Crystal Lake South heats up to win Harland
With temperatures hovering at barely 40 degrees and a steady rain at race time, the 41st Annual Pat Harland Invitational was definitely going to be a struggle for area girls cross country runners Saturday morning.
But despite the dismal running conditions on the 3-mile Fox River State Park course, Crystal Lake South showed it had the power to win the meet hosted by Antioch. The Gators finished with 56 points, well ahead of Marengo's 91.
The Gators' pack running was outstanding from top to bottom as the trio of Kiley Britten (fourth), Caitlin Bruzzini (seventh), and Andie Kobrick (ninth) really helped push Crystal Lake South past the runner-up Indians.
Short-handed Warren put together a good race to finish third with 105 points while Grayslake Central nipped Lakes 160-161 for sixth place in the 13-team meet.
Marengo senior Kitty Allen once again rolled to the individual championship on the hilly course with a winning time of 18:40 as runner-up Becky Haight (19:04) was the only runner even close to Allen at the chute.
The Gators' winning combination Saturday also featured a 16th-place run from Jenny Luken, a 20th from Ann Lewandowski, a 29th from Katie Davis, and a 38th from Julianna Brown.
"Our top three got out really well, they were positioned in the top 10 early on, and they moved up in the middle of the race," said CLS coach Ken Greenfield. "Our four and five runners were very solid today which we needed. I know Warren had a few runners out so it would have been nice to run against them at full strength to see how we match up."
Not only were the Blue Devils missing two of their top five runners, including senior Sammi Jo Nixon, but they also had junior No. 2 runner Emily Jahn disqualified for obstructing another runner at the finish.
That official's ruling really hurt Warren's chances in the team competition because Jahn would have had an 11th-place finish for the Blue Devils.
Haight was still pretty happy overall following the race considering the weather conditions and the rugged terrain on the course.
"I'm happy because it was freezing outside and I don't usually do that well on this course because I'm not too good on hills yet," said Haight. "It was cold so my legs were numb the whole time and I'm still working on getting better on hills."
Warren coach Brett Heimstead was out of state for a wedding. But his squad did get some strong pack running Saturday from senior teammates Brook Wilt (12th), and Michelle Klimt (13th).
Grayslake Central's solid effort was led by the junior duo of Lura Quandt in 11th, and Sara O'Malley in 24th.
"We were missing three of our top five, but the girls that did run ran great," said Grayslake Central coach Jimmy Centella. "I was really happy and it was a great experience for some of the girls who normally do not run varsity to get varsity experience today."
Lakes did not have elite junior Kortney Schardt in the lineup due to injury. But the Eagles did get another great performance from their senior trio of Danielle Griesbaum (10th), Ashley Espinosa (19th), and Nicole Towne (25th) under the miserable running conditions.
"We did not have a full lineup here today unfortunately, and two of our runners are getting ready for Monday at Vernon Hills," said Lakes coach Keith West, whose team will battle the Cougars for the NSC Prairie Division crown in that dual meet. "Danielle had another wonderful day today and she turned on the jets again at the end so it's always exciting to see her finishes."
West has been very happy with his senior trio over the years, and he's definitely not looking forward to losing them to graduation.
"Espinosa had a three-minute time drop from her sophomore to junior year so she really improved a lot," West said. "I'm so thrilled to of had a chance to coach them and see them improve so much."
The short-handed host Sequoits were led by sophomore Tessa Furlong in 15th while Cindy Alcala led Grayslake North in 32nd. Warren senior Taylor Weiss placed 34th.
"We ran some freshmen and sophomores at the varsity level because three of our top four are out right now," said Antioch coach Chris Bailey. "She (Furlong) looks great, she's been our top runner all year, and she's making a push for the conference meet and beyond."