Jacobs Van Vlierbergen makes it a FVC trifecta

Muddy, wet conditions. Didn't matter. Annoying mist. Didn't matter.

You get the picture.

Nothing was going to deter Jacobs senior standout Lauren Van Vlierbergen from capturing her third straight Fox Valley Conference individual championship.

Van Vlierbergen, who finished fourth in Class 3A in 2013, posted a 3-mile time of 17:53.8 to finish first at Saturday's Fox Valley Conference girls cross country championship at Hickory Nut Grove Park in Cary.

"This place has interesting foot work," said Van Vlierbergen, who has narrowed her college choices to Illinois, Notre Dame and Michigan, "It is easy to wipe out. These are not ideal conditions. I wanted to take the lead early and run my race."

Jacobs finished third in the team standings with a score of 103.

"Lauren ran great," said Jacobs coach Kevin Christian. "She is gearing toward the postseason next week. She is among five or six kids who could win state. She is injury free and is peaking at the right time."

Courtney Eubanks followed Van Vlierbergen with a 15th place finish, Kathryn Van Vlierbergen was 22nd, Alyssa Heick placed 31st and Molly Barnes was 34th.

Crystal Lake Central was the girls team champion with 58 points.

Crystal Lake South, led by a second-place finish from Kiley Britten, was the runner-up with 94 points. Britten covered the course with a time of 18:51.6.

"I really didn't set any goals," said the South senior. "I just wanted to run well and help the team, which did amazing."

Caitlin Bruzzini also placed in the Top 10 with a seventh-place finish for the Gators. Andie Kobrick placed 11th, followed by Jenny Luken (32nd) and Kayla Ehrenhaft was 42nd.

Huntley, paced by a sixth-place effort from Kelly Meehleib, was fifth with a score of 120. Cary-Grove, without standout Morgan Schulz (stress fracture to her leg), was seventh with 150 points. Sarah Caesar was the Trojans' top runner with a 12th place finish.

'This has been a very injury-plagued season," said Cary-Grove coach Mark Anderson. "We have had such good luck over the years. We will shut down Morgan for the season and she should be fine for the track season."

Hampshire with a 30th place effort by Morgan Richert, was ninth with a score of 236.

Grayslake Central's Megan Girmscheid cracked the Top 25 with a 21st place finish as the Rams were 10th with a score of 238. Dundee-Crown finished 11th with a score of 270. The Chargers were led by freshman Sylvia Waz with a 20th place finish.

Grayslake North, with Cindy Alcala finishing 63rd, was 12th with a score of 368.

Boys: Crystal Lake South coach Rich Eschmann was not about to hide his emotions.

For the first time since 1988, the Gators have claimed top honors in the Fox Valley Conference.

Led by a fifth-place effort by freshman Jack Becker, the Gators snared their first conference championship in 26 years with a score of 74 points.

Led by Illinois-bound senior Jesse Reiser, who won his second-straight conference championship in a time of 15:21.2, McHenry was second with a team score of 85 points.

"I didn't see this coming at all, " said a stunned and ecstatic Eschmann. "When we ran this summer I had no idea how good we would be because we were so young with only one senior among our Top 10. By the end of the summer we were running pretty well. We started the season with a good showing at the (McHenry) county meet and we keep getting better every meet. The improvement over the year has been phenomenal, The kids deserve all the credit."

For the Gators, Jon Prus was 11th followed by lone senior Justin Miller, who was 15th. Also finishing in the Top 25 for South were Tommy Melone (21st) and Doug Cain (22nd),

Huntley's Keagan Smith, who was only 23 seconds behind Reiser, was the runner-up with a time of 15:44,2.

"I knew I didn't have enough to beat Jesse, but I really thought if I ran well I could finish second.," said Smith. "I have run here three times and I have done better every time. I have become familiar with the course. The rolling hills are not easy to deal with. I am looking forward to the regionals next week. I think I can run well and qualify for the sectionals."

Smith's finish propelled the Red Raiders to a third-place finish with a score of 94. Smith had plenty of help from his teammates as Seth Conroy (seventh) and Mike Grocholski (14th) finished in the Top 15. Matt Kapolnek (30th) and Joey Ozzauto (41st) rounded out the scorers for Huntley.

Jacobs with Matt Goldby finishing 10th and Kyle Ross placing 15th, were fifth with a score of 111. A Top 10 finish from Jack Aho who was sixth, keyed Grayslake Central to a sixth-place finish with a score of 120. Host Cary-Grove placed eighth with 246 points. The Trojans' top runner was Tyler Stordahl with a 29th place finish. Dundee-Crown's Mario Zavala was 44th as the Chargers placed ninth with a score of 266. Hampshire's Jacob Oury placed 19th to help the Whip-Purs finish 11th with a score of 277. Grayslake North, 12th with a score of 331, was led by Liam O' Connell, who was 51st.