The Herald-News sports roundup for Saturday, Sept. 30

Girls cross country

Counihan, Knights win in St. Charles: At St. Charles, Lincoln-Way Central freshman Brea Counihan won the St. Charles North Invite in 18 minutes, 27.7 seconds, finishing over 40 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The Knights (55) topped Metea Valley (60) for the team championship in the 17-team event. Mia Forystek (fifth), Ava Dughetti (14th), Nancy Flais (19th) and Claire Carter (20th) all contributed for Lincoln-Way Central.

JCA’s Blotnik wins Mane Event: At Lisle, Joliet Catholic senior Claire Blotnik won the Lisle Mane Event, finishing in 19:25.8 - over eight seconds ahead of the runner-up, Margaret Andrzejewski of St. Francis (19:34.5). Blotnik led Joliet Catholic (195) to a sixth-place finish in the 21-team race. Jordan Reeves placed 30th and Annie Tibbott finished 39th for the Angels. Peotone (399) finished 14th, led by a 14th-place showing from Celeste Richards. Wilmington’s Brooklyn Flores finished 22nd.

O’Connor a champ, Seneca runner-up at La Salle County meet: At Streator, Seneca’s Evelyn O’Connor won the La Salle County meet with a time of 18:20.8. Gracie Steffes (third), and Julie Mueller (eighth) also placed in the top 10 for Seneca, leading the Irish to a runner-up finish in the team standings.

Lincoln-Way East seventh at Flight Classic: At Wheaton, Lincoln-Way East (182) finished seventh in the 10-team Wheaton North Flight Classic. Emma Walsh finished 25th in 21:22.52 to lead the Griffins. Elizabeth Ramirez placed 29th for Lockport.

Boys cross country

Lincoln-Way East runner-up at Locktoberfest: At Lockport, Lincoln-Way East (79) placed second at the Locktoberfest Invite, finishing behind only Riverside-Brookfield (68) in the 21-team field. Michael O’Brien led the Griffins, finishing second in 16:21.3. Daniel O’Connor placed 10th for Lincoln-Way East. Lockport (103) finished third, paced by a fourth-place showing from Nathan Powley. Lincoln-Way Central (124) was fifth, led by Evan Jensen in third, Braden Hoff in fifth and Jack Galminas in eighth. Plainfield North (212) placed seventh, Lemont (272) was 10th, Joliet Central (277) finished 11th, Plainfield South (352) was 14th, Lincoln-Way West (354) placed 15th and Bolingbrook (496) was 18th.

Seneca places fourth at La Salle County meet: At Streator, Seneca finished fourth at the La Salle County meet, led by Logan Pasakarnis, who finished eight in 18:32.1. Sebastian Deering placed 13th for Seneca.

Girls volleyball

Lincoln-Way Central finishes fourth at De La Salle: At Chicago, Lincoln-Way Central (14-10) went 3-2 to finish in fourth place at the De La Salle Tournament, beating Jones, Argo and Andrew and falling to De La Salle and Providence. Alyssa Teske earned all-tournament honors for the Knights, finishing with 52 assists, 14 digs and 24 kills in the event. Kiera King added 42 assists, 30 kills and 14 digs.

Minooka wins bronze bracket at Asics Challenge: At Chicago, Minooka (11-9) won the bronze bracket at the Asics Challenge, hosted by Mother McAuley and surrounding venues. After going 0-2 on Friday, Minooka swept its three matches Saturday, beating Cary-Grove 2-1, St. Charles East 2-0 and Wahlert (Iowa) 2-0. Brooklynne Brass had 51 kills, 34 digs and 12 blocks in the tournament, while Ava Valentin finished with 81 assists and Kennedi Brass had 64 digs.

Boys soccer

Lincoln-Way Central 2, Bradley-Bourbonnais 0: At Bradley, Jamison Stockrahm and John Roussakis scored goals for Lincoln-Way Central (11-1-1, 2-0) in the SouthWest Suburban Red win. Reilly Follett and Jackson Meyer had assists for the Knights, while Theodore Utz recorded the shutout.

Morris 5, Indian Creek 2: At Shabbona, Kalen Carver recorded a hat trick to lead Morris (9-7). Conner Ahern and Angel Valderrama also scored for Morris.