IHSA State Firsts
November 10, 2014
It looked like two state championships in 2013 would be the pinnacle of Yorkville High School's cross country success, but 2014 turned out to be even better. Not only did both the girls and boys teams win the state championship again, but they did so even more convincingly than they did in 2013.
The girls team won with 79 points and had all seven runners in the top 61. Lake Forest was in second place with 165 points. This was the largest margin of victory in class 2A since the three-class system started for cross country in 2007. It was also the fourth-lowest score in 2A history, with three of the four lowest scores being set by Yorkville teams. This was the team's fourth state championship in a row, which has not been matched by another cross country team in state history at class 2A or above.
Former YMSXC runner Alexis Grandys stayed with the lead pack along with former Cross Lutheran runner Skyler Bollinger. Alexis ended the race as the top-placing sophomore in second with a time of 17:12 for the three-mile course. Skyler was close behind in fifth with a time of 17:27. Alexis and Skyler both earned All-State honors. Former YMSXC runner Maggie Klemm was the fourth freshman to finish the race and just missed All-State when she finished in 30th place with a time of 18:05. Former YMSXC teammate Piper Buyansky was close behind in 32nd with a time of 18:10. Lauren Daffenburg and former YMSXC runner Alyssa Edwards both finished in the top ten for freshman. Lauren was 36th overall with a time of 18:16 and Alyssa was 41st in 18:21. Summer Peirson rounded out the team's top seven in 61st place with a time of 18:36.
The boys team race was much closer than the girls race, but the boys still had a nearly 30-point margin over second place Mahomet-Seymour. The boys were led by the former YMSXC runners Jake and Luke Hoffert. Jake and Luke became the first siblings to finish 1-2 at the state cross country meet with their times of 14:30 and 14:30, respectively. Junior Trevor Wills was close to All-State with his 29th-place finish in 15:13. Former YMSXC All-State runner Zack Price was the top freshman in the race with his 53rd-place finish in 15:35. Alexx Nauman was also an All-State runner at YMS and finished in 64th place with a time of 15:38. Former YMSXC runners Cody Hornyak (87th, 15:53) and Jake Firrantello (118th, 16:10) rounded out the top seven for the team. Outside of Trevor, every runner on the boys team ran for Yorkville Middle School.
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Anonymous on November 10, 2014
