York’s Donald Sage and Morton’s Juan Ortega matched each other almost step for step through most of Saturday’s Lyons Township Class AA cross-country sectional.
Until the runners reached “the Jungle,” that is.
The area, also know as the Ecology Field at Lyons’ south campus, comes with about a mile to go on the course, and that’s where Sage made the move that ultimately helped him win the 2.85-mile race.
“Not many people are back there,” said Sage. “I thought if I could take off during (the portion in) `the Jungle,’ it would be harder for (Ortega) to stay with me, because there were not as many people to cheer him on.”
Sage moved ahead for good and steadily increased his lead to as many as 60 yards entering the finish chute. The York runner closed in 14 minutes 3 seconds, while Ortega crossed the line in 14:10.
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“I felt tired during the race,” Sage said. “But it felt pretty good because I ran a faster time than I ran last time, (and) today was a lot windier.”
Five other Dukes finished among the top 13 to give York 31 team points and the sectional title.
Hinsdale Central, paced by third-place finisher Mike Seman, was second with 41. The Red Devils placed four runners in the top 10, and their fifth scorer came in a respectable 14th,
“I thought our team ran real well, especially our first four,” said Sage. “They ran great. Our fifth man, Mark Thomas, he also stepped up and ran a real good race.”
York junior Jim Mallaney finished fourth in 14:43, followed by teammate Noah Lawrence, sixth in 14:47; Pete Cioni, eighth in 14:55; Thomas, 12th in 15:03; and Collin Lawrence, 13th in 15:06.
York and Hinsdale Central advance to next week’s Class AA East Aurora sectional along with Morton (88 points), Oak Park (104) and the host Lions (122).
York’s girls completed a regional sweep with a 16-point victory over Oak Park. The Dukes placed five runners in the top 10, led by Celi Williams (13:15) and Anne Machalinski (13:17), who finished third and fourth.
Oak Park senior Colleen Bolin won individual honors. She completed the 2.23-mile course in 13:08, while sophomore teammate Sarah Teren was second in 13:11.
Hinsdale Central took third, followed by Lyons Township and Morton. The top five advance to next week’s East Aurora sectional.