Biddle, Hoffman Estate hit the ground running
Hoffman Estates and senior Meagan Biddle got off to a fine start on Tuesday at the Mid-Suburban League girls cross country divisional crossover meet against host Buffalo Grove at Willow Stream Park.
Biddle ended last track season by earning her first state medal with an eighth-place finish in the 1,600 meters in Class 3A.
Biddle helped pace a strong Hoffman Estates attack as the Hawks took the four spots in cruising to an opening day 16-45 victory on a hot and steamy afternoon.
Senior Reena Prahbu (20:39), sophomore Allison Schrader (20.39.5), senior Carly Dagen (20.39.8), and Biddle (20:40) went 1-4 in running to a strong opening performance.
"I was definitely excited," said Biddle of the Hawks' debut effort. "Just seeing how the team has been developing, I couldn't wait to see how we'd race."
Biddle will be an important cog for the Hawks this season, and she enters the season with a ton of momentum after hitting personal bests in track for the 3,200 (10:42) and 1,600 (4:59.48).
The Hawks senior will definitely be in the hunt for her first cross country state medal this season and Hoffman Estates coach Kirk Macnider is excited to see how far she can go.
"She's tough, she's gritty," said Macnider of Biddle. "It has taken a long time to get here, but she has put in the time and now it's time to put the pieces together."
Hoffman showed on Tuesday that it has more than just Biddle, and with the contributions of Prahbu, Schrader, and Dagen, the Hawks will definitely be in contention for their third straight state qualification and should also be in the hunt for an MSL title.
Macnider tipped his hat to defending MSL champ Palatine, runner-up Schaumburg, and Barrington, but thinks his team will be there in the end.
"It's going to be a dogfight - it is every year," said Macnider of the looming conference battle. "But I'd be lying to say it's not a goal."
Freshman Bella Alansari (22:02) completed the scoring for the Hawks by taking sixth place.
Buffalo Grove was missing its top runner senior Kaitlyn Ko, who will miss the first part of the season with seconda -degree stress fracture. But senior Natalie Lezama pushed the pace early, leading after 2 miles before taking fifth place (20:50).
"We wanted to start off strong," said Lezama of her early surge.
Senior Rebecca Rabs (22:08) added a seventh-place finish for the Bison with junior Nicolette Nowacki (23.50) and Angela Apicella (24:16) taking 11th and 12th places.
"Hoffman is an amazing team," said Lezama. "I thought we did pretty well for this early and we can only improve from here."