2025 Naperville Twilight Preview

Date: Wednesday October 8th, 2025

Location: Settlers Hills Cross Country Course

Time Schedule:

5:45 F/S Boys (unlimited)

5:50 F/S Girls (unlimited) (race will be run staggered with the FS boys)

6:30 JV Boys (unlimited)

6:35 JV Girls (unlimited) (race will be run staggered with the JV boys)

7:15 Varsity Boys (limit 10)

7:45 Varsity Girls (limit 10)

Boys Teams: 3A - #1 Downers Grove North, #4 Chicago (Lane Tech), #9 Arlington Heights (Hersey), #15 Naperville (Neuqua Valley), #16 Naperville Central, #18 Yorkville, #19 Downers Grove South, #21 Naperville North, #24 LaGrange (Lyons Township); 2A - #1 Dixon; Batavia, Geneva, Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West), Chicago (Jones College Prep), Aurora (Metea Valley), Minooka, Northside College Prep, Oak Park and River Forest, Plainfield North JV, Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)

Girls Teams: 3A - #4 Plainfield North, #9 New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central), #11 Chicago (Lane Tech), #15 Geneva, #17 Naperville North, #19 Wheaton Warrenville South, #20 Downers Grove North, #21 Yorkville, #22 Batavia, #23 Minooka; Downers Grove South, Chicago (Jones College Prep), LaGrange (Lyons Township), Aurora (Metea Valley), Naperville Central, Oak Park-River Forest, Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)

Key Boys Individuals: Conrad Saner (Jr., Downers Grove South), Jesse Gudauskas (Jr., Naperville [Neuqua Valley]), Philip Cupial (Sr., Downers Grove North), Samuel Assefa (Jr., Chicago [Lane]), John Clinton (Sr., Downers Grove South), Quinn Anderson (Jr., Chicago [Lane]), Mateus Salomao (Sr., Arlington Heights [Hersey]), Stephen Cox (Jr., Downers Grove North), Averick Wiseman (Jr., Dixon), Grayson Meek (So., Naperville [Neuqua Valley]), Will Surratt (Sr., Downers Grove North), Gary Angelo (Sr., Chicago [Lane]), Jackson Truty (Sr., Naperville North), Hugo Ayala (Sr., Chicago [Lane]), Manny Najera (Jr., Naperville Central), Dean Geiger (Jr., Dixon), Simon Reckamp (Sr., Naperville North), Nathan Marotta (Sr., Arlington Heights [Hersey]), Alexander Fitzpatrick (Sr., Chicago [Lane]), Will Miller (Sr., Downers Grove South), Vaughn Scherer (Sr., Naperville Central), Derek Williamson (Jr., Naperville Central), Brennan Monohan (So., LaGrange [Lyons]), Keegan Shirley (Sr., Dixon), Owen Horeni (Sr., Yorkville)

Key Girls Individuals: Sunny Weber (Sr., Sandwich), Macy Ermitage (So., Downers Grove North), Avery Hacker (Jr., Batavia), Sienna O'Malley (Fr., Chicago [Lane]), Marlie Czarniewski (Jr., Plainfield North), Sofia Borter (Sr., Geneva), Nia Ortega (Jr., Downers Grove South), Ainsley Carter (Jr., Chicago [Lane]), Keira Faxel (So., New Lenox [Lincoln-Way Central]), Natalie Nahs (Jr., Minooka), Athena Triner (So., Yorkville), Ariana Namvar (Jr., Naperville [Neuqua Valley]), Lily Eddington (Sr., Downers Grove North), Mia Forsytek (Jr., New Lenox [Lincoln-Way Central]), Ruth Dellaria (Sr., Roselle [Lake Park]), Taylor Peahl (Sr., Geneva), Jillian Davies (Jr., New Lenox [Lincoln-Way Central]), Addy Lindsay (So., Wheaton Warrenville South), Lyla Clemons (Fr., Geneva), Amy Herzog (So., Chicago [Lane]), Laurel Eager (Fr., Plainfield North), Gwnedolyn Krodel (Jr., Batavia), Shania Tandon (Sr., Naperville North), Rianna Tandon (Sr., Naperville North), Madeline Cassidy (Jr., Batavia)

Outlook: The Naperville Twilight Invite takes a detour this year due to construction at Naperville North High School, where new turf fields are being installed on campus. As a result, the prestigious meet will be held at the Settlers Hill Cross Country Course in Geneva. It will be interesting to see how well-lit the course is, given its wide layout, but meet management is bringing in 17 portable light towers to illuminate the venue. Spectators are also strongly encouraged to bring their own lights.

The boys’ team race will be an interesting one as we look to answer a few lingering questions. The Trojans of Downers Grove North will look to make a statement for the first time since winning the First to the Finish Invite almost a month ago. Last week, they competed in a home tri-meet against Naperville Central and Morton, where they looked sharp. They were without Stephen Cox, who was nursing an injury and held out as a precaution. If Cox races here, we could see Philip Cupial, Will Surratt, and Stephen Cox all finish among the top five. Their key will be keeping Isaak Stein, Tyler Lynch-Goff, and JT Farrero within a minute of Cupial. Plainfield North, the second-ranked team in the state, will be running its JV squad here after competing at Nike XC Town Twilight this past weekend. The real question to be answered, though, is just how good Lane Tech truly is. The Champions have looked excellent at every meet so far and will finally get to test themselves against one of the top three squads in Illinois. This team is led up front by the dynamic duo of Sammy Assefa and Quinn Anderson, who should both finish within the top 15—possibly even the top 10. If Lane Tech can keep its pack spread under 20 seconds, it will be an excellent showing for the Champions. Dixon will aim to prove themselves against some of the best 3A programs after dominating the 2A classification all season. Averick Wiseman and Dean Geiger should lead the way with top-15 finishes, while Keegan Shirley has been in great form recently and will be crucial as their third runner. The key for the Dukes will be keeping Alonzo Bautista, Ethan Carter, or Abram Garcia close to Weston Conaster if they want to challenge Lane Tech. Expect Dixon to battle Hersey for third place, with the Huskies led by Mateus Salamao. For Hersey, keeping a 2-5 split under 20 seconds will be essential to securing that podium spot. Behind them, expect Neuqua Valley, Naperville Central, Yorkville, Downers Grove South, and Naperville North to fight it out for a top-five team finish.

On the girls’ side, we’ll see two of the top ten ranked teams in the 3A classification go head-to-head. #4 Plainfield North will look to claim another major win after an impressive performance at the Palatine “Meet of Champions.” The Tigers are led up front by Marlie Czarniewski, a strong contender for a top-five finish. Laurel Eager had another standout race at Palatine, clocking 18:11, and will look to break 18:00 for the first time here. The pack of Olivia Eager, Ayla Czarniewski, and Kate Beavers will need to stay within 20 seconds of one another if Plainfield North wants to take home the title. Tessa Russo is the team’s wildcard—after two off races, she’ll look to bounce back and return to the Tigers’ top five. Last year, she placed fourth in this meet and has the potential to be that good again. Lincoln-Way Central has featured one of the best packs in the state all year, and that depth could carry them to victory if they can keep their split under 30 seconds. The trio of Jillian Davies, Mia Forsytek, and Keira Faxel have each led the team at different points this season and are all capable of finishing inside the top 20. Brea Counihan adds a boost to this lineup as she continues to work her way back to form after two injury-plagued seasons. Lane Tech is an intriguing squad that could surprise some people if their fourth and fifth runners can step up. The Champions are led by Sienna O’Malley and Ainsley Carter, both of whom should place in the top 10. Amy Herzog ran an excellent race at the Mather Invite and will look to continue that momentum. At Mather, Samantha Borg-Breen and Guadalupe Lopez finished just 9 and 13 seconds behind Herzog; if they can stay within 20 seconds of her here, Lane Tech could pull off the win. Expect Geneva, Naperville North, Wheaton Warrenville South, Downers Grove North, Yorkville, Batavia, and Minooka to battle for the fourth and fifth team positions.

If we look at the Individual race, we should get an action packed showdown between the best this state has to offer. Phillip Cupial of Downers Grove North has been sitting atop the heap for the first 6 weeks of this season, but his crown is about to be challenged. He hasn’t raced since First to the Finish, where he took the win with a 14:27 in the blazing heat. Since then, we have seen his crosstown rival, Conrad Saner of Downers Grove South, as well as Neuqua Valley’s ace, Jesse Gudauskas, drop 3 mile times in the low 14:20s. With these two rising stars biting at Cupial’s heels, we should see him react with a scorcher of a 3 mile. Like we mentioned earlier, the Lane Tech boys have been on a tear lately, this will be a chance for them to prove themselves against the top of the state. Samuel Assefa ran a blistering 9:21 at the Mather invite two weeks ago, he should be in contention for a top 5 finish here. John Clinton of Downers South could be another name in there. He had a phenomenal race at Richard Spring, dropping a 14:41 and finishing 2 spots behind Assefa. Should he have a performance like that, he should contend for a top 5 spot as well. One person who will be overlooked is Will Surratt of Downers North. He’s having a slow start to his season, but this is your reminder that he ran 4:12 and 1:51 during the track season and is a returning all-stater from last fall. He is still a dangerous athlete in a field of aerobic tanks and he could upset some of your favorite names here at Settler’s hill. 

The girls individual race will be one for the ages, with arguably the fastest girl in the state in attendance. Sunny Weber of Sandwich is descending upon Settler’s Hill with a win and course record in her sights. She has raced twice and has come out on top by a large margin both times. Her season best of 16:18 speaks for itself as the fastest mark in the field, she should be able to walk away with a win pretty easily here. Following this absolute titan will be a group of four girls who will be vying for second. Macy Ermitage of Downers North is the likely favorite out of this pack. She is the only one who has broken the 17 minute border so far this season, with a 16:59 at the Richard Spring invite, and she got a good win last week at the Solario Invite. She will be competing against Avery Hacker of Batavia and Marlie Czarnewski of Plainfield North, who both have a shot at taking her down. Hacker has the better PR out of these girls with a 16:40 from the state meet last fall. She has a season best of 17:03, but that was in the blazing heat of the 3A girls race at FTTF. Czarnewski has a season best that trails both of these girls by a decent margin, but her track times are still something to remember. Her 3200 of 10:31 is still very much a threat here, she should be up with these two to make it a close race for second. Finally, Sienna O’Malley of Lane Tech could show out and join these three for the race for second. She has a season best of 17:24 from the Richard Spring invite, which does trail behind Ermitage, Hacker, and Czarnewski by a fair amount. However, she dropped a ridiculous 11:06 at the Mather invite last week, which shows that there might be more in the tank for O’Malley. Should she keep in contact with the front group, she could shake things up by the end of this race.