Last year, Fenwick sophomore Juliana Gamboa and Trinity junior Molly McGreal earned All-State honors at the IHSA Class 2A girls cross country state meet.
Their bids for repeat All-State status are off to a terrific start. At the Class 2A De La Salle Regional, Oct. 26, Gamboa placed second in a time of 18:39 to help Fenwick finish second with 39 points and advance to the Hinsdale South Sectional on Nov. 2. Freshmen Bridget Brunick and Victoria Alegre gave Fenwick two more runners inside the top 10. Brunick placed fourth in 19:47.92, while Alegre was eighth in 20:44.36.
Sophomore Lily Kotynek (12th, 21:23.52), junior Romy Bergetz (13th, 21:32.89), sophomore Allison Austin (14th, 21:35.10), and sophomore Isabelle Lefko (16th, 21:42.19) rounded out the Friars’ lineup.
At Elmwood Park, McGreal won the individual race with a time of 17:55.2 to lead Trinity to a third-place finish with 83 points. The Blazers advanced to the Hinsdale South Sectional.
Senior Jade Morelli also finished inside the top 10, coming in ninth in 19:33.1. Junior Alessandra Pineda (17th, 21:16.3), senior Vanessa Arreguin (27th, 23:15), sophomore Mary Margaret Wayne (31st, 24:09.9), junior Gigi Vitto (34th, 24:44.4), and sophomore Emily Mielich (35th, 24:45.3) completed Trinity’s lineup.
In Class 3A, OPRF placed fourth at the Elk Grove Regional with 83 points to advance to the Lake Park Sectional, Nov. 2. The Huskies had four runners inside the top 20: junior Violet Schnizlein (12th, 18:57.24), senior Alana Gerona (13th, 19:00.06), and sophomores Isabella Crowe (16th, 19:10.60) and Emily Jones (18th, 19:13.97).
OPRF’s other runners were seniors Nora Butterly (24th, 19:43.96) and Malie Cassel (35th, 20:34.61) and junior Chloe Kozicki (38th, 20:42.19).
Boys cross country
Like the girls, the OPRF boys finished fourth at Elk Grove with 83 points, enough to advance to the Lake Park Sectional. Senior Liam O’Connor won the individual race in a time of 15:08.62.
Senior Andrew Harmon (15th, 15:55.31) and junior Yonny Rafter (20th, 16:00.83) placed inside the top 20 for the Huskies. Juniors David Schiff (23rd, 16:05.16) and Julian St. Pierre (24th, 16:06.78), sophomore Connor Harmon (30th, 16:30), and senior Finn Kelly (44th, 17:18.43) rounded out the OPRF lineup.
At Lyons Township, Fenwick placed ninth with 218 points. While not advancing to the sectional as a team, the Friars managed to get one individual through as senior Benicio Carideo finished 26th with a time of 17:01.54. That time was the second-best among individuals from non-advancing schools. Sophomore Burke Burns (44th, 17:37.52), senior Finnbar Munley (47th, 17:49.08), freshman Wolfie Bergetz (50th, 17:56.23), junior Nicholas Casaccio (51st, 17:57.37), senior Christopher Zielinski (53rd, 18:09.01), and junior Aidan Powers (56th, 18:19.50) completed Fenwick’s lineup.
Boys soccer
The seasons came to an end for both OPRF and Fenwick as each school was eliminated from the IHSA state tournament last week.
In Class 3A, OPRF (13-5-2) blanked Senn 4-0 in a regional semifinal at Lane Tech, Oct. 22. But in the regional final, Oct. 26, the Huskies were shut out by the host Champions, 2-0.
In Class 2A, Fenwick (2-13-3) lost to Chicago Latin for the second time this year as the Romans knocked out the Friars 4-2 in a regional semifinal at St. Ignatius, Oct. 23.