Winning's a kick for O'Brien, Palatine
Palatine junior Kelly O'Brien wasn't sure how much she had left entering the home stretch of the Palatine Invitational on a sunny and warm Saturday.
She soon found out, and certainly liked the answer.
The Pirates standout showed she had plenty in reserve as she found an extra gear in the final 800 meters, holding off a strong challenge by New Trier defending Class 3A champion Mimi Smith to secure the title in 17:23 at Deer Grove East.
"The finish was definitely incredible," said O'Brien who was running side-by-side with Smith before one final surge with 50 meters remaining sealed the victory. "I didn't realize how hard I could kick until the end - that's always a fun discovery."
With O'Brien leading the way the Pirates secured their second consecutive Palatine Invitational title with 72 points.
Three-time defending Class 2A champion Yorkville took second with 90 points, followed by New Trier (101 points), Centerville, Ohio (120 points), and Kentucky's Assumption (142 points).
Palatine was coming off a grueling 10-day stretch that included dual meet victories over Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates and also an impressive second-place finish at the Richard Springs Invitational in Peoria.
The Pirates kept it humming on Saturday, placing five girls in the top 24 to nail down the victory.
"The last 10-days we've had four tough races," said Palatine coach Joe Parks of his team effort. "It's been an all-out effort by all the girls-they keep stepping up."
Senior Megan Beach (18:04), senior Amy Kieliszewski (18:08), and sophomore Sam Lechowicz (18:14) kept the line moving for the Pirates by taking 15th, 17th, and 19th place. Senior Kara Burton (18:29) put the finishing touches on the race taking 24th.
"We were running for each other and trusted each other to fill in the gaps," said Beach. "The win really gives us a boost and keeps us hungry."
Junior Skylar Bollinger (17:33) took fourth place and sophomore Alexis Grandys (17:55) added a ninth-place finish in leading Yorkville to second place.
Smith and New Trier were supported by sophomore Cara Keleher (18:01) and sophomore Grace Fagen (18:15), who took 14th and 20th place for the Trevians.
"We knew coming in that there was going to be a race," said New Trier coach John Burnside of Smith's second-place finish. "And we knew she was going to have to put together a full 3 miles if she was going to have a chance. This is the best we've run this season."
Wheaton Warrenville South also rose to the occasion, with sophomore Sara Atkins (17:58) taking 11th place to lead the Tigers to an impressive sixth-place finish with 240 points.
Sophomore Allison McGrath (18:35) and junior Mary Erdman (18:40) aided the Tigers attack by taking 30th and 35th place.
Freshman Jocelyn Long (17:54) and junior Lauren Conroy (18:10) gave Barrington a boost by taking 8th and 18th place in leading the Fillies to a seventh-place finish with 261 points.
Long worked off Conroy the first part of the race before pushing to a strong finish.
"I've been working really hard and listening to our coaches," said Long of her early success. "It gives me a ton of confidence - I'm really happy to start my freshman year out so well."
Sophomore Emma Moravec (18:46) led a strong pack with a 41st-place finish leading Downers Grove North (282 points) to eighth place.
Junior Caitlin Shepard (18:20) took 22nd place leading Lake Zurich to an 11th place finish.
Freshman Melissa Manetsch (18:00) kept up an impressive first year by taking 12th place and leading Libertyville (339 points) to a 12th-place finish.
Senior Morgan Schulz (18:05) secured 16th place pacing Cary-Grove (374 points) to a 15th place finish.
Sophomore Brooke Wilson (18:00) also came up big for Prospect, taking 13th place and leading the Knights (402 points) to 16th place.
"One of my goals was to go out a little slower so I would have something at the end, " said Wilson of her performance. "I wanted to stay loose, focused, and positive the whole race."
Buffalo Grove junior Kaitlyn Ko (18:20) gave the Bison a boost by taking 21st place.