Cary-Grove’s Jameson Tenopir grabs win at St. Charles North Invitational; Glenbard West girls take 1st

ST. CHARLES – Jameson Tenopir was not sure if he could keep up with the lead pack after the first mile.

But in the end, it was the pack that couldn’t keep up with him.

The Cary-Grove junior used a big surge in the second half of the race to break away from Wheaton Warrenville South’s Josiah Narayanan and win the boys race at the St. Charles North XC Invitational in 14:48.71 on Saturday.

“As the race strung out, I just kept feeling better and better,” Tenopir said. “Going into the last hill, I just started kicking and had more left than anyone else.”

Tenopir ended up making the definitive pass on Narayanan at the two-mile marker and never looked back. His final mile split of 4:56.91 was 10 seconds faster than any other runner, with Addison Trail’s Nathan Gundersen being the only other runner to run the split in under 5:10.

“I saw I had more momentum than him going up that last hill, so I just surged past and felt really good,” Tenopir said. “Once I got to the top, I knew there was so much downhill left, so I just let them carry me the rest of the way.”

Narayanan ended up placing second in 15:06.46. The senior, who currently has the second fastest 3-mile time after running 14:25.5 back on Sept. 21, said that the race was one of the stranger ones he’s run in recent memory

“That one dude who won, I did not expect that to happen,” Narayanan said. “On that uphill, he started to move, and I could not counter. I tried to hang with him, but once we hit the downhill, he kicked it into gear, and I just couldn’t keep up.”

His teammate, Aiden Noel, took third in 15:17.75 to help pace the Tigers to a second-place team finish with 102 points.

St. Charles North, which was led by a sixth-place finish by Samuel Hill, finished with 98 points to secure the team title by four points. North Stars coach Kevin Harrington said after the race that while he was more focused on how his team ran together, it was nice to have his team up there with teams like WW South, Hinsdale Central (who took third with 105 points) and Marmion (fourth with 107).

“It’s been a little while since we’ve had our name even near there, so that’s very exciting,” Harrington said. “But really, it’s the idea of just competing and the confidence for our guys to know they can run with whoever they lineup against, and that’s what they need.”

Girls race

While the race for the individual title in the boys race was decided in the early parts of the final mile, the girls race was a battle down to the final few meters.

In the end, Glenbard West freshman Shayne Dietzen managed to outkick St. Charles North sophomore Gwen Hobson to take the title in 18:19.07.

“I don’t think I’ve ever sprinted so fast at the end of the race,” Dietzen, who got her first win at the high school level, said. “The entire time, I was going on and off with her, and I was really proud that I was able to stick with her. And then I realized I had some left in the tank, and I knew I could make it to the finish.”

Hobson would hold for second place in 18:22.09. The sophomore, who ran the majority of the race in second place, made a surge on the final downhill to take the lead heading into the final stretch, but lost it in the final 50 meters.

“I think I kicked a little bit too early,” Hobson said. “I’m glad that I closed the gap near the end, but she got me at the very end.”

The top two runners were followed closely behind by Streamwood’s Sophia Baumert (third, 18:25.4), Glenbard West’s Alexa Novak (fourth, 18:27.28) and North’s Julia Rodney (fifth, 18:28.58).

The Hilltoppers ended up getting the team victory with 74 points. Waubonsie Valley (88) and Lincoln-Way Central (91) took second and third, respectively, while the North Stars took fourth with 119.

“I wanted them to run together as a pack, and for the most part we did that,” Glenbard West coach Paul Hass said. “Our top two girls were lights out, and I thought it was a really big step for those two. We’re really starting to come together as a pack, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”