Girls Regional Rankings - 9/22/2022

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

There were a pair of shifts atop the regional rankings, as a result of matchups involving the top two teams in Illinois Class 3A and Texas Class 6A.

Prospect High edged York by a 53-54 margin Sept. 17 at the Richard Spring Invitational at prestigious Detweiller Park in Peoria, relying on its significant strength up front.

Prospect placed three athletes in the top nine in comparison to only one for York.

Senior Hailey Erickson of Prospect took third on the 3-mile layout in 17 minutes, 10.2 seconds, just ahead of York senior Bria Bennis in 17:15.8.

Prospect also had sophomore Veronica Znajda finish fifth in 17:24.7 and freshman Meg Peterson take ninth in 17:41.3.

Although York had the next three competitors cross the finish line, with juniors Michaela Quinn (17:41.7) and Katherine Klimek (17:42.3) placing 10th and 11th, as well as senior Brooke Berger earning 13th in 17:49.8, Prospect followed with senior Samantha Patterson finishing 14th in 17:51.5.

York rounded out its lineup with freshman Lily Bianchi taking 21st in 18:12 and Prospect capped its scoring with senior Cameron Kalaway in 28th in 18:16.6. York would have prevailed had the final outcome resulted in a tiebreaker, with its sixth and seventh runners both placing ahead of Prospect’s No. 6 scorer, but the Knights were able to prevail in a thrilling early season showdown.

Southlake Carroll earned a measure of revenge against Flower Mound for a 16-point setback Sept. 3 at the Marcus Coach T Invitational in Denton, Texas, by placing second overall Sept. 16 with 107 points in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic at Great Park in Irvine, Calif.

Flower Mound was fifth with 178 points, with junior standout Nicole Humphries colliding with a post that was lining the course late in the race, resulting in her falling back from fourth at the 2-mile mark to 46th overall.

Even if Nicole Humphries had remained in her same spot to finish the race, with junior twin sister Samantha Humphries taking third on the 3-mile course in 16:03.2, it wouldn’t have been enough to knock off Southlake Carroll.

Alexandra Walsh, a junior, was fourth in 16:03.5 for the Dragons, with Ava Bushaw finishing 15th in 16:20.9, fellow senior Audrey Dunn placing 26th in 16:42.0, junior Sylvia Schwedler earning 32nd in 16:47.8 and sophomore Elizabeth Smits taking 51st in 17:10.9.

Flower Mound had sophomore Alexandra Fox in 30th in 16:43.2, along with junior Natalie Spangher in 40th in 17:01.1, but the ground lost by Nicole Humphries, combined with sophomore Ava Cole placing 95th in 17:45.2 was too much for the Jaguars to overcome.

JSerra, which finished fourth in the Bob Day sweepstakes at Woodbridge led by a seventh-place performance from sophomore Brynn Garcia (16:09.7), continued its ascent in California, along with Los Altos, which captured the title Sept. 17 at the De La Salle/Carondelet NIKE Invitational at Newhall Park in Concord.

Lauren Soobrian, a senior, prevailed in the 3-mile competition in 17:39, with Los Altos placing all five scorers in the top 20 to secure a 50-82 victory over Campolindo.

Buchanan confirmed its status as the top program in California after winning at Woodbridge with 91 points, as senior Sydney Sundgren was 10th in 16:14.7, sophomore Elle Lomeli took 11th in 16:15.3 and freshman Kynzlee Buckley placed 13th in 16:19.6.

Hilliard Davidson of Ohio produced an impressive 81-95 win Sept. 16 over Holland West Ottawa of Michigan at the MSU Spartan Invite at Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing.

Hilliard Davidson had four athletes in the top 20 and all five scorers among the first 35 finishers to offset the 1-2 punch for Holland West Ottawa of sophomore Helen Sachs (17:15.76) and senior Arianne Olson (17:49.94).

Caitlyn Jones, a senior, finished fifth for Hilliard Davidson in 18:41.6.

Saratoga Springs of New York had four athletes in the top five at the Queensbury Invitational in a 32-60 victory Sept. 17 over Bethlehem Central, with junior Emily Bush clocking 17:52.5 on the 5-kilometer layout and teammates Sheridan Wheeler (18:19.6), Alycia Hart (18:22.3) and Anya Belisle (18:27.4) securing third, fourth and fifth overall.

Niwot triumphed by a 42-53 margin Sept. 17 over Mountain Vista at the St. Vrain Invitational in Colorado, with the Cougars placing five scorers in the top 20.

Bella Nelson, a sophomore, took third on the Lyons High 5-kilometer course in 18:39.4, with freshman teammate Addison Ritzenhein placing fourth in 18:42.4 and senior Madison Shults earning eighth in 18:53.8.

Brentwood High of Tennessee emerged victorious Sept. 17 at the Southern Showcase at John Hunt Park in Alabama, producing a 112-150 victory over Mountain Brook High.

Sophomores Lydia Cromwell (18:21.76) and Rachel Haws (18:29.02) were eighth and 11th for Brentwood, overcoming a victory by Mountain Brook senior Reagan Riley in 17:16.44.


CALIFORNIA

1. Buchanan
2. JSerra
3. Los Altos
4. Newbury Park
5. Campolindo

HEARTLAND

1. Wayzata MN
2. Minnetonka MN
3. Olathe West KS
4. St. Paul Highland Park MN
5. Dubuque Hempstead IA

MIDWEST

1. Prospect IL
2. York IL
3. Columbus North IN
4. Hilliard Davidson OH
5. Holland West Ottawa MI

NEW YORK

1. Saratoga Springs
2. Fayetteville-Manlius
3. Cicero-North Syracuse
4. Bethlehem Central
5. Shaker

NORTHEAST

1. North Allegheny PA
2. Union Catholic NJ
3. Cherokee NJ
4. Haddonfield Memorial NJ
5. Champlain Valley Union VT

NORTHWEST

1. Jesuit OR
2. Boise Senior ID
3. Summit OR
4. Lincoln OR
5. South Eugene OR

SOUTH

1. Southlake Carroll TX
2. Flower Mound TX
3. Klein TX
4. Lucas Lovejoy TX
5. Prosper TX

SOUTHEAST

1. Cuthbertson NC
2. Morgantown WV
3. Brentwood TN
4. Cardinal Gibbons NC
5. Marvin Ridge NC

SOUTHWEST

1. Niwot CO
2. Valor Christian CO
3. Arapahoe CO
4. Mountain Vista CO
5. American Fork UT