A beautiful day for a run in the early season boys cross country Hornet/Red Devil Invite. What is always one of the premiere meets of the opening month features teams like Neuqua Valley, Naperville North, Naperville Central, Metea Valley, Oswego East and of course the c0-hosts, Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South. This highlight is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
Race Start
A giant pack to start with 20 teams in attendance. Naperville North led by Colin Corcoran, Gabe Russell and Sean Chilcoat. Metea Valley sees Sam Urbon near the front with teammates Austin Brown and Nathan Behr working to stay close as well.
1st Mile
Andrew Katsogianos with the early lead for Mt. Prospect with a large group of runners from Palatine led by Mason Krieg and Jack Casaccio along with plenty of Hinsdale Central runners like Dan Watcke, Micahel Skora, Jesse Gamboa and Aden Bandukwala.
2nd Mile
Approaching mile two, it’s many of the same names still leading with Neuqua Valley’s Zac Close near the front with teammate Robert Glenn staying close and fellow Wildcats like Andres Lopez and Nick Castrillon not far behind. Logan Brown and Ryan Palmer also near the top 40.
Naperville Central looking for a top five team finish as Luke Noren, Lucas De la Cruz, Tyler Browning and Thomas Mack lead the Redhawks. Sam Urbon from Metea on pace to crack the top 20.
Final Lap
Entering the home stretch, Hinsdale Central senior Dan Watcke and Parker Nold from Oswego East are neck and neck with Zac Close and Minooka’s Zach Balzer still in the hunt.
Finish
At the finish it’s Watcke winning the boys Hornet/Red Devil Invite for a second consecutive year at 14:56. Parker Nold just holds off a charging Zac Close for second place. Hinsdale Central takes the team victory as well with four runners in the top 20. Neuqua Valley finishes in second place and Oswego East takes third. New Trier ends up in 4th place with Naperville Central in 5th.
You can find the full race results HERE!
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
