Week 3 Rankings

Class A Girls Team Rankings

Week 3 Rankings

1. Rockford Lutheran – They have opened many eyes after winning at Woodruff last week. They placed 5^th last year and look to have picked up where they left off last year. They run this weekend at the Bureau Valley Invite.
2. Elmwood Brimfield – A young team with a lot of potential. They finished 2^nd at Woodruff and look to avenge their loss to Lutheran at the Bureau Valley Invite this weekend.
3. Urbana U-High – A surprise team last weekend at Woodruff. Look for this team to improve as the season goes on.
4. Winnebago – If Thomas is healthy they would be our number 1 pick, but the fact is she is not healthy. This injury may put them on the bubble for a trophy.
5. Eureka – Did not run full strength last week at Woodruff, but look for them to turn some heads at the Bureau Valley Invite.
6. Rochester – Won their own invite last week against a strong PORTA Team.
7. PORTA – Second behind Rochester last week and looks at the Notre Dame Invite to be a measuring stick for the remainder of the season.
8. Oregon – Placed third behind a pair of AA schools at the Princeton Invitational. They get a little more taste of the AA action this week in the Notre Dame Invite.
9. Downs Tri Valley – Placed 5^th at Woodruff behind a couple strong individual performances. They run at Tuscola this coming weekend.
10. Rockford Christian – Ran super at Woodruff. This may be a nice sleeper pick as the season progresses. This week they run at Bureau Valley.
11. Pleasant Plains – Another surprise team behind a pair of potential All-Staters. They could be team to watch grow this year. 
12. Sherrard – Beat Monmouth early in the week, and backed it up with a nice performance at Princeton. They run at Bureau Valley this weekend.
13. Robinson – Faces their first big test this weekend at Olney.
14. Monmouth – Drops in rankings after losing to Sherrard and placing 7^th at Woodruff. This team hopes to bounce back this weekend at Dunlap.
15. Bureau Valley – After a decent run at Princeton, they hope to fair well at their own Invitational this weekend.

Class A Girls Individual Rankings

Week 3

1. Katelyn Bastert-Carthage (Sr.) Katelyn won the Woodruff Invite with a time of 17:35. She looks to be on her way to a 4^th straight state championship.                 
2. Stephanie Brown-Tri-Valley (So.) Was second behind Bastert at Woodruff, and seems to be running strong. Next week at Tuscola should be another big test for her.
3. Ryan Eichelberger-Reed Custer (Sr.) Won the Paxton Invite easily with a time of 18:55. Ryan is off this weekend.
4. Alisa Baron-Bureau Valley (Jr.) Off to a strong start this year and won the Princeton Invitational last weekend. Next week runs in the Bureau Valley Invitational.
5. Kerby Waddell-Monticello (Sr.) Third at Woodruff this week and get another chance against Brown at Tuscola this weekend.
6. Kelsee Viano-Carlinville (Sr.) Won the Rochester Invite last week and is headed up against AA competition this week in Peoria.
7. Rachael Gortowski-Winnebago (Sr.) Forth at Woodruff this week and does not run again for a couple weeks. 
8. Tara Pinkston-Robinson (Jr.) Easily won a small meet against Cumberland and Paris. Runs in the Olney Invitational this weekend.
9. Alex Palm-Winnebago (So.) After beating her teammate a week ago at Oregon, Alex was edged out by Rachael this week at Woodruff.
10. Olivia Klaus-Eureka (Jr.) Olivia did not run this week at Woodruff, but looks to gain respect back at Bureau Valley on Saturday.
11. Mary Buzzard-Rockford Lutheran (So.) Mary ran a great race at Woodruff putting her name in the hat for a top ten finish this year. This week she runs at Bureau Valley.
12. Hannah Helfner-Pleasant Plains (Jr.) Ran Viano tough at the Rochester Invite last week. She could be a sleeper in this year’s field.
13. Aftan Noon-Argenta Oreana (?) Lately Argenta seems to always have a good runner, and Noon is this year’s version. She ran great at Woodruff, and looks to build on her success. She is off this weekend.
14. Karin Wirth-Pleasant Plains (?) Wirth finished strong at Rochester last week, and only looks to improve.
15. Leanne Murphy-Rochester (Sr.) Leanne comes from a strong tradition of runners at Rochester. She finished just behind Wirth at her home Invite.
16. Claire Brown-PORTA (So.) Another runner who comes from a strong program. Claire ran good at Rochester and looks at a tough road at Peoria this weekend.
17. Sara Peters-Oregon (Fr.) Sara has ran well up to now this year, and finished 4^th behind a couple AA girls and Baron at Princeton. She gets to face a few more AA girls this weekend also as she travels to Peoria.
18. Haley Thomas-Winnebago (So.) Haley is nursing a Stress Reaction and has not run this year. We are hopeful she will make her return soon.
19. Shelbie Pettie-Sherrard (So.) Shelbie has struggled this year, but we are looking for her form that placed her 2^nd last year to resurface. She finished 12^th last week at Princeton, and runs this week at Bureau Valley
20. Ashley Thomasma-PORTA (Sr.) Ran strong at Rochester, and heads to Peoria this weekend to battle at the Notre Dame Invite.

Class A Boys

Week 3 Poll

1. Winnebago – Placed second at the Peoria Woodruff meet but had two or three of their top runners run at F/S or the Open race.  They are still a great team and deserving of the top spot.
2. Beecher – Won the Peoria Woodruff meet against some good competition.  This team continues to improve.
3. Elmwood Brimfield – Did surprising well for being a very young team by finishing third at the Peoria Woodruff meet.  This could be a talented team for years to come. 
4. Erie-Prophetstown-They won the Class A title at the Princeton Invitational.  They don’t have a great front-runner but their pack is very good and only getting better.  Another young team.
5. Westmont – They won their Westmont Invitational with their top two runners going first and second. 
6. Knoxville – This team finished third at the Peoria Woodruff meet and looks like a team that could challenge for a top five at state.  They finally have a full and healthy team.  Definitely a team to watch.
7. Ottawa Marquette – They finished second in the Class A division at the Princeton Invitational over a talented Oregon and Henry squad.  They ran most of their runners on the F/S ranks last year and built a quality team. 
8. Oregon – Coming off a disappointing finish at the Princeton Invitational, this team looks to improve on their performance at the Bureau Valley Invitational.  This team always runs exceptionally well early in the season.
9. Farmington – As long as Brad Wrage stays healthy, this team will perform very well.  This team surprised a few at state last year and this year could be no different. 
10. Rockford Christian – This team ran well at Peoria Woodruff and always seems to perform well at state.  If they can improve their fifth place runner, this will be a team to contend with.
11. Henry Midland – Robbie Shimp had a poor race at the Princeton Invitational and they lost one of their top three runners to their football team that may not win a game. 
12. Polo – This is a team that continues to surprise some people.  They have a great front-runner and a solid group of runners around him.  They could surprise some people this weekend at the Bureau Valley Invitational.
13. Eureka – This is another team that is depending on younger runners to run well.  As long as Charlton is the coach, this team will always contend for a top ten finish at state.
14. Robinson – They won their Quad meet easily over some decent competition.
15. Rochester – They run at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational on Saturday.

Meet of the Week:  Peoria Woodruff Cross Country Invitational – Some of the best teams in the state took part in a quality race at the state meet course.  Beecher ended up beating Winnebago to take the Class A title.  We also saw some quality young runners that will continue to improve as the year goes on.

Meet to Watch:  Bureau Valley Invitational – Most of the top fifteen teams in the state of Illinois will meet at Bureau Valley to compete in what looks like on paper one of the top Class A meets of the weekend.  Teams that will be competing: Elmwood, Knoxville,
Erie/Prophetstown, Henry, Polo, Rockford Christian, Eureka, Bureau Valley, Rockford Lutheran, and 14 other quality teams.  Top Individuals: Winter, Morse, Emerick, Block, Peterson, Moshier, Mickow, Shimp, Cook, and Donini.

Boys Class A Top Individuals

Week 2 Rankings

1.     Matt Feldhake – Effingham St. Anthony (Jr.) Won the Carterville Class A Invite with a time of 15:10. 

2.     Roger Pinon – Chicago Quigley Prep (Sr.)

3.     Aaron Winter – Rockford Lutheran (Sr.) Ran at the Peoria Woodruff Invitational and won over some pretty tough competition with a time of 15:37. He will be running at the Bureau Valley Invitational this Saturday.

4.     Matt Morse – St. Bede (Sr.) Placed first at a tough Princeton Invitational with a time of 15:48 which was faster than Dorian Ulrey’s time last year. He will also be running at the Bureau Valley Invitational on Saturday. 

5.     Trace Carlson – Oregon (Jr.) Finished third at the Princeton Invitational. He will be running at Peoria Notre Dame Invitational on Saturday.

6.     Brad Wrage – Farmington (Sr.) Finished 2^nd behind Aaron Winters at the Peoria Woodruff Invitational against some pretty tough competition.  He runs Saturday at the Dunlap Invitational.

7.     Dustin Emerick – Elmwood/Brimfield (Jr.) Finished a close third behind Brad Wrage from Farmington at Peoria Woodruff on Saturday. He runs at the Bureau Valley Invitational on Saturday.

8.     Parker Thompson – Tremont (So.)

9.     Brian Peterson – Fieldcrest (Jr.) Finished 4^th behind Trace Carlson at the Princeton Invitational. He runs at the Bureau Valley Invitational on Saturday.

10.   Garrett Nykaza – Beecher (Sr.) Another kid who put in a great performance at the Woodruff Invite. He is running for a team that could surprise a lot of people down at state. 

11.  Josh Mosier – Riverdale (Sr.) Continues to run well even without his running mate, Dorian Ulrey.  Finished 5^th behind some quality runners at Princeton. He runs at the Bureau Valley Invitational.

12.  Nathan Warstler – Georgetown Ridge Farm (Sr.)

13.  Brian Tyne – Polo (Sr.) Finished 6^th at the Princeton Invite behind some very good competition. He runs at the Bureau Valley Invitational on Saturday. 

14.  Brent Rhodes – Monticello (Jr.) Ran a phenomenal race to finish 5^th at Woodruff. This kid really could surprise some people late in the year. 

15.  Colin Mickow – Princeton (Jr.) Finished 7^th at the Princeton Invite. 

16.  Logan Block – Knoxville (Jr.) Ran well at the Woodruff Invitational.  Not a bad runner from a small school. 

17.  Kevin Caldwell – Beecher (Jr.)

18.  Dustin Cook – Rockford Christian (Jr.) Didn’t have that great of a race on Saturday and might possibly have an injury. 

19.  Charlie Butler – East Richland Olney (Jr.) Ran a great race on Saturday at the Peoria Invitational to finish 10^th.

20.  Sean Carmody – Winnebago (Sr.) This kid continues to run well as Trenton Tedrick continues to return from an injury. He is definitely one to watch as he leads one of the top teams in the area.