Pack mentality works for Naperville North
PEORIA — Naperville North finished second in the Class 3A cross country championship race in 2013. That came complete with a shiny trophy, but something was missing.
Something like coach Dan Iverson leaning over to senior Elly DeTurris while she was huddling with reporters and saying, “I think we won the state championship.”
DeTurris, already overcome with emotion for finishing 12th overall, and ninth in the team standings, with a time of 17:08, nearly hit the deck with that suggestion.
Turns out Iverson was right. With junior Judy Pendergast two places in front of DeTurris and a cadre of teammates close behind, the Huskies scored 73 points for an 18-point victory over Palatine. Glenbard West (94 points), last year's champion, was third.
It was the pack mentality that carried the day for the Huskies. In the team standings Pendergast and DeTurris were followed by Claire Hamilton (10th), Sarah Schmitt (23rd) and Emily Hamilton (24th). That offset not only all that Palatine could muster but also Glenbard West's 1-4 finish of Lindsay Graham and Lindsey Payne.
“We have been dreaming about this moment for the whole entire season,” Pendergast said. “We're so happy with the way we placed.”
With no set No. 1 runner, that the pack concept worked well at conference, regional and sectional meets wasn't a great surprise. But for it to work at the state final, where the best of the best try to run away from you?
“I knew Claire was behind me,” DeTurris said. “It's a mental thing. I always know a teammate is there for me.”
Graham ran injured last year and finished 17th. On Saturday she was in front most of the way and scored a 25-second victory over Lauren Van Vlierbergen of Jacobs.
“I'm so glad I was able to make it happen,” Graham said. “I'd worked on being aerobically stronger in the course of the season, so I knew I could do it. I just had to hold on and do it.”
Payne, a freshman, was 37 seconds behind Graham in 17:00. That included a stop she estimated at five to 10 seconds to put a shoe back on.
“I wanted to use being a freshman in a positive way, like, 'I'm a freshman, I can do it,' ” Payne said. “After I got back up, maybe it made me go harder.”
Glenbard South's ninth-place finish led area Class 2A teams. Rebecca Sippel placed ninth in 17:44 to lead the Raiders. Wheaton Academy placed 13th, with Montini 15th.