Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman's Matt Avenatti (483) and Uni's Albert Anastasio (278) duel for the lead in Saturday's regional meet at Kickapoo State Park. Gargoyle photo by Will Fernandez (click to enlarge)

KICKAPOO STATE PARK — Despite competing without one of their top two runners, the Uni boys on Saturday won their second straight IHSA Class 1A regional championship, defeating rival St. Joseph-Ogden by 12 points.

The Illineks were led by juniors Albert Anastasio and Buck Walsh, who placed second and third, respectively.

By winning the nine-team meet, Uni qualified for Saturday's sectional at Decatur's Hickory Point Golf Course. The Illineks, sectional champs last year, hope to welcome back senior Nathan Smith, who missed the regional because of illness.

This is third time in the last five seasons that head coach Doug Mynatt's boys team has won a regional title. In 2005, Uni beat runner-up SJ-O 50-60 for the championship. Last year, the Illineks defeated the Spartans 42-50. This year's final tally was 40-52.

Also advancing to sectionals were St. Thomas More (107), Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman (107), and Tolono Unity (108). Under IHSA rules, the top five teams and top five individuals from nonadvancing teams at each regional qualify for sectionals.

Anastasio narrowly missed winning the individual title; in an epic duel with Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman's Matt Avenatti, the Uni junior was edged out by less than a second. Avenatti covered the three-mile course in 16 minutes, 48.89 seconds, compared to Anastasio's time of 16:49.32.

"Having not raced for four weeks, my racing strategy was off," said Anastasio, whose last meet was the Sept. 26 SJ-O Spartan Classic, where he placed fourth.

"Avenatti has an extremely fast sprinting ability which I cannot match if the race comes down to the last 50 or so meters. In order to beat him in a race, I need to pull away in the last mile, to avoid his deadly kick. Unfortunately, I didn't run my race, but instead followed Avenatti's pace and allowed the race to come down to the last 50 meters, where I couldn't outsprint Avenatti."

Last year, Anastasio came in 10th (17:06), while teammate Walsh was eighth (16:59) and Smith seventh (16:53). Malcolm Taylor, who has since graduated, won the 2008 meet in 16:28.

This year, besides Anastasio, five other Illineks placed in the top 20: Walsh (third, 17:06), senior Langston Allston-Yeagle (ninth, 17:42), senior Andrew Weatherhead (11th, 17:48), sophomore Iain Konigsberg (15th, 18:01), and junior Ziran Shang (19th, 18:09). Senior Jack Snyder came in 45th (19:48).

"Despite losing to Avenatti, I was extremely happy with the race and the team victory," Anastasio said.

If the boys finish in the top five at sectionals, they will advance to the 1A state finals for the second consecutive year. In 2008, the Illineks missed winning a state trophy by just one spot, placing fourth overall. (Only the top three teams at state receive a trophy.)

For his part, Anastasio is relishing Saturday's challenge in Decatur, where Uni will take on 19 other teams. The boys race will begin at 10 a.m., following the girls meet at 9.

"I look forward to once again racing with my accomplice, Nathan Smith, in sectionals, which should prove to be a very fast race, as many potential — and some previous — all-staters will be in the field," Anastasio said. "With two weeks until state, this is crunch time."

Class 1A St. Joseph Regional Boys Meet at a Glance

Team Results

1. UNI HIGH 40
2. St. Joseph-Ogden 52
3. Champaign St. Thomas More 107
4. Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman 107
5. Tolono Unity 108
6. Fithian Oakwood 121
7. Champaign Judah Christian 172
8. Paris 200
9. Villa Grove 239

Top Five Runners Overall

1. Matt Avenatti (so) Georgetown-RF/Chrisman 16:48
2. Albert Anastasio (jr) UNI HIGH 16:49
3. Buck Walsh (jr) UNI HIGH 17:06
4. Sam Cooper (sr) Judah Christian 17:16
5. Landon Vowels (so) St. Joseph-Ogden 17:24

Uni Individual Results

2. Albert Anastasio (jr) 16:49
3. Buck Walsh (jr) 17:06
9. Langston Allston-Yeagle (sr) 17:42
11. Andrew Weatherhead (sr) 17:48
15. Iain Konigsberg (so) 18:01
19. Ziran Shang (jr) 18:09
45. Jack Snyder (sr) 19:48

Class 1A Decatur St. Teresa Sectional Boys Meet at a Glance

The following 20 teams will compete Saturday at Decatur's Hickory Point Golf Course, 727 Weaver Road (click here for directions). The top five teams will advance to the Nov. 7 state finals in Peoria, as will the top seven individuals not on a qualifying team. The boys race will begin at 10 a.m., following the girls race at 9.

From the Beecher Regional:

1. Beecher 18
2. Kankakee Bishop McNamara 69
3. Paxton-Buckley-Loda 83
4. Clifton Central 88
5. Bismarck-Henning 120

From the Monticello Regional:

1. Monticello 39
2. Heyworth 67
3. Stanford Olympia 80
4. Decatur St. Teresa 109
5. Bloomington Central Catholic 128

From the Robinson Regional:

1. Robinson 39
2. Sullivan 62
3. Shelbyville 76
4. Effingham St. Anthony 122
5. Teutopolis 140

From the St. Joseph Regional:

1. UNI HIGH 40
2. St. Joseph-Ogden 52
3. Champaign St. Thomas More 107
4. Georgetown-R.F./Chrisman 107
5. Tolono Unity 108