Above Photo: Yorkville's front pack of Zach Price, Alexx Naumann, and Trevor Wills in Monday afternoon's race at Hoover Forest Preserve (Photo: MIke Newman)

Both Boys and Girls teams win in home invitational; Ronzone, Rosen Individual winners

By Michael Newman

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Yorkville, Ill --- Both the Yorkville Boys and Girls teams captured the 2A State championships in 2014. They started off the 2015 the same way winning their own invitational Monday afternoon at Hoover Forest Preserve. Yorkville’s Boys team put five runners in the first eight to win 24-56 ahead of Oswego East. Yorkville’s Girls squad was just as dominant putting their top five in the first six to easily win the team title 20-60 with Downers Grove South second.

“We wanted to go out in tempo pace and work from there. It was kind of hit or miss early because we were in 20^th with our first three guys,” Yorkville Coach Chris Muth said. “The most important thing to teach them and get into the habit of finishing strong and going out in a responsible tempo than going out fast in the first race of the year with that adrenaline and kind of go backwards. We did not want to do that.”

Northside Prep’s Danny Rosen was the easy winner winning by more than 30 seconds ahead of the Yorkville. Rosen opened up a 15 second lead by the half way point and just rolled from there. He finished in 15:25.92. The Yorkville pack of Trevor Wills, Alexx Nauman, and Zach Price came in together at 15:58. Even though this was Rosen’s first race of the year, it was a cross country personal best for him for 3 miles.

“I just wanted to go for the win and stay who was ever was in the front. There was a guy who took it out hard the first 800. We got to the downhills before the mile I took it hard trying to extend the lead,” Rosen said. “I had not walked the course before the race and I had to go back up. I did not think we would go all the way back up that second mile. I just tried to extend it from there.”

Yorkville is the top ranked 2A Girls team and maybe one of the best teams in the state this season. The Lady Foxes showed why in this race. This course is a true cross country course where you run on gravel paths, blacktop, trails, and grass during the 2 circuits of the park. Times are usually not fast. They were on this day.

A pack of Yorkville’s Alexis Grandys, Maddie Dearborn, and Summer Pierson along with Rosary’s Madison Ronzone opened up a 25 meter lead on the rest of the pack through the first half of the race. The pace started to open up the final mile with Ronzone try to pull away from the Yorkville pack. With 800 to go, it was just Pierson and Ronzone battling for the win.

“Around the last corner (with 400 meters to go), I kind of got ahead of her,” said Pierson. “It was kind of neck and neck there before she pulled away. She has a real good kick.”

Ronzone pulled away in the final 15 meters to cross the line in 17:53.7 a little more than three seconds ahead of Pierson.

“I was not expecting a lot from this race. I was treating it like a workout race and tried to stay with the top girls,” Ronzone said after the race. “We started to pull away with 800. Coming down the final straight away I did not know what I would really have.”

Madison’s time was a personal best for cross country by almost three seconds. She was not the only Ronzone to win a race at Hoover on Monday. Her younger sister Megan won the Junior Varsity Girls Race in her first high school race ever. The freshman’s winning time was 19:26.6.

Yorkville showed their dominance with a strong pack. Maddie Dearborn was three seconds behind in third. Alexis Grandys was another five seconds back in fourth. Freshman Nicole Greyer moved up in the late stages of the race to finish fifth in 18:08. Their first 4 split was only 11 seconds. Then came in fifth runner Olivia Borowak (another freshman) in sixth place. Their overall five runner split was only 28 seconds.

“It was a great start for the whole group. I can’t wait to look at the times for our first 13,” Muth added. “Our top seven today might now be what our top seven is in Peoria or conference or state. It’s an exciting start. I am really excited for Maddie and Summer because they have worked their butt off this summer and it paid off here. The freshman are very naïve but they are coming along. They are trusting those upper classmen so it is a very nice combination of thing that we have going on here.”

Results | Boys Race Highlights Video | Girls Race Highlights Video