Hoffman Estates’ Haleys set the pace
Hoffman Estates offered a solid 1-2 punch in its Mid-Suburban League girls cross country quad on Thursday at Barrington Pond.
Senior Haley Goers (18:31) and senior Haley Worman (18:41) went 1-2 to give the Hawks a 16-47 MSL crossover victory against Hersey and also a tough 29-30 West victory over Barrington.
Barrington and Hersey earned victories over a Wheeling team that only ran three girls for varsity.
Goers is a two-time all-state cross country runner, but Worman shadowed Goers for much of the race. Senior Takshaka Patel added to the Hawks’ attack by taking third place in 19:21.
Worman qualified for state in cross country last season, but the senior has taken it up a notch this season.
“Her biggest challenge this season is believing she can run up front,” said Hoffman coach Kirk Macnider of Worman. “She is in shape, she’s running right off of Goers, and Goers is going all out.”
Goers finished second at Fenton Invite last Saturday and helped to propel the Hawks top three runners on Thursday.
Last year Hoffman missed qualifying for state, but the Hawks seniors seem to be on a mission this season.
“We want to have that top pack,” said Goers. “Haley has been closing that gap with me and Takshaka has been closing the gap with Haley.”
“This is our last year, so it’s now or never,” Worman said. “I know if I can run with Goers, I can run with most people.”
Freshman Alandra Aguirre (19:55) and senior Katie Johnson (20:22) finished 11th and 15th to help the Hawks secure a pair of victories.
Barrington finished second at the tough St. Charles East Invitational on Saturday and gave the Hawks all they could handle with a solid pack on Thursday.
Seniors Elizabeth Tracy (19:41), Caroline Carley (19:41), juniors Ashleigh Kleinjan (19:42) Rebecca Batliner (19:42), and Rachel Simon (19:45) took 4th through 8th place to power the Fillies.
Last year, Batliner took 10th in Class 3A but a left foot injury wiped out her sophomore track season. She finished 6th at the St. Charles East Invite on Saturday and is continuing to make progress.
“She’s coming along just fine,” said Barrington coach Deb Revolta of Batliner’s progress. “But she’s fragile. I don’t want to push her to the limit then not have her in November.”
Senior Nora Gawlik (20:06) paced Hersey’s attack by taking 14th place.
“Gawlik has a ton of experience,” Hersey coach Jim Miks of his top runner. “She knows what it takes to run in November.”
Due to illness, Wheeling only ran three varsity runners. But Wildcat coach Meredith Silverman is optimistic about her young team. Sophomore Andrea Arriaga paced the Wildcats with a 27th-place finish.