BCR Regional Cross Country Previews

At Seneca (1A)

When: Saturday, Oct. 22. Girls - 10 a.m. Boys - 11 a.m.

Where: Seneca FFA Farm.

Local schools: Annawan-Wethersfield, Bureau Valley, Hall, Putnam County, Henry, Princeton, St. Bede.

Other schools: Cambridge, Dwight, Galva, Hinckley-Big Rock, Kewanee, Ottawa Marquette, ROWVA, Sandwich, Seneca, Somonauk, Stark County.

Girls meet at a glance: Princeton and St. Bede will be in the mix for the sixth and seventh qualifying spots. If the Tigresses don’t advance as a team, senior Lexi Bohms, the two-time BCR Runner of the Year, is in good shape to advance individually as the 10th-ranked runner. She placed seventh at last year’s regional at St. Bede. Teammate Kianna Brokaw (23rd last year) is also hopeful to advance. ... “It’s a course we know, and have run this year,” St. Bede coach Marty Makransky said. . ... Sandwich and Seneca will be the top two teams to beat followed by Cambridge, Stark County and Pontiac. ... The top five ranked runners are freshmen Sundara Weber, of Sandwich, and Emily Downing, of Cambridge, sophomores Evelyn O’Connor, of Seneca, and Jaden Lucas, of Pontiac, and junior Kennady Anderson, of A-W. ... Hall will not field a full squad. Bureau Valley has no girls out this year.

Boys meet at a glance: Bureau Valley promises to be a top-four team. Pontiac and Sandwich will vie for the title with Seneca and BV right behind them. St. Bede will also be in the hunt to advance along with Henry and Kewanee. “The boys have been running much better and at the right time. They have a strong chance to qualify as a team,” St. Bede coach Marty Makransky said. ... Bureau Valley senior Elijah House is a returning state qualifier and now ranked No. 4 in the regional field after his ninth-place showing (PR of 16:07.7) in Saturday’s Patriot Invite at Detweiller Park, the site of the state meet. He placed fifth at last year’s regional. ... Other leaders of the pack will be Wyatt Miller (Sandwich), Aidan Lee (Pontiac), Austin Aldridge (Seneca), Max Cryer (Sandwich) and Fernando Daily (Pontiac). Miller was third at last year’s St. Bede Regional. ... Princeton freshman Augustus Swanson, an up and coming talent, is ranked 20th and has a solid shot to advance. .... BV coach Bob Benck notes that the course at Seneca is extremely difficult. “The times out of this regional are always very slow compared to the others,” he said. ... Neither Hall or Princeton will field a full team.

Next: The top seven teams and five individuals in both the boys and girls meets advance to the Oregon Sectional on Saturday, Oct. 29. In addition, in the event the sixth, seventh, and eighth-place overall individual finishers are not part of a qualifying team, they too shall advance to the sectional.

At Rock Falls (1A)

When: Saturday, Oct. 22. Girls - 10 a.m. Boys - 10:45 a.m.

Schools: Mercer County, Alleman, Amboy, Erie-Prophetstown, Indian Creek, Eastland, Mendota, Morrison, Oregon, Orion, Polo, Riverdale, Rock Falls, Rockridge, Sherrard, Newman, West Carroll.

At a glance: The Amboy boys are the defending regional champions and have the runners to advance again. The Clippers placed third at sectional and went on to state. Brock Loftus, the defending regional and sectional champion graduated, but senior Kyler McNinch, the regional runner-up, returns for Amboy. McNinch snuck in at the finish line to win this year’s Princeton Invite. .... Amboy will not field a full girls squad. ... This year’s Amboy co-op adds just one runner from AFC.

Next: The top seven teams and five individuals in both the boys and girls meets advance to the Oregon Sectional on Saturday, Oct. 29. In addition, in the event the sixth, seventh, and eighth-place overall individual finishers are not part of a qualifying team, they too shall advance to the sectional.