Detweiler Park in Peoria has been the site for the IHSA cross country meet for fifty years… and what a day to celebrate, as we open up the races with Benet Academy competing in 2A.
2A Race
Wearing white tops and red bottoms near the left of the screen, as the gun goes off the redwings push to get off to a strong start competing against Kaneland, Dixon High school, St. Ignatius, and Morton.
First mile in and it’s a pretty tight pack with Charlie Smith, Sam Lange, and Anthony Farmer leading the way. The benet pack pacing quite well together as they pass in twos and threes with Sean Donnelly, Niklas Anderson, and Ben Grundman charge ahead.
Two and a half miles in and Antioch’s Charlie Smith has pulled in to the lead with Mortons Sam Lange and Burlington Centrals Anthony Farmer in second and third with quite a large gap between them and the rest of the runners.
Benet, pacing at about the middle is lead by Sean Donnelly, a few strides behind him is Anderson, and then Grundman.
To the finish for 2A and Antioch’s Charlie Smith crosses in 14 minutes 46 seconds. Morton’s Sam Lange crosses in 14 minutes 49 seconds and then Murlington Centrals Anthony Farmer. Best finish for the redwings is Sean Donnelly in 45th with a time of 15 minutes 48 seconds. Niklas Anderson crosses in 15 minutes 55 seconds while Grundman is Dominic Adams in 16 minutes 33 seconds. The wings finish in 9th out of 26 teams!
3A Race
Now on to three A. Another competitive race with a lot of local talent including the huskies from North, Nicholas Dovalovsky and Aidan Stone from Neuqua, Wes Betler and Zach Benzinger from WV and the entire Naperville Central team.
Final race of the day and the gun goes off. Naperville Central, in the polka dots and red shorts at the right of your screen and the individual neuqua and waubonsie runners are at the left.
First mile in and Herseys Josh Methner showing off his skills as he leads the way. Bolingbrooks Tyler Cushing at his heals and Lincoln-way centrals Jared Kreis also there. North’s Jake Allen leads a thicker pack a little while later that holds Neuqua’s Dovalovsky, Waubonsie’s Benzingers. Naperville Central’s Arthur Graham leads the way for the redhawks a little while later.
Mile two and half and Methner has only increased his lead with virtually no one behind him. They will come though as North’s Jake allen sits in fifth. Neuqua’s Dovalovsky checks his path behind him where WVs Zach Benzinger and North’s Tommy Paltzer run.
To the finish and what a historical one it is. On the fiftieth anniversary of the race being held at Detweiler, Hersey’s Josh Methner beats the state record in 13 minutes, 49 seconds for first place. The Notre Dame commit finished just one second ahead of the previous record, set in 1972.
Coming in two spots behind him would be North’s Jake Allen in 14 minutes 21 seconds, the top finish for the huskies. Wildcat Nicholas Dovalovsky just tops Zach Benzinger in 24th place in 14 minutes 47 seconds. North’s Paltzer, Chase Burrell, and Julian Head would all finish in the top 60. Naperville Central’s Arthur Graham would have the best finish for the redhawks in 15 minutes 18 seconds, behind him would be Nethan Ramachandran. The Huskies would have the best team finish from the area in 8th while Waubonsie Valley would grab 13th.
