D86 Teams Place First, Fourth and Ninth in Cross Country Championship

Submitted by Hinsdale Township High School District 86. Photo: Hinsdale Central Boys’ Cross Country Team

Hinsdale Township High School District 86 today proudly announced that the Hinsdale Central High School Boys’ Cross Country Team won their second consecutive Division 3A State Championship this past weekend. The Hinsdale Central girls’ team took fourth place, the team’s fifth, top-five finish in the past 10 years. Hinsdale South boys’ team placed ninth in Division 2A. All competitions were held at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Overall the District has 7 runners named All-State based on their results from the State meet. From Hinsdale Central, Blake Evertsen placed 12th, Josh Feldman placed 22nd and Chris Brenk placed 25th for the boys’ team and Alexa Haff took 4thplace and Grace McCabe took 22nd place for the girls’ team. From Hinsdale South, Charlie Nodus took 7th place and Roman Drabchuk took 22nd place.

Hinsdale Central Boys

“We are thrilled for the boys who worked so hard for so many months,” said Coach James Westphal. “All of the boys had tremendous performances for the entire season and were incredibly consistent. This accomplishment is a testament to the entire program, parents and alums.”

Coach Westphal noted that a big challenge came near the end of the season with a few runners managing some minor injuries that came into play during the last couple of weeks.

“The boys did a great job getting healthy,” Westphal continued. “And the parents provided such great support. We are incredibly lucky to have such great parents and we are humbled by all who aided us throughout the season. Now we are going to enjoy the moment, and in a few weeks, we’ll be back to work getting ready for the upcoming indoor track season.”

The members of the Hinsdale Central team who participated at State are seniors Josh Feldman, Matt McBrien, Alex Domiano and Griffin Gartner; junior Chris Brenk and sophomores Blake Evertsen and Ethan Planson. Coach Westphal was assisted by Coaches Jim Kupres and Noah Lawrence.

Hinsdale Central Girls
“Our goal each and every year is to be one of the top teams in the state,” said Coach Mark McCabe. “We scored 137 points, the lowest fourth place point total ever for the girls’ State meet and a score that would place in the top two almost every year. This year’s girls’ State meet is now considered to be the fastest and deepest team race in state history. Our goal is always to be the best we can be and, most importantly, encourage our team to be young women of good character, strive to win but win the right way. We have accomplished that over the past 15 years and look for even more in the years to come. We have our top four runners returning next year, as well as a group of other girls aspiring to be in the varsity mix, so good things lie ahead.”

The members of the Hinsdale Central Girls’ Team who participated at State are seniors Sara Folliard and Camila Horowicz; juniors Annie Zaher and Emma Sullivan; sophomore Alexa Haff and freshmen Grace McCabe and Reilly Revord. Assistant coaches are Heather Stevens, Lynn Hatzikostantis and Fawn Woody.

Hinsdale Central Girls’ Cross Country Team

Hinsdale South Boys
Commenting on this season and looking ahead to the next one, Hinsdale South Boys’ Cross Country Coach Jim Dickerson said, “I knew we had potential for a solid State finish, but we did not qualify last year and no one on the team had State Meet experience, so finishing top 10 this year was a huge improvement and an incredible testament to the team members. For now, we are simply enjoying the satisfaction of a great season, but there will be bigger goals next year, including a conference championship and possible state trophy.”

Hinsdale South Boys’ Cross Country Team

The members of the Hinsdale South team who participated at State are seniors Vicente Perez and Joe Eilbert; juniors Charlie Nodus, Roman Drabchuk and Tristan Ramirez; sophomore Chris Joseph and freshman Trevor Schauer. Assistant coach is Dave Stimpson.