Riverside Brookfield High School senior Asa Kahle continues running cross country races despite battling illness the past five weeks.
“I’ve just tried to hang in there, push along but it’s been rough,” Kahle said. “I’ve run all of the meets, all of the practices. I’m sneezing, coughing a little bit but it’s not much anymore.”
Kahle received an emotional lift Saturday with a season-best time while finishing 11th at the Upstate Eight Conference Meet at Fenton. Seniors Brady Norman (4th, 15:36.1 for 3.0 miles), Kahle (16:19.0) and Diego Lopez-Molina (14th, 16:27.0) earned all-conference honors with top-25 finishes. In their first season in the UEC, the Bulldogs (84 points) took second to West Aurora (76) among 13 teams.
The Bulldogs and Lyons Township compete at the LT Regional, Saturday, in Western Springs with the girls race at 10 a.m. and the boys at 11.
Only the top six teams advance to the Hinsdale Central Sectional, Nov. 2. Defending 3A state champion and No. 1-ranked Downers Grove North, the Lions and Morton are state-ranked and the Bulldogs finished at invites behind Willowbrook and Whitney Young, although that race was without two regulars. Downers North, second in 3A in 2023, is the only ranked girls team at the regional.
“We’ve got to run well to get out [to sectionals],” RBHS coach Jack Brady said.
Last year, the Bulldogs swept the top seven places at their final Metro Suburban Conference Meet in the rain, mud and wind. They ran as a pack until sprinting the final 300 meters. Graduated all-stater Cooper Marrs won, while Norman (2nd), Kahle (4th) and Lopez-Molina (7th) also were top-12 all-conference runners.
“That was a fun race,” Lopez-Molina said. “We just stuck together the whole time and then went for the win at the end. It was much different [Saturday].”
Norman kicked into third Saturday but was passed by .1 second. He won his first varsity invite at Elmwood Park, Oct. 12.
“I felt I had a really good race at Elmwood Park and was hoping to use that as momentum,” Norman said. “I just did not have the legs at all. I gritted it out. Definitely not the kind of race I’m looking for [in postseason].”
Filling in for an ill Norman at the 2022 MSC Meet, Kahle was two places from all-conference. He just missed additional honors Saturday.
“I’m happy to be all-conference again except that they only announced the top 10 and I was 11th,” he said.
The RBHS girls (121) were third. Junior Addie Vaia (9th, 19:51.4), senior Gianna Gelb (21st, 20:56.7) and junior Rebecca Dosek (24th, 21:00.9) were all-conference.
Gelb and Dosek both were All-MSC last year. Vaia missed the race because she was still playing volleyball. She did compete at regionals and sectionals.
“Conference was not as stressful because there’s less on the line,” Vaia said. “I was pretty excited with my performance. I had never run on Fenton’s course so I went out with the mentality I was going to stick with the front of the pack. I was able to maintain their speed as well as pass a few people at the end.”
On Saturday, the LTHS boys were second (56) to Downers North (26) at the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet at Berens Park in Elmhurst.
Seniors Ben Wuggazer (5th, 14:59.5 for 2.99 miles), among five runners to break 15:00, John O’Halloran (6th, 15:11.3) and Tate Pavelka (12nd, 15:16.4) and junior Tyler Gantt (16th, 15:27.7) were top-16 all-conference individuals and senior Charlie Ciesla 17th (15:33.0). LTHS edged third-place York by two points.
The girls were sixth (142). Junior Mya Coglianese was an all-conference 14th (18:30.0).
LTHS boys golf
As the lone Class 3A state qualifier for Lyons Township, senior Anderson Palm took the long drive to The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington with coach Brian Kopecky.
“That was probably the most memorable, just because in all of my years playing for him, we never had that much time to talk,” Palm said. “It was nice to talk golf and non-golf stuff. A great coach, a great guy. It was great to spend some time and chat with him.”
Palm’s first state appearance was quite memorable, too. He tied for 15th with a 5-over-par 149 (74-75) and was just two strokes from tying for 10th and all-state honors.
“The big goal was to get all-state. I missed that by a couple of shots, but all in all I was happy with how I played,” he said.
“[State] was awesome. It’s fun to be in a tournament where everyone is happy to be there and play some good golf. Obviously, it isn’t just any other tournament but I tried to treat it as such.”
LTHS girls golf
Lyons Township senior Isabella Evans’ 89 Friday at the Class 2A state meet missed the cut by one shot, but her season wasn’t over. She stayed Saturday to support junior teammate Amelia Van Vuren, who tied for 55th with a 166 (83-83) on the par-72 Hickory Point course in Decatur.
It was the second straight state appearance for both, part of last year’s 10th-place state-qualifying team. Van Vuren was 72nd in 2023 with a 176.
“She played a better round this year both days,” LTHS coach Jeff Johnson said.
“We try to emphasize in the program that golf is supposed to be fun. [Evans] was a genuine fan for her teammate. It’s very easy for someone to feel bad and then not cheer for teammates. If both made it, they would have been excited for each other. If the other makes it, they’re excited for their teammate. It’s pretty mature for them to feel that way.”
LTHS/RBHS girls tennis
Lyons Township’s doubles teams, seniors Mia Graziano and Ashley Culin and senior Ginny Gibbs and freshman Elise Novey, and sophomore singles players Abby Sullivan and Sophie Dalgety came one victory from qualifying for the state meet at the Class 2A Lyons Township Sectional, Friday.
Top-four sectional finishers advance to state. This was the third straight season Graziano and Gibbs lost in the sectional quarterfinals and the second straight for Culin.
In their quarterfinal matches, fifth-seeded Graziano and Culin (7-10) came the closest, losing 6-4, 7-6 (4) to the third-place, fourth-seeded seniors Gabriella Cilella and Sadie Sue Ross of St. Ignatius. Sixth-seeded Gibbs and Novey (9-5), fourth-seeded Sullivan (13-9) and Dalgety (8-10) lost to seeded opponents from Hinsdale Central in straight sets with Sullivan (6-0, 6-2) winning the most games.
Graziano and Culin led 5-3 in the second set.
“It would have been really fun to see what would have happened [in a third set],” Buetikofer said. “They had a couple of teams that they’d each lost to by almost the same score, so I just knew it was going to be a tight match. But I’m really proud of them and the effort they gave.”
RBHS senior singles players Eleanor Glennie and Eleanor Lenaghan won their play-in matches, then lost in the round of 16. In doubles, senior Harriet Juister and junior Soleil Kaciuba and juniors Abby Krueger and Alekse Alijosius lost their play-in matches.
LTHS girls flag football
The Lions (14-4) lost to Whitney Young 29-14 in the Young Sectional semifinals, Oct. 15, in the first IHSA girls flag football state tournament.
Anna Bigenwald scored the first touchdown on a 50-yard pass from quarterback Char Ebeid and Kennedy Campbell also had a TD reception. Maren Cavanagh had seven flag pulls on defense.
The Dolphins (19-7) finished third in state Saturday.
“As I look back on our inaugural season, I am filled with a sense of pride and gratitude,” LTHS coach Meghan Hutchens said. “This season has been a blend of challenges, learning experiences, and triumphs that have shaped us. I’m excited about the potential that lies ahead. Building on this foundation, we aim to expand our reach, while staying true to our core values.”