Fox Valley runners poised to make an impact at state

For Streamwood senior girls' cross-country standout Gabby Juarez, it was time to play with the big dogs.

Juarez adjusted her running strategy a bit this year and the results have been overwhelmingly positive. Juarez recently won a Class 3A sectional individual title and will try to add some more hardware to her collection at Saturday's state finals race in Peoria at Detweiller Park.

“I have a different approach to races now,” she said. “Before, I didn't take it out as fast. Now I try to go out fast and keep up with the top girls at the front. It's a new strategy. I'm more confident this year running with the top kids. At first, it was tough. I wasn't used to it, but then I saw that it did work.”

And as a race wears one, it plays right into Juarez's strength.

“It's easier going out fast,” she said. “As the race goes on and more girls fall back, then it's between you and another girl and that's when it gets the most difficult. But that last mile is the strongest one for me.”

Juarez, a former soccer player, has two goals in mind for Saturday.

“I'm hoping for a Top 5 finish and to break 17 minutes,” said Juarez, who ran a career-low 16:58.2 at the sectional. “I have to run smart and use my new approach and take it out as fast I can and stay with the top girls in the beginning rather than try and run them down in the end.”

Juarez took 49th in the state as a junior with a time of 18:03.

“Last year there was no pressure for me at the state meet,” she said. “I was so happy to make it there. The experience last year will help me at this year's state meet.”

Juarez noted the race is also important for the future. She said she's narrowed her college choices down to DePaul, Bradley and Illinois State. There will be some watchful eyes in Peoria.

“I'm very excited, especially with all the college coaches that will be there to see all the runners,” she said.

Another runner with lofty goals in the girls' 3A race is Jacobs star Lauren VanVlierbergen, who took fourth last year (17:07).

“I want to finish better than last year,” she said. “A Top 3 finish would be great. That would be amazing if I could do that.”

Van Vlierbergen admitted the thought of winning the race has crossed her mind.

“That's always a goal, definitely,” she said.

Van Vlierbergen knows the field of runners Saturday will be tough.

“We've all been racing against each other over the years and throughout this season,” she said. “I've run against some great girls this year. I'm really excited but I'm a little nervous. There is a lot of great competition that will be there. It's the state meet. I feel like everybody probably feels a little nervous like me.”

Van Vlierbergen has been focusing on the finish of her races of late.

“I've been working on the last mile,” she said. “I've been getting tired toward the middle. I'm focusing on finishing strong and focusing on the kick at the end. I don't want to leave anything out there.”

Van Vlierbergen, who this week was selected as a finalist for the Wendy's Heisman Award in Illinois, said her college choices are down to Illinois, Michigan and Notre Dame.

“I'm hoping to decide shortly,” she said. “They all are amazing schools. I can't go wrong.”

Crystal Lake South senior Kiley Britten also will run in the Class 3A race.

Harvest Christian Academy qualified for the Class 1A girls' finals as a team for the first time in program history. The Lions were led at the sectional by senior Valerie Richter and freshman Nygia Pollard.

“This is really exciting for the whole team,” said Richter. “We made it because of our hard work and the individual talent we have on the team. We all know we have to run our best races of the season (Saturday).”

Richter said her improvement stemmed in part from an increased workload in the offseason.

“I ran at least 300 miles over the summer,” she said. “I came in more prepared and more confident this year.”

On the boys' side, Huntley is in the Class 3A state finals as a team for the first time in program history. The Red Raiders are led by juniors Keagan Smith and Seth Conroy. Smith won a sectional individual title, while Conroy was fourth last Saturday.

“We had pretty much everybody coming back from last year,” said Conroy. “We were really determined to get to state. We made it a goal and had it set in our minds. That's what we wanted to do.”

Smith said the emergence of junior runner Mike Grocholski made a major difference this season.

“We've had a lot of key additions this season,” he said. “Mike is our third runner and he ran with us last year. He put in more work and trained more and that's made him even stronger and it's given us a great trio of runners at the front. And the last four guys, there's always someone stepping up at a meet.”

Conroy said the Red Raiders aren't content with just making it to Peoria.

“It feels great to finally get it out of the way and make it to state,” he said. “But we're not content with just that. We want to make some noise Downstate.”

Smith added: “For us to do our best, we're going to need some guys to get all-state placements and the rest of the guys to pull through and get a good split and pack it up.”

Crystal Lake South freshman Jack Becker also will run in the Class 3A meet.

Burlington Central senior Clay Musial will cap off his high-school career in the Class 2A state meet. This is Musial's second trip in a row to Detweiller Park.

“I put a lot of miles in over the summer and the workouts have helped me progress,” said Musial. “My times have gotten lower. I feel like I'm moving in the right direction for this Saturday.”

Musial, who has talked with academic heavyweights Rice University and the University of Chicago about running possibilities at those institutions, finished 26th in Class 2A last year.

“This meet will be very exciting,” he said. “Hopefully I can have a good race to finish off my high school career. It's going to be fun. These are some of the guys I've raced against the last four years. Hopefully I will have some success. My primary goal is to medal. I've talked about trying to get into the Top 10 in 2A. We'll see how that plays out. It's something I've been thinking about.”

Harvest Christian's boys' team also qualified for the Class 1A final for the first time in school history.

“This is really huge for us,” said Lions' senior Jake Adams, who led the way at the sectional with an 11th-place finish. “We're a fairly young school. We've only had the cross-country program for four years, which makes this particularly meaningful for us. We have a real good coach (Steve Bland) and we work hard in practice and because of that we're going Downstate. We're going to do the best we can there. We know there is going to be good competition. Hopefully we can get some PRs (personal records) and we'll hope for the best.”