:32.10, slightly off the pace of St. Charles North freshman Audrey Ernst, who was third in 17:17.50 for the 19th-place North Stars. Wheaton Academy was 46th in the team race.

In boys competition, St. Charles East placed eighth among 63 teams. Mark Sciurba (43rd, 15:31.9) paced the Saints. Wheaton Academy took 15th as a team.

Minooka Flight Invitational: At Minooka, the Batavia girls placed as Emma Stephens earned a fourth-place individual finish in the top flight, completing the course in 18:12.

In the boys race, Batavia took sixth while Marmion was 12th. Among top-flighted runners, Batavia's Ryan Wieties was seventh in 15:57, while Marmion's Michael Ronzone took 11th in 16:21.

Bureau Valley Invitational: At Walnut, Aurora Christian's Tanner Chada won the boys race in 16:08, three seconds clear of his nearest competitor. The Eagles did not have enough athletes to register a team score.

The ACS girls finished 16th among 27 teams behind Becca Wert's 10th-place run in 21:27.

BOYS SOCCER

Prairie Ridge Invitational: At Crystal Lake, Burlington Central suffered separate losses to Prairie Ridge (4-1) and Lake Park (3-0). The Rockets are 7-4-2. Chris Leberecht scored on a feed from AJ Gouriotis in the Prairie Ridge match. Goalkeeper David Murphy made 13 saves on the day, and split time with Ryan Parsons against Prairie Ridge.

Pepsi Showdown: Morton 2, Wheaton Academy 0: The Warriors conceded goals in both halves in the semifinal defeat.

GIRLS GOLF

Geneva wins Ram Invitational: At Glendale Lakes in Glendale Heights, Geneva (358) edged Elk Grove (360) to win the 13-team event. Reilly Krohe (seventh) and Katherine Flatt (eighth) paced the Vikings, who extended their strong recent history at the invitational.

"We kind of knew going in today that if we played our best golf, we'd have another shot to win it or come close to winning it," Geneva coach Doug Ross said. "Collectively, it turned out to be a pretty nice score."

Wheaton Academy (379) placed fifth, while St. Francis (442) was 11th.