ILXCTF – Mike Newman – News – Illinois High School XC Roadmap to the Weekend

Illinois High School XC Roadmap to the Weekend – September 22, 2023

By Michael Newman

This is a weekend where Illinois teams will be all over the Midwest. #5 Naperville North Girls, Rockton Hononegah, #11 Batavia, and #17 Yorkville will all head north to Minneapolis and the Roy Griak Invitational takes place on Friday. #15 Lyons Township Boys will head to the Culver Academies Invitational in Indiana. #19 Hinsdale Central Girls team and Warren Township head to Janesville, Wisconsin for the Midwest Invitational.

You can read about the Palatine Invitational Meet of Champions here. There are many meets that will take place over the next two days. Here is a look at where some of your favorite schools are heading to compete.

SJO Spartan Classic @ on the streets of St. Joseph

Girls Teams – 1A #1 Tolono Unity, 1A #5 Shelbyville, 1A #8 El Paso-Gridley, 1A #23 Monticello, 1A #25 Effingham St. Anthony, Armstrong, Arthur-Lovington, Bismarck-Henning, Carlinville, Chrisman, Decatur St. Teresa, Deer Creek-Mackinaw, Downs Tri-Valley, Fithian Oakwood, Heyworth, Liberty, Maroa-Forsyth, Neoga, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, St. Joseph-Ogden, St. Thomas More, Seeger IN, Sullivan, Teutopolis, Tuscola, Urbana University

Boys Teams – 1A #1 Tuscola, 1A #8 St. Joseph-Ogden, 1A #10 Pleasant Plains, 1A #12 El Paso-Gridley, 1A #16 Tolono Unity, 1A #20 Urbana University, 1A #24 Decatur St. Teresa, 1A #26 Toledo Cumberland, 1A #30 Monticello; Armstrong, Arthur-Lovington, Bismarck-Henning, Carlinville, Chrisman, Cowden-Herrick, Deer Creek-Mackinaw, Downs Tri-Valley, Effingham St. Anthony, Fithian Oakwood, Heyworth, Liberty, Maroa-Forsyth, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Pleasant Plains, St. Thomas More, Seeger IN, Shelbyville, Sullivan, Teutopolis

Notes – There are 9 Class 1A ranked teams in this field. Can any of the other 8 teams get close to Tuscola in this race. The Warriors could again take the top four runners in this race led by Jackson Barrett and Josiah Hortin. 5 runners in the top 10 is a good possibility. St. Joseph-Ogden, led by Carson Maroon, could be the closest team to Tuscola. #1 Tolono Unity headlines the teams in the Girls race. Shelbyville was a distant second to Tolono last week at Tuscola and could be the chief competition to the Rockets. The individual race should be a good one with Isabella Keller of St. Anthony racing for the win against Katie Foltz of Tuscola. Both runners have run under 17-minutes this season on a 3-mile cross-country course.