2023 Naperville Twilight Invitational Preview

Downers Grove North looks for the team sweep

 

By Michael Newman

 

The end of both Varsity races could be a sea of purple at the finish. Both Downers Grove North teams have been running exceptionally well all season and put themselves in position in this meet that will be contested one moth before the IHSA State Meet is held on November 4. 12 ranked teams out of the 17 team field in the Girls race and 10 ranked teams in the top 19 will be featured in the Boys race.

 

Electricity will be in the air under the lights on the campus of Naperville North High School. The first race of this meet begins at 4:30 PM in the afternoon with races beginning every 30 minutes. The meet concludes with the Girls Varsity race at 7:30 PM and the Boys race at 8:00 PM

 

Live Results

 

Girls Varsity Race – 7:30 PM 12 ranked teams

Team Previews

 

Downers Grove North

Notes – Currently ranked #4 in Class 3A. The pack running from the Trojans could secure their first team win in this meet. North has won five of six invitational meets that they have competed in this season. Lily Eddington and McKenzie Willard have been the top runner for their team most of the season with Sarah Paul, Audrey Casten, and Alayna Todnem in their top five last week at the Solorio Sun Invitational. In that race, their team top five split was just 21 seconds. The split was 23 seconds at the Richard Spring Invitational on September 16 without Eddington in the lineup and 31 seconds at the Palatine Meet of Champions when they finish third. Allowing 10 runners per team in this race will benefit the depth of the Trojans. Only two teams have finished ahead of them this season. This team would like to keep that record that way in this meet.

 

Naperville Central

Notes – Currently ranked #5 in Class 3A. This could be the breakthrough race that the Redhawks have been looking for this season. Liv Phillips has been the hot runner for her team all season with her latest race coming last Saturday at Terre Haute finishing eighth. She will be among the individual favorites in this race. The Naperville Girls Invitational was the team’s last race on September 22 where they edged a good Wheaton North team by five points. Phillips won that race with Lola Satre-Morales and Ava Hendren crossing the line together. Abby Mogg and Becca Liaw were the team’s fourth and fifth runners in that race. Their split off Phillips will be big on their top five. The pack in their last race had a 52 second split on their 2-5 runners. Central will be among the top five teams in this meet. Their pack split needs to come down for this team to finish among the first three teams.

 

Naperville North

Notes – Currently ranked #7 in Class 3A. The Huskies did not run their best race at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota  but still finished fourth overall. Naperville North traditionally bounces back after racing at Griak. Wednesday’s race should be one of those times. Julie Piot finished 13 in her last race and will challenge for a top five finish in this race. Teammate Shania Tandon was 34 seconds behind Piot in Minnesota and 21 seconds at First to the Finish. Tandon should be among the top 10 in this meet. Emma Berres and Rianna Tandon did not have their best races in Minnesota fading in the final mile of the race. Watch for both runners to have bounce back races on their home course. Brynn Pfeiffer was the team’s third runner at Griak and should give the team a boost in this meet. Annika Lovisa and Sennah Rashidian could be in the team’s top five giving the Huskies depth. Their split between 3-5 in their last race was just six seconds. The gap from Piot/Tandon to that group was 54 seconds at First to the Finish and 61 seconds at Griak. Closing that gap on the front runners puts the Huskies among the top three teams.

 

Minooka

Notes – Currently ranked #10 in Class 3A. The Indians are ready to finish ahead of one of the Naperville schools in this race. Maya Ledesma has been the team’s top runner this fall and is in position to finish in the top 10. Minooka edged Huntley in their last race at the Macnider Invitational on September 23. Taya Gummerson has been a solid #2 runner for the team and will again lead the pack behind Ledesma in this race. Four runners could challenge for top five spots including Natalie Nahs, Kylie Myers, Cassie Brushaber, and Liana Blount. The team had an 86 second split on six runners in that race. It was 31 seconds between Hahs and Blount. The Indians need the pack to get closer to Gummerson in this meet. Gummerson will need to stay within 25 seconds of Ledesma. Minooka could finish in the top three. They could finish as low as seventh with this many ranked teams in this meet.

 

Wheaton-Warrenville South

Notes – Currently ranked #11 in Class 3A. The Tigers did not run their top two runners Nicole Poglitsch and Frida Martinez in their meet last Saturday in the Solorio Sun Invitational resting them for Wednesday night’s race. Their third through fifth runners ran great at Solorio boosting the team in the state rankings. A top five finish is capable for this team. Poglitsch is having a tremendous season heading into October and should be among the top five runners in the state. Mackenzie Armstrong ran a 40 second personal best in her last race and could be close to Martinez leading the pack. The split between Armstrong, Jenna Bachara, and Abby Barrett was just 18 seconds on Saturday. A tight pack could mean big things for this team in this race. The key in this race is keeping their split from Poglitsch to the pack under 60 seconds for the Tigers to challenge for a top five finish.

 

Lyons Township

Notes – Currently ranked #13 in Class 3A. This pack running oriented team could have all of their expected top seven in this race. Their pre-season projected top seven could be on the line in this race with the return of Shannon Cranny to racing. Cranny has yet to race this season due to an injury. The Lions last race with their varsity lineup finished seventh at Palatine. Julianne Melby was the top runner 30 seconds ahead of a pack that included Anna Bylsma, Lauren Bohringer, Leigh Ferrell, and Madison Findley. That group was only 28 seconds apart from each other. The addition of Cranny in this race will give the Lions a boost. Lyons Township getting their top seven within 50 seconds of each other could put them close to a top five finish.

 

Glenbard West

Notes – Currently ranked #14 in Class 3A. We may not see a runner in the top 20 for West. They will have a solid pack to make that up. The Hilltoppers ran in the Wheaton North Flight Classic last Saturday. Their last team invitational race was at the Richard Spring Invitational on September 16 where they finished 9th out of 61 teams. Sophie Mitra was the teams top runner in that race. Glenbard West did not have a runner in the top 50 at Detweiller Park on that day. They did run a 29 second split on their top seven runners which included Alexa Novak, Mackenzie Gilbert, Moira Ahern, Ella Demchinski, Elayna Boeh, and Maia Kaslewicz. Their top five split was just 18 seconds in that race. It could be a pack like that could get West among the top five teams in this meet.

 

Yorkville

Notes – Currently ranked #17 in Class 3A. The Lady Foxes went out hard in their last race at the Roy Griak Invitational putting them in third at the mile. They ended up finishing seventh overall in that race. It would not surprise me if Yorkville finishes among the top five or even in the top three.  The Lady Foxes had a top five split of 97 seconds. The split on Sophia Keeler, Annabelle Reeder, and Ashley Schraeder was 32 seconds. Allegra Triner and Liliana Camargo lead the rest of the team’s pack that will need to be within 20-25 seconds of their top three runners for a good finish from the Lady Foxes.

 

Plainfield North

Notes – Currently ranked #21 in Class 3A. The Tigers have been among the top 30 ranked in Class 3A most of this season. There is a good chance that North could finish in the top half of this 17 team field. Plainfield North finished fifth in the high powered Naperville Girls Invitational behind freshman Marlie Czarniewski who finished fifth in that race. She could finish in the top 15 on Wednesday. The split on the next four runners in that race behind Czarniewski which included Kaitlyn Ward, Tessa Russo, and Emaan Hussain was 58 seconds. That gap needs to get smaller within that quartet. Keeping that pack within 35-40 seconds of Czarniewski will be something to watch in this race.

 

Metea Valley

Notes – Currently ranked #25 in Class 3A. The Mustangs ran a strong race last Saturday finishing second at St. Charles North. Maya Hall was the top runner last Saturday with Kamea Baker and Keira Nelson within 10 seconds of Hall. The team ran a 24 second split in that race. The week before at Harvest Christian Academy, Metea Valley finished second again with a 31 second split led by Baker.

 

Batavia

Notes – Currently ranked #27 in Class 3A. This team is young with eight of their top ten runners underclassmen. Freshmen Gwendolyn Krodel and Avery Hacker both ran 18:28 at First to the Finish on September 9. Their last varsity race came at Roy Griak on September 22. Their top five split in that race was 58 seconds. This is a growing race for the Bulldogs that could gain confidence from this meet.

 

Rockton Hononegah

Notes – Currently ranked #28 in Class 3A. The last race for the Indians came last Saturday at Niles West where they finished third with Kylie Simpson and Allyson Niedfeldt running side-by side. That was better than their race before that at Roy Griak were separated by 20 seconds when they finished 29th. Their top five split last Saturday was 2 min 49 sec.

 

Neuqua Valley

Notes – The Wildcats ran at the Lisle Mane Event last Saturday without racing their top seven in that race. Neuqua Valley finished 13 out of 27 teams at the Palatine Meet of Champions. Elizabeth Hall and Addison Guskey are the front runners for their team. They were separated by five seconds at Palatine. The top three split with Olivia Dalson was 45 seconds. Their top five split in the Palatine race was 106 seconds.

 

Oak Park-River Forest

Notes – Oak Park finished 16th in their last race at the Palatine Meet of Champions. Lenny Sterritt has been the team’s top runner this fall. The senior could be among the top 20 individual runners in this race. Senior Anna Lynch and junior Alana Gerona lead a pack that was separated by 49 seconds. The gap between Sterritt and the group was over 90 seconds. The hope is for both splits to lower to finish among the top 10 teams.

 

Waubonsie Valley

Notes – The Warriors have run stronger with every race and will look for another strong effort Wednesday night. Waubonsie finished fourth last Saturday at St. Charles North led by the third-place finish from freshman Mia Bertolini. Lily Babiak and Katherine Heap give the Warriors a strong top three. Baibak was behind Bertolini by 21 seconds with another 28 seconds separating Baibak and Heap. Their overall top five split last Saturday was 2 min 35 sec.

 

Lane Tech

Notes – The last race for the Champions was at the Mather Invitational #3 where they won the team title in this 2-mile race. Sophie Mullins, Lucy McNally, and Ainsley Carter give this team a strong top three. Their last 3-mile race was at the Richard Spring Invitational where Lane Tech placed 31st. The team had a 49 split on their top five led by McNally running 19:13.

 

Geneva

Notes – The Vikings last race was last Saturday at the Wheaton North Falcon Classic. Sofia Borter finished second in the championship race and could finish in the top 10 in this meet. Geneva finished third at Rock River Run on September 23 led by Borter finishing second with Taylor Peahl leading a 2-5 pack that had over a 90 second split separating the four runners.

 

Downers Grove South

Notes – The Mustangs was among the top 10 3A teams last Saturday at the Peoria Invitational finishing eighth overall. Holly Johnson had not raced since she ran 17:49 at Hinsdale Central on September 2. The heat got to her in this race finishing 36th. A healthy Johnson could have her among the top 10 runners in this race. Sophie Ring led a 54 second split on the 2-5 pack behind Johnson.

 

Girls Race Notes – The last time that Mia Kotler of Latin School and Liv Phillips raced against each other was a month ago at Hinsdale Central when Kotler led from the start winning by 20 seconds. Phillips has been on a roll of late setting a new course record at Channahon Park on September 16 and then finishing eighth last Saturday at the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational where she finished eighth. Kotler has only raced twice this season winning at Hinsdale and running the fastest Girls time of the day two weeks ago at Culver Academies Invitational on September 23.

 

It will be a close race behind Kotler and Phillips. Nicole Poglitsch finished fifth just ahead of Lily Eddington and Mackenzie Willard. They will challenge for top five finishes with Julie Piot, Sofia Borter, and Shania Tandon.

 

Boys Varsity Race – 8:00 PM

Team Previews

 

Downers Grove North

Notes – Currently the top ranked team in Class 3A. It is hard to see any of this 19 team field getting close to the Trojans in this meet as they have won their four invitationals they have raced in. Their last race where they ran their top runners came at First to the Finish on September 9. They only scored 39 points in that meet with Ryan Eddington, Caden Weber, Grant Schroder, and Phillip Cupial all under 15-minutes with a 29 second top five split. How much better is team now than they were in their last full race at Detweiller Park? We will have an idea by the end of the meet on Wednesday. They are allowed to run 10 runners in this race. The Trojans could place 5 runners in the top 12. How many of those 10 runners will finish in the top 25?

 

Plainfield North

Notes – Currently ranked #5 in Class 3A. This team has been consistent being among the top 10 all season. The Tigers were 83 points behind Downers North at First to the Finish. How much closer will  they get in this meet. Plainfield North’s last race came at the Palatine Meet of Champions where they finished second behind cross-town rival Plainfield South. Thomas Czerwinski stepped up as the team’s top runner and someone that will be among the leaders in races. The sophomore ran 14:43 to finish sixth in that race. Quinn Davis and Owen Stahl gives North a solid 2-3 runner. The 3-pack was only separated by 28 seconds. There was too big of a gap behind the first three with Aidan Connors and Gavin Hall separated by 12 seconds and 35 seconds behind Stahl. This team is young with three sophomores and a junior in the top five. They way they are racing does not show their youth.

 

Oak Park-River Forest

Notes – Currently ranked #6 in Class 3A. The Huskies were not at full strength in their last meet at Palatine when they finished ninth overall. Oak Park was without their top two runners Finn Kelly and Lewis O’Connor for the Richard Spring Invitational. Their split at Palatine without the Kelly and O’Connor was 55 seconds. The split with their full lineup was just 22 seconds. Daniel Johnson, Liam O’Connor, Michael Michelotti, and Andrew Harmon are part of the pack that earned them second at Richard Spring. The Huskies ran a final strong final mile to move from fourth to second in Peoria. Getting two runners in before Plainfield North’s third runner crosses the line could get Oak Park second-place in this meet.

 

Neuqua Valley

Notes – Currently ranked #9 in Class 3A. The Wildcats did not have their best race of the season finishing seventh at Palatine on September 23 after finishing fifth the week before at the Richard Spring Invitational. A plus for the team has been the improvement of senior Robert Glenn closer to teammate Zac Close who ran 14:22 at Palatine. Glenn ran 14:45 in that Peoria race. The Wildcats have a solid pack from the third through six spots with 17 seconds separating Tony Hinderliter, Antony Pastore, Joshua Nauman, and Ryan Adamski. The four were with 41 seconds of Glenn.  The split between Pastore and Hinderliter at Palatine from 3-5 was 12 seconds. Close could be one of the individual favorites in this race, Glenn could finish in the top 10. The pack needs to be within 45 seconds of each other to finish in the top three teams.

 

Lyons Township

Notes – Currently ranked #10 in Class 3A. The Lions ran a solid race last Saturday at the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational moving them up to #10 in the Class 3A State rankings led by a top 25 finish from Nick Strayer. It is a good bet that we will not see their top seven in the Varsity race. None of their top seven is entered in this meet as they gear up for next week’s WSC-Silver Championships.

 

Naperville Central

Notes – Currently ranked #13 in Class 3A. The last race for the Redhawks came at the Midwest Invitational in Wisconsin. Naperville Central finished second just two points behind Oconomowoc WI led by Tyler Browning finishing ninth. The pack for Central was tough with 42 seconds separating all seven runners in that race. Nick Kamp led the pack with Max Henge and Patrick Clune within 13 seconds of each other. Julian Brozek, Manuel Najera, and Foster Shelbert were all nine seconds back of their top four. This could be the surprise team in this meet. Do not be shocked if the Redhawks are among the top three teams in this race.

 

Yorkville

Notes – Currently ranked #24 in Class 3A. The Foxes are looking for a bounce back race after finishing 21st at the Roy Griak Invitational on September 22. Jake Younger and Owen Horeni have been the top two runners this season. It was Horeni who was the top runner in Minnesota as he finished 21 seconds ahead of Younger. Lukas Summers, Brody Greyer, and Ben Kieffer were separated by 23 seconds and within 34 seconds of Younger. A top five split under 60 seconds could get the Foxes close to a top five finish.

 

Glenbard West

Notes – Currently ranked #25 in Class 3A. Unranked at the beginning of the season, the Hilltoppers have improved with every race. West did not run most of their top seven at Locktoberfest last Saturday. Their last race came at the Macnider Invitational where they finished second six points behind then ranked Aurora West. Glenbard West has been interchangeable up front. Graham Faris was their top runner in that race. The Hilltoppers had a 37 second split with Anthony Nitti, Ryan Fader, Julian Hernandez, and Liam Grady separated by 22 seconds. Glenbard West should be among the top half of the standings. Sixth place or higher is a good possibility.

 

Lane Tech

Notes – Currently ranked #27 in Class 3A. Lane Tech is a team that could surprise in this race. They ran in the Mather XC Invitational #3 where their top runner Will Kozlowski set a new meet record of 9:37.8 for 2-miles. The last 3-mile race for the Champions came at the Richard Spring Invitational where they finished 15th. Kozlowski ran 14:45 in that meet and could challenge for a top five finish in this race. Their split was big in that race with a 2-5 split of 49 seconds led by Brendan Bradish and followed by Paul Neely, Eli Berlin, and Tristan Wong. Their overall split off Kozlowski’s finish was 89 seconds.

 

Hinsdale Central

Notes – Currently ranked #29 in Class 3A. The Red Devils have improve in their two races at Peoria and Palatine after a not so good start on their home course. Defending 3A State Champion Aden Bandukwala will be among the favorites in this race. Their pack is slowly getting closer as they get closer to state series meets. Max Lowe leads that pack with Nikita Kamenev, Evan Kurimay, and Quinn Doorhy were within 44 seconds of each other, but 49 seconds behind Bandukwala. Michael Gamboa did not run at Palatine. The addition of him in their top five could give the Red Devils a boost.

 

Naperville North

Notes – The Huskies will be on their home course and could get to a top half of the standings if they run their younger runners up in the Varsity race. Not all of their top seven runners ran last Saturday at Locktoberfest including Ammar Bhanpuri who ran 14:49 at the Richard Spring Invitational. Jack Robertz will lead the pack behind Bhanpuri in this race.

 

Metea Valley

Notes – The Mustangs are coming off a great race last Saturday when they finished second at St. Charles North led by a top 10 finish from Austin Brown. Metea Valley could surprise some in this race. Their 2-5 split led by Nathan Behr was just seven seconds. Their top five split was still good at 44 seconds.

 

Minooka

Notes – The Indians readied themselves for this meet by finishing third at the Macnider Invitational on September 23. Tyler Herrera has stepped up as the team’s top runner. Nico Cimino was seven seconds behind Herrera giving the team a solid 1-2. The top five split at Macnider was 51 seconds. It could get this team in the top nine in this meet if both Herrera and Cimino finish among the top 30 runners.

 

Downers Grove South

Notes – The Mustangs are young but are coming off a good race finishing 15th last Saturday at the Peoria Invitational. Josh Poeschel finished 11th in that race and could be among the top 20 runners in this race. Sophomores John Clinton and Ethan Traugott lead the pack behind Poeschel. Clinton trailed their top runner by 35 seconds last Saturday.

 

Batavia

Notes – Batavia did not run their full team last week at St. Charles North. The last race for the Bulldogs came at Bartlett on September 23 where they finished fifth. Ethan Storie and Alejandro Jacob were the top runners for their team that had a 24 second split in their top four runners but an 89 second split on their top five.

 

Rockton Hononegah

Notes – Hononegah makes their first appearance in this meet. The Indians competed last week in Peoria finishing 17 out of 44 teams. Nicolo Altamore and Landon Samuelson were separated by just 5 seconds giving this team a solid 1-2 pack. The team had a 65 second split at Detweiller Park and would like to lower that split in this race.

 

Jones College Prep

Notes – Jones finished 25th at the Richard Spring Invitational on September 16 led by Sam Berlinghof running 14:53 and Spencer Dixon 29 seconds behind his teammate running 15:22. Their top five split in that race was close to two minutes. They ran a different lineup the following week placing 26th out of 30 teams. Berlinghof was the team’s top runner with a 16:53 time.

 

Geneva

Notes – Geneva’s last varsity race came at Rock River Run on September 23 where they finished sixth. Julian Hipp was the team’s top runner finishing fourth and running 16:03.  Their pack, led by Dominic Ross, was 49 seconds behind Hipp and had a 2-5 split of 36 seconds.

 

Waubonsie Valley

Notes – This team has gone through a tough early season with a core of their Varsity top seven riddled with injuries. They will have only two runners racing with Austin McInturff and Tyler Heap possibly finishing in the top 40. It is hoped that their full lineup will be intact by next week and the DuPage Valley Conference Meet.

 

Boys Race Notes – Aden Bandukwala and Zac Close started the season racing against each other at Katherine Legge Memorial. Bandukwala won that race by a second. Close has the advantage after that race finishing ahead of Bandukwala at both the Richard Spring Invitational and Palatine. Close did not run his best race of the season at Palatine after running 14:22 at Richard Spring. There will be more than some Downers Grove North runners led by Ryan Eddington and Caden Weber. Both could win this race and maybe break the course record in the process. Will Kozlowski will push the pace early putting himself near the front at the end of the race.