Sectionals no breather for some runners

Loyola's Nico Composto took first and York's Andrew Smith second in the Palatine Invitational.
(Stacia Timonere/For the Sun-Times)

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For the state's elite cross-country individuals and teams, the only race that matters will be Nov. 7 at Peoria's Detweiller Park.

Sandburg sophomore Lukas Verzbicas will be looking to do what Neuqua Valley's Chris Derrick almost did two years ago: break Craig Virgin's 37-year-old course record of 13:50.6.

In what shapes up as a heated three-way boys team race in Class 3A, top-ranked Loyola will be trying to win not only its first state championship, but its initial state trophy; No. 2 Neuqua Valley will be trying to snag its second state title in three seasons; and No. 3 York will try to give coaching legend Joe Newton his state-record 27th title.

On the girls side, Geneva is looking to become the first team to win three straight big-school titles since Palatine's four-peat from 1989 to '92.

Those runners can treat this Saturday's sectionals as tuneups, rather than survival tests. Barring something unforeseen, they won't have a problem advancing as one of the top five teams and seven individuals in each sectional.

But other teams and individuals don't have that luxury. For more than a few, it'll take one of their best races of the year just to extend the season another week.

One coach who's taking nothing for granted is Jose Sosa, whose Oak Park boys had a close race against neighborhood rival Fenwick at last Saturday's Fenwick Regional, winning 26-32. Oak Park came into the race ranked No. 8 in 3A by Dyestatil.com, two spots above Fenwick.

"I was looking at Dyestat and there are seven of the top 11 teams in the state in our sectional (at Niles West)," Sosa said. "So there are going to be two very disappointed teams."

Here's a look at what to expect at the state's five Class 3A sectionals:

Niles West: As Sosa said, this is the state's toughest qualifier on the boys side. Start out with Loyola and York, who will meet for the second time this season. The Ramblers won their first showdown, 47-56 at the Palatine Invitational on Sept. 26. York's Adam Cecil missed that meet because of an injury and didn't run at last week's Lake Park Regional, but he is on the Dukes' postseason roster.

Also chasing one of the five boys qualifying spots are No. 7 Maine South, Oak Park, Fenwick and No. 11 New Trier.

Four-time defending champ York, ranked No. 4 by Dyestat heading into the regional, is the girls favorite. Senior-dominated Whitney Young, ranked 15th and led by Lavinia Jurkiewicz, is another team to watch.

Schaumburg: As Niles West is to the boys state series, so Schaumburg is on the girls side. Dubbed the "sectional of death" by Dyestat, it'll be yet another showdown for top teams from the Mid-Suburban League, which is by far the state's toughest conference. In the field here are No. 1 Prospect, No, 2 Palatine, No. 3 Schaumburg, No. 5 Hoffman Estates, No. 8 Barrington, No. 19 Rolling Meadows and No. 24 Hersey.

No. 4 Palatine and No. 5 Prospect are the class of the boys field.

Lockport: Two weeks ago at the SouthWest Suburban meet, Sandburg's Verzbickas just missed breaking Derrick's course record on Lockport's challenging Dellwood Park layout. Verzbickas, who ran 15:17.00 for 5,000 meters (Derrick went 15:15), gets another chance at this sectional.

He'll also be trying to help the young Eagles get back to Detweiller as a team. At last week's Marist Regional, Sandburg had one senior (Kyle Meyer), two juniors (Mike Tortorelli), a sophomore (Mitch Rees) and a freshman (Pat McMahon) in their top five. Verzbicas sat out that race with an ailing left Achilles' tendon, but is expected back this week.

Senior-strong Neuqua Valley, which scored a perfect 15 in the Upstate Eight meet and 22 at last week's Bolingbrook Regional, is a prohibitive team favorite. Host Lockport is a team to watch on its home course.

Sandburg and Lyons figure to lead the girls pack.

St. Charles East: Junior front-runner Kelly Whitley and Geneva kicked off their three-peat quest by sweeping the top five places at last week's West Aurora Regional. The Viking girls will face more competition this week from the likes of Wheaton Warrenville South, which beat Naperville North each of the past two weeks at the DuPage Valley meet and Naperville North Regional.

The boys race also features a defending state champ in Naperville North, which should be in the team mix along with Wheaton North, WW South, St. Charles North and Geneva among others.

Normal West: Minooka's boys and Lincoln-Way East's girls both are coming off regional wins heading into this far-flung sectional, which stretches from the south suburbs to the Metro East area.

Have a comment or story tip? E-mail Sun-Times cross-country writer Mike Clark at mclark@suntimes.com