Cross country

IHSA State Finals: Lengthy droughts were snapped and school history was made for several local programs that competed at Saturday’s state cross country meet at Detweiler Park in Peoria.

In Class 1A, Manteno capped off a banner year for both its boys and girls teams, with the girls team making its first state appearance and first for any Manteno team since the boys qualified in 1978.

Sophomore Klarke Goranson, making her second straight state appearance, ran a time of 17:11.84. She finished 12th, the highest individual placement of any area runner this season. She became the first runner in school history to earn two All-State honors in a career.

Sophomore Lyla Nevel (18:24.10) placed 42nd for the Panthers after placing 112th a season ago. Freshman DaLanie Monroe (20:20.03) placed 158th. junior Olivia Zwirkowski (21:14.25) placed 204th. Freshmen Riley Powell (239th, 23:51.00) and Sawyer Maveety (251st, 25:39.55) rounded things out for Manteno.

On the boys side, seniors Seth McHugh and Caden Reiter both qualified for state as individuals. It was the first time since 1979 that the boys program had multiple state qualifiers. McHugh placed 165th (16:38.04) and Reiter placed 190th (17:02.32) with both setting new personal bests.

“This was a historic season for both our girls and boys cross country teams at Manteno High School,” head coach Troy Mitchell said. “The miles and hard work our teams put in all season — and for many, throughout the summer — definitely paid off in what was truly an unforgettable year."

Herscher was making a familiar appearance at state, with the boys team its third straight appearance and sixth since 2017. The girls team came up short its third straight trip, but seniors Kelly O’Connor and Sophie Venckauskas made it to Peoria as individuals.

The boys finished 13th after placing 11th last season. Those are the team’s top two finishes since the mid-1980s. All seven runners set new season bests, led by Jeremy Szepelak’s time of 15:10.67 in a 20th-place finish that earned him All-State honors. Evan Benoit (67th, 15:45.32) and Jackson Kruse (83rd, 15:52.52) gave the Tigers three runners under the 16-minute mark while Owen Damptz (138th), Connor Sharper (222nd), Bryce Steffen (224th) and Cole Jackubowski (225th) rounded it out.

On the girls side, O’Connor had a historic day with a 22nd-place finish, becoming the first Herscher girls runner since 2018 to earn All-State and setting a new school record with a time of 17:42.32. Venckauskas also cracked the Tiger top-10 in a three-mile race with a PR time of 18:36.19, finishing 59th.

“It was an absolutely incredible way to finish a great season,” head coach Rob Grosso said. “...To see our kids not only not back down to the challenge but so convincingly perform at their career best was so thrilling to see.”

For Bishop McNamara, the boys team made it through to state for the first time since 2015. The Fightin’ Irish placed 30th.

Elijah Muthami (186th, 16:59.41) led the way with a new PR while Jhaiden Ochoa, Sebastian Cortes, Cooper Austiff, Diego Perez and Miles Serpe all set new PRs and Oliver Heinrich set a new season best.

“They just showed improvement, putting in the work and getting better and just working for each other as a team,” head coach Jose Martinez said. “There was no person out there looking to be an individual or worrying about themselves. It was all about the team all year.”

Outside of Class 1A, Bradley-Bourbonnais sophomore Kyler Savini finished around the middle of the pack in the 3A race. His time of 15:30.70 gave him a 146th-place finish as the Boilermakers’ lone representative in Peoria.

Girls swimming

IHSA Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional: Bradley-Bourbonnais, Kankakee and Bishop McNamara competed in sectionals over the weekend, with Bradley-Bourbonnais sending swimmers on to the FMC Natatorium in Westmont for state on Thursday and Friday.

Freshman Aly Swafford qualified for state in the 50-yard freestyle, finished second in sectionals with a time of 24.40 seconds. The Boilermakers’ 200-yard freestyle relay team consisting of Swafford and juniors Abby Bonilla, Madeline Folk and Isabelle Trudeau placed first with a time of 1:40.99 to advance to state.