Barrington runners pace their teams' success

The Barrington Area Unit School District 220 board of education this week honored two exceptional seventh grade runners who not only helped their respective middle school teams have great seasons, but earned major individual awards during the state Illinois Elementary School Association competition.

Molly FitzPatrick, a student at Station Middle School, took home the gold in the 800-meter race and also earned fourth place in the 1,600-meter run. According to coach Mark Toerpe, Molly's performance peaked at the right time of the season and she established a personal best in her title-winning race.

Molly's other coach, Ben Fitzpatrick (no relation), said they couldn't have picked someone more deserving of success, or a better ambassador for the team.

Ryan Smith, a student at Prairie Middle School, was named IESA State Track Champion in the 400-meter competition. Coach Jim Bartlett praised Ryan's leadership in what may have been the team's most successful season ever.

Bartlett fondly recalled a time this season when Smith put older teammates in their place when they weren't giving it their all in practice.

"He got up to the line and smoked all of them," Bartlett said. "And it was a wake up call and I could say 'Man, this seventh grader is outworking all of you combined.'"