Sports: Grayslake Central named team champion at boys cross country sectional

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Class 2A Woodstock North Sectional

Runners from throughout Lake County competed in sectionals on Saturday. Grayslake Central finished as the team champion at the Woodstock North Sectional, which was held at Emricson Park in Woodstock. By winning Sectionals, the Rams qualify as a team to the state meet, which will be held in Peoria this Saturday.

Jack Aho was the individual champion with a time of 15:30. Joining Aho to represent Grayslake Central at the state meet will be Matt Aho, Jack Battaglia, John Girmscheid, Eli Minsky, Danny Vincent and Alden Aaberg. The Rams were the only Lake County team from the Woodstock North Sectional to qualify for Peoria as a team, but Shane Williamson of Vernon Hills also qualified for the state meet as an individual with his second-place overall finish.

Vernon Hills fell just short of qualifying for a team with a sixth-place finish. The top five teams from the meet qualified as a team. Grayslake North finished in 15th place as a team. The Knights were led by Liam O’Connell, with a 21st place finish. Just behind Grayslake North was Carmel, with a 16th place finish. The Corsairs were led by Stephen Lacke, who finished 42nd overall. Lakes finished in 17th place as a team. Jacob Hubbard led the Eagles with a 59th place finish.

Kevin Vettesse of Antioch qualified for sectionals as an individual and finished 95th overall, along with teammate Joe Sculuca, who finished in 99th place. Alex Besson of Antioch also ran and finished in 113th place.

Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional

The larger schools from Lake County competed in the Schaumburg Sectional on Saturday. No teams qualified from the sectional, but Warren’s Dustin Macuiba qualified as an individual with his third-place finish. Warren finished in 8th place as a team, led by Macuiba and Julian Ruiz, who finished in 36th place. Mundelein finished in 13th place. The Mustangs were led by Uly Hagedorn, who finished in 34th place. Libertyville finished in 17th place as a team, led by Alex Tam with a 17th place overall finish.

Carlos Rosas of Round Lake competed as an individual at sectionals and finished in 109th place.

BOYS SOCCER

CLASS 2A Harvard Sectional

Two schools from Lake County made it as far as sectionals and it was Carmel who advanced to the super-sectional with a 2-1 win over Vernon Hills in the sectional final on Friday. Vernon Hills took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Joseph Lee. Carmel tied the contest at 1-1 on a goal by Austin Ehren who then won the game in overtime. This marks the first sectional title for Carmel since 2005.

Class 3A Stevenson Sectional

Libertyville advanced to super-sectionals with a 1-0 win Saturday over Deerfield. Liam O’Connell had the only goal in the match for the Wildcats.

Barrington Super-Sectional

Libertyville is returning to state for the first time since 2010 after a 1-0 victory over Evanston on Tuesday night at Barrington High School. Nate Edmunds had the lone goal of the game for the Wildcats. The state tournament is Friday and Saturday at Hoffman Estates High School.

Maine South Super-Sectional

Carmel qualified for the state tournament for the first time in school history with a 4-1 victory over Elmwood Park on Tuesday. Austin Ehren had two goals to lead Carmel. The Corsairs will play Waterloo on Friday in the semifinals.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Schaumburg Sectional

Grant came oh-so-close to capturing a sectional championship Saturday, but the consolation prize isn’t too bad as the Bulldogs qualified for state as a team after their second-place finish. The state meet will take place on Saturday in Peoria. Grant was led by Madison Romig, with a seventh-place finish and Danielle Osmon, who finished in eighth place. Also advancing with the Grant team are Eva Cardy, Rachael Temple, Samantha Kaye, Brooke Drabek and Roxanne Temple.

Libertyville finished in 11th place as a team and fell short of a team trip to state. Melissa Manetsch qualified for Libertyville as an individual with her 15th place finish.

Warren finished in 17th place as a team, led by Emily Jahn, who finished in 48th place. Mundelein finished in 18th place as a team, led by Clarissa Wienckowski, who finished in 71st place.

Woodstock North Sectional

There was quite a Lake County flair at the Woodstock North Sectional on Saturday, and Vernon Hills and Grayslake Central advanced to the state meet thanks to their impressive showings. Vernon Hills won the team title while Grayslake Central also advanced with a fourth-place finish. Vivian Overbeck led the Cougars with a third-place finish. Also advancing for Vernon Hills were Lauren Katz, Payton Makowskyj, Shannon Skeoch, Hannah Ray, Ryan Schofield and Katelyn Dohler.

Megan Girmscheid led Grayslake Central with a 19th place finish. Also advancing for the Rams are Lura Quandt, Elizabeth Aho, Sara O’Malley, Umaiyal Sridas, Greta Ruhlmann, and Riley Acthemeier.

Lakes finished just short as a team with a sixth-place finish. The Eagles were led by Kortney Schardt, who finished in fifth place and qualified as an individual.

Carmel finished in ninth place as a team, led by Aileen Hull, who finished in 16th place.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Libertyville Sectional

Things are getting exciting in girls volleyball, especially in the Libertyville Sectional. Lakes qualified for the sectional after defeating Barrington to win the Grayslake North Regional championship with a score of 25-19, 31-29. Izzy Huntington finished with four aces and six kills, while Paige Bartlett added 16 digs, and Megan Behrendt added 10 kills.

Lakes advanced to play Libertyville, who won the Lake Zurich Regional after defeating Warren 26-24, 25-15. The Wildcats were led by Morgan O’Brien, with 16 kills, and Allison Watson and Erin Dunleavy, with seven kills each.

On the other side of the Libertyville Sectional, Carmel advanced after winning the Lake Forest Regional by defeating the host Scouts 22-25, 25-20, 25-20. Carmel was led by Elizabeth Tworek, with 21 digs, and Ashley Williams, with 18 kills.

In Tuesday’s sectional semifinals, Libertyville advanced to the finals with a 25-22, 25-21 victory over Lakes. The Wildcats will face Stevenson in Thursday’s final. Stevenson defeated Carmel 25-16, 25-27, 25-22 in the other semifinal Tuesday.