Kaneland siblings Matthew and Sarah Richtman had plenty to celebrate on Saturday.
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First, sophomore Sarah earned All-State honors by finishing 12th in the Class 2A girls state finals at Detweiller Park.
Then, senior Matthew raced to the Class 2A boys title with a time of 14 minutes, 23 seconds. Runner-up Jacob Gebhardt of Sterling, who beat Richtman the previous week at the Burlington Central Sectional, was credited with the same time.
“There is no other feeling like this,” said Matthew Richtman, whose fourth-place finish last season had been the best at state for a Kaneland boy.
The three runners ahead of him in 2016 all graduated.
“I knew I had a better shot at (a state title),” Matthew Richtman said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I saw (Gebhardt) out of the corner of my eye. I knew I had to keep that lead on him. (The sectional loss) was motivation to do that one step this week instead of the other way around.”
Matthew Richtman recently committed to Bradley University.
Sarah Richtman ran 17:35 in the 2A girls race.
“I tried to pass as many girls as I (could),” she said. “Nothing was going through my mind except, ‘This is the state meet.'”
The top local team finish went to Yorkville girls, who were runner-up to Naperville North, 87-117, for the second straight year.
“I think we did everything that we could,” said junior Emily Eberhart, the Foxes’ No. 3 runner. “We focused on running as a team and running for each other. We did all we could do for each other.”
Toledo recruit Alyssa Edwards (12th, 17:03), Helena Kleronomos (17th, 17:05) and Eberhart (22nd, 17:12) were Yorkville’s All-Staters.
“It started off really fast,” Kleronomos said. “A lot of people thought it wasn’t a PR (personal record) atmosphere today. I knew I wanted to stay with Alyssa. I didn’t want to fall too far behind her.”
“I am pretty happy with my race,” Edwards said. “Considering the conditions—it was pretty slick out there—I’m satisfied.”
“We have nothing but respect for (Yorkville),” Naperville North coach Dan Iverson said. “We were fortunate enough to be better than them today.”
It was the ninth consecutive year Yorkville finished no worse than runner-up at a state meet.
In the boys Class 3A race, West Chicago Regional and Waubonsie Valley Sectional champion Josh Rodgers of Geneva earned the only local All-State honor.
“You can’t be greedy,” said Rodgers, 10th overall in 14:39. “All-State is All-State. Being All-State for the first time is something more than I could ask for.”
Sandwich senior Kayla Schiera was eighth in the girls Class 2A race at 17:24.
“I knew it was my last race for cross country for my high school career,” said Schiera, who was All-State for a third straight year.
IMSA junior Daniel Chen was 11th in 15:03 in the Class 2A boys race.
Mia Gianfrancesco was 13th in 17:04 for ninth-place Batavia (265) in Class 3A.
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“We took a huge step up from last year, and it can only go up,” Gianfrancesco said.
Kevin McGavin is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.