Crystal Lake Central’s Amana Omale and McHenry’s Myles Wagner were in a sprint to the finish line during the final moments of the varsity boys race at the 2025 Fox Valley Conference Cross Country Championship on Saturday.

Omale made the last turn with a slight lead and the senior gave everything he had down the final straightaway, winning the 3-mile race at McHenry County College with a time of 15:27.69 and leading Crystal Lake Central to the FVC boys title. Omale, who didn’t start running cross country until his sophomore year, was one of four Tigers to record top-15 finishes Saturday.

“It feels great,” Omale said. “I started cross country during my sophomore year and I told myself I would only do it for one year, but my teammates saw that I was good. I got better and to be a conference champion now is a gift.”

Chase Teresi (8th - 16:10.61), Ethan McMahon (11th - 16:16.99) and Reed Mihelich (13th - 16:18.31) supported the championship effort for Crystal Lake Central, which won the boys title with 60 points. Although overnight rain led to more challenging race conditions, Omale said that a consistent pace at the start and a kick over the final 200 meters helped seal his win.

“When the gun went off, everyone went out really hard,” Omale said. “We went out at 5:05-ish and then 10:25, so I knew that I would have a kick if I could maintain the lead. I did just that and my speed over the last 200 is what mattered. Going into the woods, it was really muddy, so I had to watch my step since I didn’t want to slip or get spiked by someone behind me.”

Wagner crossed the line shortly after Omale, taking second in 15:30.75 to lead McHenry to third out of 10 teams with 84 points. The Warriors posted three top-10 finishers Saturday morning, with Nate Martin (5th - 16:02.54) and Jaxon Berry (9th - 16:12.72) aiding McHenry’s team performance. A smart start and an aggressive approach sparked Wagner’s strong outing.

“I just wanted to do what I’ve been doing all year, which is going out smart and moving up,” Wagner said. “That was my goal today. I didn’t care where I was at the mile since I knew I was going to move up and attack the last mile with everything I had... There were a couple moments where I slipped, but I had a really good mindset and treated it like any other race.”

Behind a quartet of top runners including Joseph Sittler (7th - 16:06.24), Andrew Raistrick (12th - 16:17.72), Mark Omoniyi (15th - 16:21.27) and Joseph Zawacki (17th - 16:22.47), Huntley placed second with 72 points. Despite finishing 10th with 210 points, Dundee-Crown received a stellar effort from Logan Grey, who took third overall with a time of 15:49.09.

“I’m ecstatic,” Grey said. “I was seeded eighth, so I knew I had nothing to lose and I was just going to gun for it. I chased the pack in the first mile and at the 0.75 mark, I just went for it... I went up with the lead pack and every time I saw an opening, I told myself to move up. I slowly started picking guys off. When I got to the leader, I didn’t let him fade away.”

Thomas Henry (6th - 16:03.85) and Steven Randles (10th - 16:13.55) led Prairie Ridge to fourth, while Joseph Gonzalez (4th - 16:00.52) and Logan Aarseth (16th - 16:21.62) propelled Crystal Lake South to fifth. Hudson Cuplin (14th - 16:21.16) carried Hampshire to sixth place and Nathan Pierzchalski (19th - 16:23.48) lifted Jacobs to seventh place on Saturday.

On the girls side, Huntley claimed the FVC crown this season, finishing first with 49 points behind four top-15 runners including Isabella Ciesla (3rd - 18:05.46) and Haley Rahman (4th - 18:18.77). Morgan Sauber (7th - 18:38.66) and Cori Kilvinger (11th - 19:10.92) aided the Red Raiders, who soared past Jacobs, Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake South for the title.

“I felt like I raced pretty well,” Ciesla said. “I wanted to get up there for our team to do well in the meet and I was happy that I was up there. The course wasn’t as bad as I thought, but there were some slippery parts that were hard to get up fast. Other than that, it was a pretty good course with a lot of sharp turns. I had to get out fast because the start narrowed down fast.”

Two underclassmen battled for the victory, with Prairie Ridge sophomore Emaline Foster and Jacobs freshman Lennox Szymonik running stride for stride throughout the 3-mile race. The only two girls to clock in under 18 minutes, Foster surged ahead down the stretch, winning in 17:18.19 to lead the Wolves to third with 85 points. Szymonik took second in 17:31.04.

“It feels really good,” Foster said. “I wasn’t really expecting that. I didn’t want to go out as strong and I wanted to keep my energy for my kick at the end. The turns and the mud were hard and the turns psyched me out, but I was really good at staying relaxed and I just tried to keep a good pace. The rain definitely slowed a lot of people down because it was really slippery.”

With Szymonik’s runner-up finish, Jacobs placed second with 74 points. Four Golden Eagle athletes including Dani Soto (12th - 19:11.49), Matylda Maciejczyk (18th - 19:31.93) and Mackenzie Cronin (20th - 19:48.63) landed in the top 20 on Saturday. Anneke Dam (6th - 18:38.60) and Maia Lancaster (9th - 18:58.52) helped Prairie Ridge secured third place.

“It definitely wasn’t my best effort and my time wasn’t what I wanted it to be,” Szymonik said. “I went out a little easy in the first two miles and that hurt me in the last mile. … There was a really slippery hill that had no grass and that was pretty hard, but I just tried to attack the hill and not fall. I tried to stay with Emmie in the first two miles and outkick her in the last mile.”

Caroline Lucas (10th - 19:05.00) and Laynie Ripley (17th - 19:28.31) led Crystal Lake South to fourth place in Saturday’s race. Addison Davis (15th - 19:25.22) propelled Burlington Central to fifth, while Alexandra Santoyo (8th - 18:40.85) steered Cary-Grove to seventh place. Reese Long (5th - 18:29.33) and Annabelle Haskins (14th - 19:23.18) earned top-15 times for Hampshire, which had four runners finish and didn’t post a team score.

Lilly Shade (16th - 19:27.33) and Gwen Kidd (19th - 19:41.70) topped Crystal Lake Central, which took sixth on Saturday. Kennedy Harding (13th - 19:20.35) and Lexi Danz (22nd - 19:55.76) led McHenry to eighth place.