Cross country/Palatine Invitational preview
By Michael Eaken
Daily Herald Correspondent
Where: Deer Grove East Forest Preserve, Palatine
When: Saturday: Start 9 a.m.; Girls varsity race 10:20 a.m.; Boys varsity race 10:50 a.m.
Girls
Team race: Three of the top four teams in Illinois will collide. Top-ranked New Trier will miss the action, but Wheaton Warrenville South, Lake Park and host Palatine will be vying for the title. Wheaton South and Lake Park are tied at No. 2 in the Illinois Cross Country Coaches Poll, while Palatine is ranked No. 4. Senior Lauren Mordini, junior McKenna Kiple, junior Mikayla Kightlinger, and junior Hope Schmelzle power a strong Wheaton South squad that entered the season as the top-ranked team in Class 3A, before finishing second to New Trier at the Hinsdale Central and Peoria Woodruff invitationals. Junior Kaylee Flanagan and junior Brianne Murphy have propelled a surprising Lake Park squad. The Lancers have swept to three consecutive invite victories at Fenton, Lake Park and Peoria Notre Dame. Host Palatine finished fourth at Hinsdale Central and improved with a second-place finish at Notre Dame. Junior Tess Wasowicz and sophomore Jessica Lincoln provide the Pirates with a solid 1-2 punch and sophomore Cassidy McPherson and senior Ellen Smith have solidified the attack. But Palatine misses sophomore Liz Cox, who is out with an injury, and the Pirates are still searching for a fifth runner. No. 8 Barrington, No. 9 Lyons and No. 14 Prospect will also be in the competitive field. Barrington finished fourth at Peoria Woodruff Invite, but top runner Becca Batliner did not compete. The junior is looking to give the Fillies a lift on Saturday. Prospect junior Brooke Wolfe was back in control in taking first at Libertyville Invite last weekend, but the Knights are still a work in progress. They will continue to look at narrowing the gap with the top teams as they get healthier.
Individual race: Lake Park’s Flanagan ran a sizzling 16:44 in winning the Peoria Notre Dame Invite last weekend on the state course at Detweiller Park. The junior has separated herself from the field and would have to be considered the early favorite to win the Class 3A title. But Flanagan will get a tough test Saturday when she faces defending Palatine Invite champion Wolfe, and 2009 Palatine Invite champion Batliner. Flanagan and Wolfe met at Lake Park in early September with Flanagan making separation in the first mile in cruising to the title in 16:41. Wolfe is still returning to form from an ankle injury last spring and the junior took a step forward with an impressive first-place run at Libertyville last weekend. Batliner is also returning from a leg injury, but the junior did finish sixth at the St. Charles East Invite on Sept. 3. Wasowicz will also be in the lead group, the Palatine junior finished third (17:01) at Peoria ND Invite. Also keep an eye on Wheaton South’s Mordini, Maine South sophomore Emily Leonard and junior Megan Lemersal, Palatine’s Lincoln, Barrington senior Ella Tracy, Downers Grove North junior Gabrielle Hesslau, Libertyville freshman Kristi Del Prato and Lyons’ Lisa Gorden.
Boys
Team race: Seven of the top 15 teams in the ICCCP will be here, including the top-ranked hosts. The Pirates entered the season No. 1, but slipped at the opening Hinsdale Central Invite to Neuqua Valley. Palatine reclaimed its No. 1 ranking last week and sealed it by taking first at the Peoria Notre Dame Invite. Senior Anthony Gregorio and senior Peter Tomkiewicz provide the Pirates with a powerful 1-2 punch, with seniors Marcus Garcia, Tim Johnson, and Tim Meinke rounding out the top five. The Pirates ran a very cohesive race at Peoria last weekend, but coach Chris Quick still thinks there is room for improvement. Defending Class 3A state champion and No. 3 ranked York will give the Pirates a test. The Dukes finished third in Peoria last weekend, but were not at full strength. Top returning runner junior Alex Mimlitz did not run, and senior Billy Clink, a transfer from St. Charles North, aggravated a groin injury in the opening mile. Scott Milling finished 11th in Peoria to lead the Dukes. No. 4 Niles North made a huge statement by with shocking first-place finish at the Peoria Woodruff Invite on Sept. 10 led by senior Aron Sebhat. No. 5 New Trier, No. 9 Maine South, No. 11 Barrington, No. 13 Loyola, and No. 14. Lake Zurich have been jockeying for position in the rankings all season and this race should offer some clarity. If that field is not tough enough, the addition of two Missouri schools will add to the competition. Columbia’s Rock Bridge and St. Louis University High finished 2-3 in Missouri Class 4 last season and will be in the mix on Saturday.
Individual race: This year has the makings of being very special. Nine individuals participating have already gone under 14:48 at Detweiller Park in Peoria the past two weekends. Barrington senior Erik Peterson (14:25) finished second at the Peoria ND invite to Oak Park-River Forest senior Malachy Schrobilgen (14:21) on Sept. 17 and New Trier senior Leland Later (14:23) finished second to Edwardsville senior Garrett Sweatt (14:20) at Peoria Woodruff on Sept. 10. Peterson and Later will set the pace on Saturday. The field also includes seven other individuals who have hit some amazing marks at Detweiller, including Loyola seniors Todd Ford (14:26) and William Hague (14:29), Palatine seniors Gregorio (14:34) and Tomkiewicz (14:42), Beecher junior Grant Nykaza (14:37), York’s Milling (14:46) and St. Ignatius junior Jack Keelan (14:48). Last year 11 finishers from the Palatine Invite finished all-state in Class 3A, that number could grow this year.