Cross Country: Yorkville girls, Oswego boys fifth at state meet

PEORIA – One of the most extraordinary postseason runs in state history came to a close on the final day of the girls cross country season Saturday at Detweiller Park.

At the Class 3A state meet, Yorkville was seeking a 12th consecutive state trophy.

But it was not to be, despite Arkansas State recruits Anna Hunter and Maggie Hunter rising to the occasion.

Anna Hunter became the latest all-state athlete for the Foxes after running the three-mile layout in 17 minutes, 6.77 seconds to finish in 20th.

Maggie Hunter was 45th; Ava Gallaway (76th), Katie Melzer (92nd) and Makenna Edwards (108th) rounded out the Foxes’ contributing runners as the team finished with 244 points.

The Foxes’ point total translated into a fifth-place finish as York dominated the field with 62 points for its second state title in program history.

Yorkville had its remarkable decade-long run come to an abrupt end.

In its previous four Class 3A state appearances, the Foxes finished runner-up to Naperville North, which also had its streak of taking home ninth straight trophies end with its eighth-place showing Saturday.

In its final seven years as a 2A program, the Foxes tied Winnebago’s state record with five consecutive titles between 2011 and 2015.

The Foxes were 2A state runners-up for two straight years before embarking on their record-tying exploits.

“I’m not disappointed,” Anna Hunter said. “We still made as good a run as we could. We still proved everyone wrong with the state rankings this year. I fulfilled everything I could ever wish for.”

“It’s definitely tough,” Maggie Hunter said. “We are not used to not getting a trophy. No matter what happened, we’re happy with the results today.”

Three local girls participated as at-large qualifiers in the Class 3A state finals.

Audra Soderlind made the most of her opportunity as the Oswego junior had the individual performance of the weekend among the area female qualifiers to place 15th in 17:00.18.

“My strategy going in was going out with the pack back from the top-few runners, kind of like in that 10 to 20 range,” Soderlind said. “Crossing the line meant a lot after not being able to race here for two years. It was a good feeling to finally reach my all-state goals. This was a 24-second PR for me. I just missed the under 17-barrier. It will be exciting to see what I can do [in track] as well.”

Morgan Dick was certainly in the mix for all-state consideration before settling for 30th, after clocking a 17:29.86 for Oswego East.

The Wolves’ other qualifier, Angeles Mendoza, was 94th.

“I could have caught more people at the end,” Dick said. “I got passed a few times. To get all-state I wanted to pass as many people as I could.”

The Oswego boys had exceedingly high expectations for early November, after ending the season ranked third in the state by authoritative cross country analyst Mike Newman.

But like the Yorkville girls, the Panthers had to settle for fifth place in the boys 3A final. Oswego’s 197 points were 18 shy of Downers Grove North (179), which claimed the third and final trophy. Oswego was one point behind fourth-place New Trier.

The Panthers did, however, receive a major consolation prize when star senior Ethan Forsell cracked the top 20 with his 17th-place finish in 14:46.99.

“It feels bad; there’s no way around that,” Forsell said. “We have come such a long way. I don’t focus on myself, especially this cross country season. We’re a very team-oriented team. I’m not much of a standout individual.”

The Panthers’ Ben Huey eclipsed the 15-minute barrier by 84 one-hundredths of a second, but narrowly missed all-state recognition with his 28th-place finish with a time of 14:59.16.

Parker Nold, though, did not have to worry about a fruitless Saturday.

The Oswego East junior occupied the final top-10 slot with his time of 14:39.51.

“My strategy was going out in the front and staying with the front pack,” Nold said. “I knew they were going to be nervous in ‘the triangle.’ The triangle is the back of the course.”

The Sandwich boys made the state cut in Class 1A.

The Indians were in the back fourth of the 28-team field as Wyatt Miller led the way with his 37th-place showing.