Naperville North doubles its fun

Naperville North swept the boys and girls DuPage Valley Conference cross country team championships Friday afternoon at Camera Park in Glendale Heights, though it needed a tiebreaker to take the girls title from Naperville Central.

Both the Huskies and Redhawks girls scored 37 points, but the Huskies won with the better sixth runner. Wheaton Warrenville South took third with 58.

The Redhawks might not have won the team title, but they did take the top two spots individually. Senior Rachel Hoffman finished first in 17:04.3, with Redhawks sophomore Alana Austin placing second almost 30 seconds back.

"It felt really good," Hoffman said of her race. "I felt the strength of my teammates behind me. It felt really nice to go out there and race my hardest. I really liked the course. It was a lot of fun."

WW South sophomore Sara Atkins placed third, and defending champion Elly DeTurris of Naperville North was fourth.

"I was with a pack of girls for about the first lap and a half, and then I tried to break away with a couple of other girls," Hoffman said.

The Naperville North boys scored 35 points, with rival Naperville Central second at 46. Wheaton North edged WW South for third, scoring 73 points to the Tigers' 75.

Naperville North senior Jon Klaiber won his first DVC individual championship in 14:48.5. WW South senior Kyle Cepeda was second in 14:54.4, and Naperville Central junior Geoffrey McCullough was third in 14:57.5.

"I felt really good," Klaiber said. "I was really calm for the first 2 miles, and the last little bit I picked it up and started to get some separation from the rest of the pack. I felt good all the way through."

The victory gives Klaiber momentum heading into next weekend's regionals.

"I've been right where I needed to be in all my races," he said. "At this point in the season, I'm starting to get more of the race-specific skills that I need going forward in the state series to be successful from here on out."