Glenbard East junior Teigan O’Donnell earned her third straight berth in the IHSA Class 3A girls cross-country state meet with her performance at the Lake Park Sectional in Roselle on Saturday, Oct. 31. The top 10 finishers at the sectional who weren’t members of state-qualifying teams advanced to the state meet as individuals. O’Donnell placed among that group with her 27th-place finish at the sectional, which included 138 finishers. She completed the 3-mile race in 18 minutes, 8.6 seconds.
The 2026 state meet takes place Saturday, Nov. 7, at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
O’Donnell finished her freshman season with a 129th-place finish in the 2024 Class 3A state meet. She ran to an 84th-place finish in last year’s state meet.
Alka and Yurich earn state-meet berths at the Lyons Township Sectional
Willowbrook junior Legend Alka qualified for this week’s IHSA Class 3A boys cross-country state meet in Peoria when he raced to a fifth-place finish at the Lyons Township Sectional in Western Springs on Oct. 31. Running on the course at Lyons Township’s south campus, Alka completed the 3.1-mile race in 15 minutes, 6.5 seconds. The top 10 finishers who weren’t members of state-qualifying teams advanced to this week’s state meet as individuals. Alka finished second among that group.
The Warriors narrowly missed earning a team berth in the state meet. The top seven teams at the 18-team sectional qualified for the state meet. Willowbrook posted an eighth-place finish. Lyons Township posted a seventh-place total of 197. The Warriors landed in eighth place with their total of 214.
Willowbrook senior Thomas Thimo (16:03.4) finished 44th at the sectional. Seniors Jacob Alexander (16:04.2; 47th), Ryan Quinney (16:18.9; 62nd) and Kole Johanson (16:34.4; 74th) completed the Warriors’ scoring lineup. Freshmen Noah Ponce (16:53.5; 92nd) and Nico Navarro (17:01; 98th) also represented the Warriors at the sectional race, which included 139 finishers.
Willowbrook senior Bethany Yurich qualified for the IHSA Class 3A girls state meet with her strong performance at the Lyons Township Sectional. Yurich finished 21st in the sectional’s 3.1-mile girls race, which included 137 finishers. She completed the race in 18 minutes, 47.5 seconds. The top 10 finishers who weren’t members of state-qualifying teams advanced to the state meet. Yurich placed fourth among that group.
Sophomores Kate Borho (19:33.8; 53rd) and Rachel Simek (19:56.9; 64th) also represented Willowbrook at the Lyons Township Sectional.
Broncos’ boys team earns a berth in the Class 2A state meet; two Montini girls advance to Peoria
The Montini Catholic boys cross-country team qualified for this week’s IHSA Class 2A state meet when it posted a fifth-place finish in the 18-team Kaneland Sectional on Oct. 31. The sectional’s top seven teams advanced to this week’s state meet in Peoria.
Senior Nino Pesola led the Broncos at the sectional with his 17th-place finish. He completed the 3-mile race in 15 minutes, 31.7 seconds. Sophomore Matthew Ferris (15:45.8) ran to a 23rd-place finish for Montini. Seniors Adriel Garcia (16:01; 28th), Owen Ferris (16:01.9; 29th) and Gavin Conway (16:04.6; 31st) crossed the finish line within a few seconds of each other to complete the Broncos’ scoring lineup. Junior Charlie Ahrens (16:32.1; 49th) and sophomore Victor Sharma (17:13.1; 68th) rounded out Montini’s sectional contingent in the race, which included 135 finishers.
Sophomore Natalia Pesola and junior Gia Csoke of Montini’s girls cross-country team will compete in the IHSA Class 2A girls state meet in Peoria. The two Broncos earned their state-meet berths with their strong efforts at the Kaneland Sectional.
Pesola completed the 3-mile sectional race in a 12th-place time of 18 minutes, 27.7 seconds. Csoke (19:38.3) ran to a 30th-place finish in the race, which included 126 finishers.
The sectional’s top 10 finishers who weren’t members of state-qualifying teams earned individual berths in the state meet. Pesola placed second among that group, while Csoke landed in sixth.
